Italian Passato Prossimo
You already know what passato prossimo is and how it is used: it is the most commonly used past tense in Italian, and it is a compound tense composed of:
- The auxiliary verb (either avere or essere) conjugated in the present tense
- The past participle of the main verb
Let me show you some examples in case you need to refresh your memory:
Ieri sono andata al cinema.
Yesterday I went to the cinema.
Hai finito i compiti?
Have you finished your homework?
How to Conjugate the Past Participle?
Regular Past Participle
The participio passato of regular verbs is conjugated as follows:
- Verbs ending in -are take -ato (mangiare -> mangiato)
- Verbs ending in -ere take -uto (cadere -> caduto)
- Verbs ending in -ire take -ito (capire -> capito)
| First conjugation
(-are verbs) |
Second conjugation
(-ere verbs) |
Third conjugation
(-ire verbs) |
|
| Infinitive form: | (-are)
mangiare (= to eat) |
(-ere)
cadere (= to fall) |
(-ire)
capire (= to understand) |
| Past participle: | (-ato)
mangiato |
(-uto)
caduto |
(-ito)
capito |
| io | ho mangiato | sono caduto | ho capito |
| tu | hai mangiato | sei caduto | hai capito |
| lui | ha mangiato | è caduto | ha capito |
| noi | abbiamo mangiato | siamo caduti | abbiamo capito |
| voi | avete mangiato | siete caduti | avete capito |
| loro | hanno mangiato | sono caduti | hanno capito |
Irregular Past Participle
Many frequently used verbs in Italian, especially those ending in -ere, have an irregular past participle. This means that they do not follow the patterns of the table we saw above.
The only way for you to learn irregular forms correctly it’s to memorize them through constant use, but below, you can find a list you the 50 most common ones. Before you dive into this exhaustive list, let me explain you something that I find relevant as a linguist.
There are two main types of long-term memory that comes into play when learning a language: procedural memory and declarative memory.
Procedural memory allows to automatically use language without having to think about every step. It makes using grammar correctly, pronouncing words right, and using phrases naturally much smoother.
Declarative memory allows you to remember specific information about the language, such as remembering words and what they mean, that is, the language vocabulary.
When it comes to learning irregular words, you will be using the declarative part of your memory, because you have to learn that a certain word has a certain form no matter what.
Learn more about Italian verb conjugation.
Irregular Past Participle of Common Verbs
As promised, here I will show you the 50 most common Italian irregular past participles.
| Italian Infinitive | English Translation | Italian Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| aprire | to open | aperto |
| bere | to drink | bevuto |
| chiedere | to ask | chiesto |
| chiudere | to close | chiuso |
| correre | to run | corso |
| coprire | to cover | coperto |
| decidere | to decide | deciso |
| dire | to say | detto |
| dividere | to divide | diviso |
| essere | to be | stato |
| fare | to do, to make | fatto |
| leggere | to read | letto |
| mettere | to put | messo |
| morire | to die | morto |
| nascere | to be born | nato |
| offrire | to offer | offerto |
| perdere | to lose | perso |
| prendere | to take | preso |
| produrre | to produce | prodotto |
| ridere | to laugh | riso |
| rompere | to break | rotto |
| scegliere | to choose | scelto |
| scrivere | to write | scritto |
| scendere | to descend | sceso |
| spegnere | to turn off | spento |
| spendere | to spend | speso |
| succedere | to happen | successo |
| tenere | to hold | tenuto |
| togliere | to remove | tolto |
| tradurre | to translate | tradotto |
| uccidere | to kill | ucciso |
| vedere | to see | visto |
| venire | to come | venuto |
| vincere | to win | vinto |
| vivere | to live | vissuto |
| accendere | to turn on | acceso |
| arrostire | to roast | arrostito |
| assumere | to hire, to assume | assunto |
| cogliere | to pick | colto |
| concludere | to conclude | concluso |
| crescere | to grow | cresciuto |
| cuocere | to cook | cotto |
| dipingere | to paint | dipinto |
| esprimere | to express | espresso |
| fondere | to melt | fuso |
| friggere | to fry | fritto |
| nascondere | to hide | nascosto |
| piangere | to cry | pianto |
| rispondere | to respond | risposto |
| soffrire | to suffer | sofferto |
| spingere | to push | spinto |
Avere vs Essere: Participio Passato
Avere
Let’s have look at a sentence containing the passato prossimo of the verb avere.
Hai avuto una bella idea!
You had a good idea!
As you might have guessed, the structure of the passato prossimo of the verb avere is:
Present of the verb avere+ past participle avuto.
Have a look at the conjugation:
- Io ho avuto
- Tu hai avuto
- Lui/Lei ha avuto
- Noi abbiamo avuto
- Voi avete avuto
- Loro hanno avuto
Essere
Let’s now have a look at a sentence with the passato prossimo of the verb essere.
Stamattina sono stato dal dentista.
This morning I was at the dentist’s.
And here’s the structure:
Conjugated form of the present of the verb essere + past participle (stato, stato, state, stati).
Have a look at the conjugation:
- Io sono stato/stata
- Tu sei stato/stata
- Lui/Lei è stato/stata
- Noi siamo stati/state
- Voi siete stati/state
- Loro sono stati/state
Remember that the past participle of verbs with essere as auxiliary verb changes depending on the subject of the sentence.
How to Know Which Auxiliary Verb to use?
When it comes to conjugating the Italian passato prossimo, one of the hardest topic is the choice of the auxiliary verbs essere andavere.
Whether you are dealing with an irregular or regular passato prossimo nothing changes. The important thing is that you know whether the main verb is transitive or intransitive:
- Avere is used with transitive verbs, that is, verbs that are linked to the direct object without the use of any preposition
- Essere is used with intransitive verbs, that is, verbs that need a preposition to be linked to the indirect object
Laura ha mangiato tutto.
Laura ate everything.
Loro hanno finito l’esame.
They finished the exam.
Marco è uscito.
Marco went out.
Giulia è andata a casa.
Giulia went home.
