Italian 104 · Lesson 34
Passato Prossimo
Talk about a completed event with two-part past forms.
Begin ↓01 / 08
A completed action
Ho mangiato.
I ate / I have eaten.
The passato prossimo often describes completed events, including yesterday or a recent experience. Start with avere plus a past participle.
02 / 08
Make a common participle
Ho parlato con Giulia.
I spoke with Giulia.
Ho ricevuto un messaggio.
I received a message.
Ho dormito bene.
I slept well.
Regular -are verbs change to -ato; many -ere verbs to -uto; regular -ire verbs to -ito. Many frequent verbs are irregular, so learn those as chunks.
03 / 08
Two very useful irregulars
Ho visto Marco.
I saw Marco.
Ho fatto la spesa.
I did the shopping.
Vedere gives visto; fare gives fatto. Do not build these by guessing from the regular pattern.
04 / 08
Change the helper
Hai mangiato?
Have you eaten?
Abbiamo mangiato insieme.
We ate together.
With avere, the helper changes for the person, while these participles stay the same in the simple examples here.
05 / 08
Some verbs use essere
Sono andato a Roma. / Sono andata a Roma.
I went to Rome. (man / woman)
Sono arrivato. / Sono arrivata.
I arrived. (man / woman)
Andare and arrivare use essere. With essere, the participle agrees with the subject.
06 / 08
Keep both parts
Ieri ho lavorato.
Yesterday I worked.
Ieri sono andata in centro.
Yesterday I went into town. (woman)
A common beginner mistake is leaving out ho or sono. Mangiato alone is not a complete normal past-tense sentence.
07 / 08
Ask about the day
Che cosa hai fatto oggi?
What did you do today?
Ho lavorato e poi ho visto un amico.
I worked and then saw a friend.
The same form can translate English did or have done. Context supplies the time relationship.
Remember this
Takeaway
Ho mangiato. Ho visto. Ho fatto. Sono andato / andata.
I ate. I saw. I did. I went.
Use a present form of avere or essere plus a past participle. Learn each frequent past phrase with its helper.