Passato prossimo: A complete guide to the Italian past tense

The passato prossimo is one of the most essential verb tenses in Italian. It describes actions and events that happened and were completed in the past. The passato prossimo is a compound tense, which means it’s built by combining an auxiliary verb (essere or avere) with the past participle of the main verb.

In this article, you’ll learn how and when to use the passato prossimo, how it differs from the imperfetto, and how to avoid common mistakes.

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What is the ‘passato prossimo’?

The passato prossimo is the most commonly used past tense in Italian, and it’s essential for talking about actions that happened and were completed in the past. In everyday Italian, this is the go-to tense for sharing stories, talking about what you did yesterday or describing life experiences.

This compound verb tense consists of two parts: an auxiliary verb (avere or essere) and the past participle of the main verb. 

In terms of how it’s constructed, the passato prossimo corresponds to the English present perfect (e.g. I have eaten). But in terms of its use and meaning, it’s closer to the simple past (e.g. I ate). 

Note: the Italian simple past is usually reserved for historical and literary writing, whereas everyday Italian uses the passato prossimo in most situations.

How to form the ‘passato prossimo’

Auxiliary verbs: ‘essere’ vs. ‘avere’

To form the passato prossimo, you need an auxiliary verb — either essere (to be) or avere (to have) — followed by the past participle of the main verb. Choosing the correct auxiliary verb is crucial, as it affects the meaning of the sentence and, in the case of essere, even the form of the past participle.

Avere is the auxiliary verb used for most verbs in the passato prossimo, whereas essere is reserved for three specific verb groups:

• Verbs indicating movement, such as andare (to go), venire (to come), partire (to leave) and arrivare (to arrive)
• Verbs indicating change of being, such as nascere (to be born), cambiare (to change), diventare (to become) and morire (to die)
• Reflexive verbs that describe actions done to oneself, such as svegliarsi (to wake up) and lavarsi (to wash oneself)

When using any form of essere as your auxiliary verb, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. For example:

• La ragazza è andata. (The girl went.) → Le ragazze sono andate. (The girls went.)

With avere, the past participle stays the same:

• La ragazza ha mangiato. (The girl ate.) → Le ragazze hanno mangiato. (The girls ate.)

Here’s a table of some common verbs that take essere in the passato prossimo:

Italian	English	Example
andare	to go	lui/lei è andato/a
venire	to come	lui/lei è venuto/a
arrivare	to arrive	lui/lei è arrivato/a
partire	to leave	lui/lei è partito/a
nascere	to be born	lui/lei è nato/a
morire	to die	lui/lei è morto/a
rimanere	to remain/to stay	lui/lei è rimasto/a
tornare	to return	lui/lei è tornato/a
diventare	to become	lui/lei è diventato/a
salire	to go out/to go up	lui/lei è salito/a
scendere	to go down	lui/lei è sceso/a

Conjugating the past participle

For regular verbs, forming the past participle is straightforward:

• Replace verbs ending in -are with -ato. Parlare (to speak) → parlato (spoken).
• Replace verbs ending in -ere with -uto. Credere (to believe) → creduto (believed).
• Replace verbs ending in -ire with -ito. Dormire (to sleep) → dormito (slept).

Irregular verbs must be memorized because their forms vary. Here are some examples:

Italian	English	Participle
fare	to do/to make	fatto
essere	to be	stato
avere	to have	avuto
dire	to say/to tell	detto
scrivere	to write	scritto
leggere	to read	letto
vedere	to see	visto
prendere	to take	preso
mettere	to put	messo
venire	to come	venuto

When to use the ‘passato prossimo’

The passato prossimo is used to describe actions completed in the past. Typically, these actions are confined to a specific moment or time frame. This verb tense is ideal for recounting events, actions or facts that have a clear beginning and end.

• Ho mangiato una pizza. (I ate a pizza.)
• Ieri ho studiato per tre ore. (Yesterday, I studied for three hours.)
• Sono uscito, ho incontrato un amico, e siamo andati al cinema. (I went out, met a friend, and we went to the cinema.)

Although the uses of the passato prossimo and the imperfetto might seem similar, these tenses serve different purposes. Unlike the passato prossimo, the imperfetto is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions that happened in an undefined duration of time. The following sentence uses both tenses, and it’s a good example to help clarify the distinction: 

• Mangiavo la pizza quando è arrivato il mio amico. (I was eating pizza when my friend arrived.)

In the example, mangiavo is the imperfetto verb and è arrivato is the passato prossimo verb. Notice how one verb represents continuous action, while the other represents a specific event with a defined beginning and end.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

When using the passato prossimo, a few common errors can trip learners up.

• One frequent mistake is mixing up essere and avere as auxiliary verbs. Remember, essere is used with verbs of movement, state and reflexive actions, while avere applies to most other verbs.
• Another common issue is forgetting that, with essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject (lei è andata →  loro sono arrivati). This agreement doesn’t apply when a form of avere is the auxiliary verb.
• Finally, be sure to use the correct past participle endings. Regular verbs follow clear patterns (parlato, creduto, dormito), but irregular verbs, like fatto (from fare) or scritto (from scrivere), require memorization.

Tips for practicing the ‘passato prossimo’

To master the passato prossimo, consistency and practice are key! You can start by forming sentences about your daily activities in the past, so you can get comfortable with using auxiliary verbs and past participles. 

Engaging with Italian conversation is simpler with Lingoda Italian courses or language exchange apps. And why not keep a daily journal in Italian? You can describe what you did during the day, or practice storytelling by writing about past events. Flashcards with irregular past participles and exercises focusing on essere vs. avere can also reinforce your understanding. 

The more you incorporate the tense into your routine, the more fluent you’ll become!

FAQs

Does the ‘passato prossimo’ change with gender?

Yes, sometimes. When using essere as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

What is the Italian ‘passato prossimo’ in English?

The Italian passato prossimo corresponds to both the present perfect (I have eaten) and the simple past (I ate) in English, depending on the context.

What are the endings of the ‘passato prossimo’?

Regular verbs end in -ato (for -are), -uto (for -ere) and -ito (for -ire). Irregular verbs have unique endings.

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‘Hai visto’ how easy the ‘passato prossimo’ can be?

The passato prossimo is a fundamental tense in Italian, essential for describing completed actions and events in the past. If you manage to use auxiliary verbs correctly, remember to match gender and number where necessary, and learn both regular and irregular past participles, you can be sure you’re on the right path! 

Remember to practice regularly, whether that means forming sentences about daily activities, journaling or engaging in conversations. And consider joining Lingoda to expand your knowledge. We offer small group classes that enable you to speak confidently from Day One, with flexible scheduling to fit your routine. With consistent effort, you’ll be using the passato prossimo like a native speaker in no time!

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