Italian Lesson - The Passato Prossimo

Introduction

Auxiliary Verbs

Past Participle

Conjugation

Exercises

What is the Passato Prossimo?

The Passato Prossimo is one of the most used past tenses in Italian to express completed actions. It corresponds to the English "Present Perfect" (I have eaten) or "Simple Past" (I ate).

Basic structure:
Subject + Auxiliary (Avere/Essere) + Past Participle

When to use the Passato Prossimo?

For actions completed in the past with a connection to the present
For past events that have consequences in the present
For actions that occurred in a time period not yet concluded
As a replacement for Passato Remoto in spoken language (especially in Northern Italy)

Usage Examples

Ho mangiato la pizza. (I ate the pizza.)
Sono andato al cinema ieri. (I went to the cinema yesterday.)
Abbiamo finito i compiti. (We finished the homework.)
Si è svegliato tardi. (He woke up late.)

Auxiliary Verbs: Avere or Essere?

When to use AVERE

Category	Examples	Example sentence
Most verbs	parlare (to speak), mangiare (to eat), leggere (to read)	Ho parlato con Marco (I spoke with Marco)
Transitive verbs	comprare (to buy), vedere (to see), scrivere (to write)	Ho comprato un libro (I bought a book)
Verbs indicating actions	lavorare (to work), studiare (to study), cucinare (to cook)	Ho studiato tutto il giorno (I studied all day)

When to use ESSERE

Category	Examples	Example sentence
Reflexive verbs	svegliarsi (to wake up), lavarsi (to wash oneself), vestirsi (to get dressed)	Mi sono svegliato presto (I woke up early)
Movement verbs	andare (to go), venire (to come), uscire (to go out), tornare (to return)	Sono andato al cinema (I went to the cinema)
State change verbs	nascere (to be born), morire (to die), diventare (to become), crescere (to grow up)	È nato a Roma (He was born in Rome)
Verbs indicating state	stare (to stay), rimanere (to remain), restare (to stay)	Sono rimasto a casa (I stayed at home)

Tip: To remember when to use ESSERE, think of the verb as an action that involves a change of state, position or condition of the person.

Forming the Past Participle

Verb group	Past Participle ending	Examples
Verbs ending in -ARE	-ATO	parlare → parlato (spoken) mangiare → mangiato (eaten) cantare → cantato (sung)
Verbs ending in -ERE	-UTO	credere → creduto (believed) avere → avuto (had) cadere → caduto (fallen)
Verbs ending in -IRE	-ITO	finire → finito (finished) dormire → dormito (slept) partire → partito (left)

Common Irregular Past Participles

Infinitive verb	Past Participle	Infinitive verb	Past Participle
aprire (to open)	aperto	leggere (to read)	letto
bere (to drink)	bevuto	scrivere (to write)	scritto
dire (to say)	detto	vedere (to see)	visto
fare (to do/make)	fatto	venire (to come)	venuto
prendere (to take)	preso	chiudere (to close)	chiuso
mettere (to put)	messo	perdere (to lose)	perso

Attention: Irregular verbs are very common, so it's important to memorize them. Many of the most used verbs in Italian have irregular past participles.

Complete Conjugation

With Auxiliary AVERE (verb: parlare - to speak)

Subject	Conjugation	Translation
Io	ho parlato	I spoke / I have spoken
Tu	hai parlato	You spoke
Lui/Lei	ha parlato	He/She spoke
Noi	abbiamo parlato	We spoke
Voi	avete parlato	You all spoke
Loro	hanno parlato	They spoke

With Auxiliary ESSERE (verb: andare - to go)

Subject	Conjugation	Translation
Io (m)	sono andato	I went (male)
Io (f)	sono andata	I went (female)
Tu (m)	sei andato	You went (male)
Tu (f)	sei andata	You went (female)
Lui	è andato	He went
Lei	è andata	She went
Noi (m)	siamo andati	We went (males/mixed)
Noi (f)	siamo andate	We went (females)
Voi (m)	siete andati	You all went (males/mixed)
Voi (f)	siete andate	You all went (females)
Loro (m)	sono andati	They went (males/mixed)
Loro (f)	sono andate	They went (females)

Important rule: With the auxiliary essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. With the auxiliary avere, the past participle remains unchanged.

Other common verbs with ESSERE

Venire (to come)

Io sono venuto/a

Tu sei venuto/a

Lui/Lei è venuto/a

Partire (to leave)

Io sono partito/a

Tu sei partito/a

Lui/Lei è partito/a

Arrivare (to arrive)

Io sono arrivato/a

Tu sei arrivato/a

Lui/Lei è arrivato/a

Nascere (to be born)

Io sono nato/a

Tu sei nato/a

Lui/Lei è nato/a

Interactive Exercises

Exercise 1: Choose the Correct Auxiliary

Select whether the verb requires AVERE or ESSERE as auxiliary.

parlare (to speak)

andare (to go)

leggere (to read)

arrivare (to arrive)

dormire (to sleep)

Exercise 2: Complete the Sentence

Fill in the correct form of the Passato Prossimo.

Io __________ (mangiare) una mela.

Maria __________ (andare) al supermercato.

Noi __________ (finire) i compiti.

Voi __________ (vedere) il film?

Loro __________ (nascere) a Milano.

Exercise 3: Translate to Italian

Translate the following sentences into Italian using the Passato Prossimo.

I bought a book.

She went to school.

We ate pizza.

They (f) arrived late.

You (sing.) woke up early.

Exercise 4: Choose the Correct Form

Select the correct form of the Passato Prossimo.

Io __________ a casa ieri sera.

Lei __________ un caffè.

Noi __________ la verità.

Voi __________ presto.

Loro __________ un regalo.