The Historical Past in Italian
The passato remoto (remote past or historical past) is the Italian tense for actions that were completed in the distant past and have no link to the present. It is used mostly in narration, history and literature, and it corresponds to the English simple past: parlai means “I spoke”. To form it, drop the infinitive ending and add the endings for your verb group (for example -ai, -asti, -ò, -ammo, -aste, -arono for -are verbs). You can find all the endings in the table below.
The Italian passato remoto is a past tense that is used to talk about past events in a narrative way. In fact, it is often also called historical past. It does not have a corresponding translation in English, therefore it is simply translated with the past simple.
It has two tenses: the simple form passato remoto and the compound form trapassato remoto. Here, I will focus on passato remoto only.
Passato Remoto in Italian
Regular Verbs Conjugation
I would like to start as usual by saying that forming the Italian passato remoto is relatively easy, but this time I must admit it is not! However, as with all verb conjugations, you have to drop the ending of the infinitive (-are, –ere, –ire) and add those of the corresponding tense.
In the case of the Italian passato remoto, the endings vary for each of the three verb conjugations:
- -are as in parlare (to talk)
| Io parl-ai | I talked |
| Tu parl-asti | You talked |
| Lui/lei parl-ò | He/she talked |
| Noi parl-ammo | We talked |
| Voi parl-aste | You talked |
| Loro parl-arono | They talked |
- -ere as in credere (to think)
| Io cred-etti | I thought |
| Tu cred-esti | You thought |
| Lui/lei cred-ette | He/she thought |
| Noi cred-emmo | We thought |
| Voi cred-este | You thought |
| Loro cred-ettero | They thought |
- -ire as in sentire (to feel)
| Io sent-ii | I felt |
| Tu sent-isti | You felt |
| Lui/lei sent-ì | He/she felt |
| Noi sent-immo | We felt |
| Voi sent-iste | You felt |
| Loro sent-irono | They felt |
As you can see, it is possible to spot a pattern with the thematic vowels of each conjugation, meaning that most of verbs of the first conjugation display the thematic vowel -a, second conjugations -e, and third conjugation -i.
Passato Remoto Endings at a Glance
| -are (parlare) | -ere (credere) | -ire (sentire) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | -ai | -ei / -etti | -ii |
| tu | -asti | -esti | -isti |
| lui, lei | -ò | -é / -ette | -ì |
| noi | -ammo | -emmo | -immo |
| voi | -aste | -este | -iste |
| loro | -arono | -erono / -ettero | -irono |
Many regular -ere verbs have two accepted forms for io, lui/lei and loro: credei or credetti, credé or credette, crederono or credettero. Both are correct.
Pay attention to the accent on the lui/lei form. It is what separates the past from the present: parlò (he spoke) vs parlo (I speak), credé (he believed) vs crede (he believes), sentì (he heard) vs senti (you hear).
Irregular Verbs Conjugation
There are two main classes of irregular verbs in the passato remoto: those with a completely irregular conjugation and those with a partially irregular conjugation.
- Completely irregular verbs are essere (to be), dire (to say), and fare (to do). Their conjugations do not follow the pattern of regular verbs at all:
| essere (to be) | dire (to say) | fare (to do) | |
| io | fui | dissi | feci |
| tu | fosti | dicesti | facesti |
| lui, lei | fu | disse | fece |
| noi | fummo | dicemmo | facemmo |
| voi | foste | diceste | faceste |
| loro | furono | dissero | fecero |
- Most of the partially irregular verbs belong to the second conjugation -ere. In these verbs, the conjugation of the personal subjects io, lui/lei, and loro are irregular, while the others are conjugated regularly. In the table below, I wrote only the irregular forms:
| Infinitive Verb | English Translation | io, lui/lei, and loro forms |
| accendere | to turn on | accesi, accese, accesero |
| avere | to have | ebbi, ebbe, ebbero |
| cadere | to fall | caddi, cadde, caddero |
| chiedere | to ask | chiesi, chiese, chiesero |
| chiudere | to close | chiusi, chiuse, chiusero |
| conoscere | to know/meet | conobbi, conobbe, conobbero |
| convincere | to convince | convinsi, convinse, convinsero |
| correre | to run | corsi, corse, corsero |
| crescere | to grow up | crebbi, crebbe, crebbero |
| decidere | to decide | decisi, decise, decisero |
| difendere | to defend | difesi, difese, difesero |
| discutere | to argue | discussi, discusse, discussero |
| distruggere | to destroy | distrussi, distrusse, distrussero |
| dividere | to divide | divisi, divise, divisero |
| esprimere | to express | espressi, espresse, espressero |
| leggere | to read | lessi, lesse, lessero |
| mettere | to put | misi, mise, misero |
| muovere | to move | mossi, mosse, mossero |
| nascere | to be born | nacqui, nacque, nacquero |
| perdere | to lose | persi, perse, persero |
| prendere | to get/to take | presi, prese, presero |
| rimanere | to stay | rimasi, rimase, rimasero |
| rispondere | to reply | risposi, rispose, risposero |
| rompere | to break | ruppi, ruppe, ruppero |
| sapere | to know | seppi, seppe, seppero |
| sconfiggere | to defeat | sconfissi, sconfisse, sconfissero |
| scrivere | to write | scrissi, scrisse, scrissero |
| spendere | to spend | spesi, spese, spesero |
| togliere | to remove | tolsi, tolse, tolsero |
| uccidere | to kill | uccisi, uccise, uccisero |
| vedere | to see | vidi, vide, videro |
| venire | to come | venni, venne, vennero |
| vincere | to win | vinsi, vinse, vinsero |
| vivere | to live | vissi, visse, vissero |
| volere | to want | volli, volle, vollero |
“I Was”, “They Were”, “They Had”: Essere and Avere
The two most useful verbs are irregular. From the table above, essere gives fui (I was), fosti (you were), fu (he/she was), fummo (we were), foste (you were, plural) and furono (they were). Here is avere (see also the lesson on the conjugation of essere):
| avere (to have) | |
|---|---|
| io | ebbi |
| tu | avesti |
| lui, lei | ebbe |
| noi | avemmo |
| voi | aveste |
| loro | ebbero |
I Romani furono grandi costruttori.
