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Grammar Quiz: Trapassato Prossimo e Passato Prossimo Posted by on Oct 17, 2012 in Grammar

Here’s a quiz to help you check your knowledge of the use of the Trapassato Prossimo and the Passato Prossimo. If you haven’t already done so you should read our recent blogs Trapassato Prossimo e Passato Prossimo and e finì tutto a tarallucci e vino

Complete the following sentences using either the trapassato prossimo or the passato prossimo.  Each sentence contains (in brackets) the English translation of the missing words, and the infinitive of the Italian verb which you should use. I’ve completed the first one as an example.

 

1. Quella sera (she had gone – andare) a letto presto – Solution:  Quella sera era andata a letto presto

2. Ieri sera (I went – andare) a letto presto

3. Non l’ (I had heard – sentire) arrivare perché dormivo

4. Non l’ (I heard – sentire) arrivare perché dormivo

5. (We had decided – decidere) di partire presto

6. (We decided – decidere) di partire presto

7. (They had got married – sposarsi) molto giovani

8. (They got married – sposarsi) molto giovani

9. Il giorno prima (it had rained – piovere) tanto

10. Il giorno prima (it rained – piovere) tanto

 

Now continue with the sentences below, which contain both the trapassato prossimo and the passato prossimo:

 

11. Quando (we got – tornare) a casa (we discovered – scoprire) che il gatto (had eaten – mangiare) la torta

12. La finestra (had been left – lasciare) aperta facilitando l’ingresso ai ladri

13. Luisa mi (told – dire) che non (had never been – essere) a Londra in vita sua

14. (It had been – essere) una giornata molto stancante perciò (we took – prendere) il taxi per tornare a casa

15. Paolo mi (told – raccontare) che quando era bambino suo padre (had emigrated – emigrare) in America con la famiglia

16. (I’ve found out – sapere) che la strada (had already been damaged – danneggiare) dall’alluvione di due anni fa

17. La ditta (had lost – perdere) troppi soldi e quindi (it failed – fallire). Alcuni impiegati ci (had worked – lavorare) per più di vent’anni

18. Il gatto (came back – tornare) a casa affamato e dimagrito perché (it had been left – rimanere) rinchiuso nel garage per tre giorni

19. I due ragazzi (had been missing – scomparire) da due giorni quando (they were found – ritrovare) dai carabinieri

20. (We had just started – cominciare) a mangiare quando Luisa (phoned – telefonare)

 

Have fun. I’ll publish the answers on Friday.

You can read the solutions in HERE

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Comments:

  1. Reply

    Gary:

    Thanks for the quiz. It’s a great way to practice this topic. My question relates to the use of ‘che’ in #13. Since the subject of both clauses is the same (Luisa), wouldn’t ‘di + infinitive’ be used instead of ‘che + conjugated verb’?

    So instead of
    13. Luisa mi (told – dire) che non (had never been – essere) a Londra in vita sua
    I would have said
    Luisa mi (told – dire) di non essere mai stata a Londra in vita sua.

    • Reply

      Serena:

      @Gary Salve Gary, grazie per i complimenti.
      Your question about n.13: Since the subject of both clauses is the same (Luisa), wouldn’t ‘di + infinitive’ be used instead of ‘che + conjugated verb’? So instead of
      13. Luisa mi (told – dire) che non (had never been – essere) a Londra in vita sua
      I would have said
      Luisa mi (told – dire) di non essere mai stata a Londra in vita sua.

      Yes, you are right, however:
      1. the use of che + conjugated verb is very common in colloquial Italian
      2. the infinitive has got only two tenses, present and past, therefore it’s not possible to express different degrees of past with the infinitive, i.e. “Luisa mi ha detto di non essere mai stata a Londra in vita sua”, means “Luisa told me she’s never been to London …”. If I want to say “Luisa told me she had never been to London” I have to use a more explicit form: “Luisa mi ha detto che non era mai stata a Londra”

      Spero di essere stata chiara

      Saluti da Serena

  2. Reply

    Josephine Fucile:

    Thank you very much for this type of quiz. They are very good for practice and I really enjoy doing them.
    Thamks and saluti.

  3. Reply

    Bahia Philpot:

    Posted by Geoff on Oct 17, 2012 in Grammar

    Hi Serena/Geoff

    Do you have the answers for the above exercise please?

    Grazie.

    Bahia

  4. Reply

    Christine:

    Dear Geoff,/Serena,
    I just discovered this quiz online and also subscribe to your blogs. I am wondering if you have more quizzes available, especially for trapassato, imperfetto. These are extremely helpful. I would be grateful for a response.

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