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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 withAvere and Essere by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

The first component of the passato prossimo is the auxiliary verb (avere or essere). Can you recall their present indicative tense conjugations?

Exercise 11-1: Present Tense ofAvere and Essere

Conjugate avere and essere in the present tense for each subject provided below.

1. io _____________________________	io _____________________________
2. tu _____________________________	tu _____________________________
3. lui/lei/Lei _____________________________	lui/lei/Lei _____________________________
4. noi _____________________________	noi _____________________________
5. voi _____________________________	voi _____________________________
6. loro/Loro _____________________________	loro/Loro _____________________________

The second component of the passato prossimo conjugations is the past participle. In Italian the past participle is formed by replacing the -are, -ere, or -ire of the infinitive with -ato, -uto, or -ito, respectively.

Table 11-1

Past Participles

Infinitve	Past Participle
mangiare	mangiato
vedere	veduto
partire	partito

Avere or Essere?</h2> For most Italian verbs — and for all transitive verbs (verbs that can take a direct object) — the passato prossimo is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb avere plus the past participle of the main verb. For example, “I have eaten” is Ho mangiato; “We have slept” is Abbiamo dormito. The present tense of the auxiliary verb essere is used with most intransitive verbs, usually verbs of motion and verbs that cannot take a direct object. When the auxiliary verb essere is used, the last letter of the past participle must agree in number and in gender with the subject of the verb. For example, “We have gone” is Siamo andati; “Marie has arrived” is Maria è arrivata.The following is a list of common verbs conjugated with essere in the past tense. Note that most of them are verbs that express coming or going. Table 11-2 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Italian</td> <td>English</td> </tr> <tr> <td>andare</td> <td>to go</td> </tr> <tr> <td>arrivare</td> <td>to arrive</td> </tr> <tr> <td>cadere</td> <td>to fall</td> </tr> <tr> <td>diventare</td> <td>to become</td> </tr> <tr> <td>entrare</td> <td>to enter</td> </tr> <tr> <td>essere</td> <td>to be</td> </tr> <tr> <td>morire</td> <td>to die</td> </tr> <tr> <td>nascere</td> <td>to be born</td> </tr> <tr> <td>partire</td> <td>to leave</td> </tr> <tr> <td>restare</td> <td>to remain</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ritornare</td> <td>to return</td> </tr> <tr> <td>salire</td> <td>to go up/to climb</td> </tr> <tr> <td>scendere</td> <td>to come down/to descend</td> </tr> <tr> <td>stare</td> <td>to be/to stay</td> </tr> <tr> <td>uscire</td> <td>to go out</td> </tr> <tr> <td>venire</td> <td>to come</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> The examples below illustrate the passato prossimo with the auxiliary verbs avere and essere. <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Noi abbiamo letto il libro.</td> <td>We read the book.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Loro sono andati al supermercato.</td> <td>They went to the supermarket.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maria ha guardato il film.</td> <td>Maria watched the movie.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Laura e Anna sono arrivate in ritardo.</td> <td>Laura and Anna arrived late.</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> Table 11-3 From Present to Past <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Present Tense</td> <td>Past Tense</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maria va a casa.</td> <td>Maria è andata a casa.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bevo il caffè.</td> <td>Ho bevuto il caffè.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Loro dicono la verità.</td> <td>Loro hanno detto la verità.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lei legge molti libri.</td> <td>Lei ha letto molti libri.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maria e Marco partono alle otto.</td> <td>Maria e Marco sono partiti alle otto.</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> There are many irregular past participles, especially with second-conjugation (-ere) verbs. Table 11-4 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Infinitive</td> <td>Irregular Past Participle</td> </tr> <tr> <td>accendere</td> <td>acceso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>aprire</td> <td>aperto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>bere</td> <td>bevuto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>chiedere</td> <td>chiesto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>chiudere</td> <td>chiuso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>conoscere</td> <td>conosciuto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>cuocere</td> <td>cotto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>dire</td> <td>detto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>essere</td> <td>stato</td> </tr> <tr> <td>fare</td> <td>fatto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>leggere</td> <td>letto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>mettere</td> <td>messo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>morire</td> <td>morto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>nascere</td> <td>nato</td> </tr> <tr> <td>offrire</td> <td>offerto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>perdere</td> <td>perduto or perso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>prendere</td> <td>preso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>rendere</td> <td>reso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>rispondere</td> <td>risposto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>scegliere</td> <td>scelto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>scendere</td> <td>sceso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>scrivere</td> <td>scritto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>spendere</td> <td>speso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>vedere</td> <td>veduto or visto</td> </tr> <tr> <td>vincere</td> <td>vinto</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 11-2</h2> Provide the past participle of the infinitive. <emphasis role="Bolditalic">Infinitive</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">Past Participle</emphasis> prendere mangiare andare scendere dire The passato prossimo + per is used to indicate the duration of an action that was started and completed in the past. Ho studiato per due ore = I studied for two hours. <h2>Common Adverbial Expressions of Time in the Past</h2> The following expressions of time will prove very useful when talking about events in the past. Table 11-5 Adverbial Expressions <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Italian</td> <td>English</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ieri</td> <td>yesterday</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ieri pomeriggio</td> <td>yesterday afternoon</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ieri sera</td> <td>last night</td> </tr> <tr> <td>il mese scorso</td> <td>last month</td> </tr> <tr> <td>l'altro giorno</td> <td>the other day</td> </tr> <tr> <td>l'altro ieri</td> <td>the day before yesterday</td> </tr> <tr> <td>la notte scorsa</td> <td>last night</td> </tr> <tr> <td>la settimana scorsa</td> <td>last week</td> </tr> <tr> <td>martedù scorso</td> <td>last Tuesday</td> </tr> <tr> <td>non … ancora</td> <td>not yet</td> </tr> <tr> <td>non … mai</td> <td>never</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Negative Statements in the Past</h2> The negative word non is placed immediately before the conjugated verb and its pronoun to make a sentence negative. Table 11-6 Negative Sentences <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Affirmative</td> <td>Negative</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Matteo ed Elena sono andati in Italia l'anno scorso.</td> <td>Matteo ed Elena non sono andati in Italia l'anno scorso.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Gli ho partato.</td> <td>Non gli ho mai parlato.</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> When used in an affirmative question, the adverb mai means “ever.” Hai mai mangiato il fegato? means “Have you ever eaten liver?” No, non l'ho mai mangiato. translates to “No, I have never eaten it.”  <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/" title="Past Tenses: The Passato Prossimo, the Imperfect, and the Trapassato Prossimo">Past Tenses: The Passato Prossimo, the Imperfect, and the Trapassato Prossimo</a></li><li 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