Tag Archives: passato prossimo
Using The Passato Prossimo In Italian – Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jun 12, 2018
Il passato prossimo, known as the present perfect in English, is not a particularly complex construction. The key lies in knowing which auxiliary verb to use: essere or avere. In today’s article, rather than talking about the often confusing topic of transitive and intransitive verbs and how they affect the choice of which auxiliary to…
A Not So Perfect Witness Posted by Serena on May 4, 2018
This, the third chapter of my detective story, takes the form of a quiz based on the passato prossimo. If you haven’t read the previous chapters you can find them here: Chapter 1. The Strange Case Of The Irregular Body Chapter 2. An Extremely Subjunctive Investigation Since he retired from the Royal Navy many many…
To Be or to Have? Posted by Serena on Feb 7, 2014
If you’re learning Italian, knowing when to use essere or avere when talking about the past in the present perfect (Passato prossimo) is always a challenge. Should I say “Giovanni è vissuto in Inghilterra dal 2002 al 2007” or “Giovanni ha vissuto in Inghilterra dal 2002 al 2007”? I remember once, when I was teaching…
The Fall of my Guardian Angel Posted by Serena on Sep 27, 2013
In this little story from my childhood I’ve mainly used two verb tenses: imperfetto, which I’ve marked in purple, and passato prossimo, which is in red. Quando ero bambina in casa avevamo una statuina in ceramica di un angelo, che mia madre diceva essere il nostro angelo custode: era alta circa 10 cm, aveva la…
Grammar Quiz: Trapassato Prossimo e Passato Prossimo – the solutions Posted by Geoff on Oct 19, 2012
Here are the solutions to our quiz about the use of the Trapassato Prossimo and the Passato Prossimo as explained in our recent blogs Trapassato Prossimo e Passato Prossimo and e finì tutto a tarallucci e vino I asked you to complete the following sentences using either the trapassato prossimo or the passato prossimo. Let’s…
Grammar Quiz: Trapassato Prossimo e Passato Prossimo Posted by Geoff on Oct 17, 2012
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…
e finì tutto a tarallucci e vino Posted by Serena on Oct 16, 2012
In our previous blog we wrote about il Trapassato Prossimo and il Passato . Here’s a little story recounting an event that happened a few days ago. I have highlighted il Trapassato Prossimo in blue, and il Passato Prossimo in red. Sabato mattina dovevamo andare giù a Pontremoli a fare un po’ di spesa, e…