Learning Italian

Past Tenses: The Passato Prossimo, the Imperfect, and the Trapassato Prossimo

The Passato Prossimo withAvere and Essere
The Passato Prossimo and Special Constructions
The Imperfect
Adverbial Expressions

The Passato Prossimo and Special Constructions by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

Now that you know the basics of the passato prossimo, it's time to move forward and focus on using it with other constructions.

Reflexive and Reciprocal Verbs

All reflexive and reciprocal verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary verb essere in the passato prossimo. Since they are conjugated with essere, the last letter of the past participle must agree in number and gender with the subject of the sentence. The reflexive and reciprocal pronouns should precede the auxiliary verb essere.

Present

Maria si sveglia alle otto.

Maria wakes up at 8:00.

Past

Maria si è svegliata alle otto.

Maria woke up at 8:00.

Repeat each track to practice your pronunciation.

Noi ci siamo svegliati molto presto.	We woke up very early.
Luisella si è arrabbiata ieri sera.	Luisella got angry last night.
Eugenio e Davide si sono conosciuti alla festa.	Eugenio and Davide met at the party.
Le bambine si sono lavate le mani.	The little girls washed their hands.
Elena e Caterina si sono viste ieri sera.	Elena and Carterina saw each other last night.

Double Verb Constructions</h2> <p>You have already been introduced to the modal verbs <B>dovere</B>, <B>potere</B>, and <B>volere</B>. These verbs are often followed by an infinitive, forming a double verb construction. When forming the <B>passato prossimo</B> of a double verb construction, the modal verbs can be preceded by <B>avere</B> or <B>essere,</B> depending on whether the main verb is transitive or intransitive.</p> <p><B>Transitive Verbs That Take</B> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">Avere</emphasis></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Ieri non hai potuto studiare.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>You couldn't study yesterday.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Elena e Maria hanno voluto guardare il film.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Elena and Maria wanted to watch the movie.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Paolo ha dovuto lavorare molto.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Paolo had to work.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p><B>Intransitive Verbs That Take</B> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">Essere</emphasis></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Ieri non sono potuto andare a teatro.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I couldn't go to the theater yesterday.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Loro sono voluti tornare a casa tardi.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>They wanted to return home late.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Caterina si è dovuta alzare presto.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Caterina had to get up early.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>The <B>Passato Prossimo</B> with Direct Object Pronouns</h2> <p>When using a direct object pronoun with the <B>passato prossimo</B>, remember that the direct object pronouns precede the conjugated auxiliary verb <B>avere</B>. In addition, the past participle of the verb conjugated with <B>avere</B> must agree in number and gender with the direct object pronouns <B>lo</B>, <B>la</B>, <B>La</B>, <B>li</B>, <B>le</B>, <B>Li</B>, and <B>Le</B>. Agreement of the past participle is optional with the direct object pronouns <B>mi</B>, <B>ti</B>, <B>ci</B>, and <B>vi</B>.</p> <p><B>Table 11-7</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Present</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Past</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Io ho letto il libro.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Io l'ho letto.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Noi abbiamo mangiato la pizza.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Noi l'abbiamo mangiata.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Ho visto te e Marianna.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Vi ho visto OR Vi ho visti.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Maria ha conosciuto noi.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Maria ci ha conosciuto OR Maria ci ha conosciuti.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 11-3: From Present to Past</h2> <p>Rewrite the sentences, substituting the direct object pronouns for the direct objects.</p> <ul> <li><p><B>Io ho letto i libri.__________________________________________________.</B></p></li> <li><p><B>Noi abbiamo mangiato la pasta.____________________________________________________________________________________________________.</B></p></li> <li><p><B>Gli studenti hanno fatto gli esercizi.____________________________________________________________________________________________________.</B></p></li> <li><p><B>Maria ha visto me e Mario.__________________________________________________.</B></p></li> <li><p><B>Cerchiamo te e tua sorella.__________________________________________________.</B></p></li> </ul> <div class="npsb"> <p></p> <p>Unlike their English equivalents, the verbs <B>ascoltare</B> (to listen), <B>aspettare</B> (to listen), <B>cercare</B> (to look for), and <B>guardare</B> (to look at/to watch) are not followed by a preposition. These verbs all take direct objects: <B>Io ascolto la musica</B> (I listen to music), <B>Tu aspetti il treno</B> (You wait for the train).</p> </div> <h2>The <B>Passato Prossimo</B> with Indirect Object Pronouns</h2> <p>When using an indirect object pronoun with the <B>passato prossimo</B>, remember that the indirect object pronouns precede the conjugated auxiliary verb <B>avere</B>. Note that the past participle of the verb conjugated with <B>avere</B> never agrees in number or gender with the indirect object pronouns<B>.</B></p> <p><B>Table 11-8</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis role="Bolditalic">Present</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis role="Bolditalic">Past</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Ho risposto a Pietro.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Gli ho risposto.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Ho telefonato a Maria.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Le ho telefonato.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>The <B>Passato Prossimo</B> with Double Object Pronouns</h2> <p>When using a double object pronoun with the <B>passato prossimo</B>, the past participle must agree with the number and gender of the direct object pronoun.</p> <p><B>Table 11-9</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis role="Bolditalic">Present</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis role="Bolditalic">Past</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Le ho prestato la macchina.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Gliel'ho prestata.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Ti ho dato i libri ieri.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Te li ho dati ieri.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 11-4: Double Object Pronouns in the Past Tense</h2> <p>Rewrite the sentences, substituting double object pronouns for the direct and indirect objects, and changing from present to past tense.</p> <ul> <li><p><B>Portiamo la torta a lei.</B> _____________________________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>Restituisci il libro a lui.</B> _____________________________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>Do la macchina a Paolo.</B> _____________________________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>Mandate i regali ai noi.</B> _____________________________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>Mio padre porta i documenti a voi.</B> _____________________________________________</p></li> </ul>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/past-tenses-the-passato-prossimo-the-imperfect-and-the-trapassato-prossimo/the-passato-prossimo-withavere-and-essere.htm" title="The Passato Prossimo withAvere and Essere">The Passato Prossimo withAvere and Essere</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/past-tenses-the-passato-prossimo-the-imperfect-and-the-trapassato-prossimo/the-imperfect.htm" title="The Imperfect">The Imperfect</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/past-tenses-the-passato-prossimo-the-imperfect-and-the-trapassato-prossimo/the-passato-prossimo-and-special-constructions.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> The Passato Prossimo 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