The Romans were great builders.
Loro ebbero un figlio nel 1950.
They had a son in 1950.
Io fui il primo ad arrivare.
I was the first to arrive.
More Irregular Verbs
These four common verbs are also irregular. Note that dare and bere have two forms for io, lui/lei and loro. For more irregular verbs in other tenses, see the guide to irregular Italian verbs.
| dare (to give) | stare (to stay) | bere (to drink) | tenere (to hold) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | diedi / detti | stetti | bevvi / bevetti | tenni |
| tu | desti | stesti | bevesti | tenesti |
| lui, lei | diede / dette | stette | bevve / bevette | tenne |
| noi | demmo | stemmo | bevemmo | tenemmo |
| voi | deste | steste | beveste | teneste |
| loro | diedero / dettero | stettero | bevvero / bevettero | tennero |
For instance:
Albert Einstein fu un uomo di grande saggezza.
Albert Einstein was a man of great wisdom.
Facemmo tutto il possibile per riportare alla luce l’affresco di Raffaello.
We did everything possible to bring to light Raffaello’s fresco.
Michelangelo nacque nel 1475.
Michelangelo was born in 1475.
When to use Passato Remoto
Even though passato remoto often sounds old-fashioned for some Italians, you should know that it is still commonly used in the South of Italy and in some parts of Central Italy, like Tuscany. In those areas, it is even used to talk about recent events.
When passato remoto is not used, the best substitution is passato prossimo, which is overall more common and easier.
In Italian, we use the passato remoto in the following cases:
- To describe completed actions in the distant past:
I Romani fondarono Roma nel 753 a.C.
The Romans founded Rome in 753 BC.
- To narrate historical events:
Dante scrisse la Divina Commedia nel XIV secolo.
Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in the 14th century.
- To tell stories or events in literature:
Cenerentola trovò la scarpetta e sposò il principe.
Cinderella found the slipper and married the prince.
Passato Remoto vs Passato Prossimo
The passato remoto describes something the speaker feels as finished and separate from the present. The passato prossimo describes something that is recent or still connected to the present, and it is the tense you will use most when speaking. Compare:
| Passato remoto | Passato prossimo |
|---|---|
| Dante nacque nel 1265. (Dante was born in 1265.) | Mio nonno è nato nel 1940 e vive ancora a Napoli. (My grandfather was born in 1940 and still lives in Naples.) |
| Colombo scoprì l’America nel 1492. (Columbus discovered America in 1492.) | Ieri ho visto un bel film. (Yesterday I saw a good film.) |
The use also depends on where you are. In Northern Italy people almost always say the passato prossimo when they speak, even for events far in the past. In Tuscany and Central Italy both tenses are used. In the South, especially in Sicily, the passato remoto is very common, even for recent events. Whatever the region, you will find it in novels, history books and fairy tales.
In a story, the passato remoto often works together with the imperfetto: the imperfetto sets the scene and the passato remoto tells what happened.
Pioveva quando Marco arrivò.
It was raining when Marco arrived.
Il principe sposò la principessa e vissero felici e contenti.
The prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after.
Try not to mix the passato remoto and the passato prossimo in the same sentence. Choose one for the whole story.
Passato Remoto Exercise
Put the verb in brackets in the passato remoto:
- Noi (andare) a Roma nel 1990.
- I Romani (essere) grandi costruttori.
- Io (avere) molta paura.
- Leonardo (nascere) nel 1452.
- Voi (dire) la verità.
- Tu (vedere) il film?
- Lei (partire) all’alba.
- Loro (scrivere) una lettera al re.
Answers: 1. andammo, 2. furono, 3. ebbi, 4. nacque, 5. diceste, 6. vedesti, 7. partì, 8. scrissero.
Passato Remoto: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the passato remoto in Italian?
It is the simple past tense used for actions completed in the distant past, mostly in history, literature and storytelling. In English it is translated with the simple past.
Is the passato remoto still used?
Yes. It is used in writing everywhere in Italy, and in speech in Tuscany and in the South. In the North, people usually replace it with the passato prossimo when they speak.
What is the difference between passato remoto and passato prossimo?
The passato remoto is for events felt as distant and finished. The passato prossimo is for recent events or those connected to the present, and it is the everyday tense in most of the country.
How do you say “they were” in the passato remoto?
Use furono, the loro form of essere: Furono anni difficili (They were difficult years). “They had” is ebbero.
Do I need to learn the passato remoto as a beginner?
Start with the passato prossimo and the imperfetto, which you need to speak. Learn the passato remoto to understand novels, history books and fairy tales, and to recognise the most common forms like fu, ebbe, disse and fece.
Ready to Talk About the Historical Past
Credeva di non poter imparare l’Italiano velocemente, e invece ci riuscì! (He thought he couldn’t learn Italian fast, and instead he managed!)
Well, now you can do it too! You are a step further in your Italian learning journey: I have just embarked the world of historical past. You can now talk about events that happened long time ago, narrate historical events and tell facts in literature.
So, practice the use of this verb tense and unlock new topics and conversations!
