{"id":16442,"date":"2018-06-12T10:46:50","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T08:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=16442"},"modified":"2018-06-25T09:17:34","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T07:17:34","slug":"using-the-passato-prossimo-in-italian-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/using-the-passato-prossimo-in-italian-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Using The Passato Prossimo In Italian – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Il passato prossimo<\/strong>, known as the present perfect in English, is not a particularly complex construction. The key lies in knowing which auxiliary verb to use: essere<\/strong> or avere<\/strong>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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 use, I’m going to give you a set of practical tools that will help you to construct the passato prossimo<\/strong> with confidence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lo scorso maggio siamo andati a Monzone.<\/strong> Last May we went to Monzone. Photo by Geoff.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Auxiliary Verbs<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We build the passato prossimo<\/strong> using the past participle preceded by the auxiliary verbs essere<\/strong> <\/span>(to be) or avere<\/strong> <\/span>(to have).\u00a0 You’ll need to be familiar with their present tense conjugations, so here they are:<\/p>\n

essere<\/strong><\/span> = to be<\/span><\/p>\n

io sono<\/strong> = I am
\ntu sei<\/strong> = you are
\nlui\/le \u00e8<\/strong> = he\/she\/it is
\nnoi siamo<\/strong> = we are
\nvoi siete<\/strong> = you (plural<\/em>) are
\nloro sono<\/strong> = they are<\/p>\n

Remember:<\/span> when using the auxiliary essere<\/strong><\/span> to construct the passato prossimo<\/strong>, you must modify the past participle according to number and gender (see examples below<\/em>).<\/p>\n

avere = to have<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

io ho<\/strong> = I have
\ntu hai<\/strong> = you have
\nlui\/lei ha<\/strong> = he\/she\/it has
\nnoi abbiamo<\/strong> = we have
\nvoi avete<\/strong> = you (plural<\/em>) have
\nloro hanno<\/strong> = they have<\/p>\n

Remember:<\/span> when using the auxiliary avere<\/strong><\/span> to construct the passato prossimo<\/strong>, the past participle doesn’t change (see examples below<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Verb List<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Now here’s a list of some of the most frequently used Italian verbs, their past participles (in italics) and their related auxiliary verbs (in brackets). As I’ve colour coded the auxiliaries, you can easily see that the majority of the verbs in this list use avere<\/span> <\/strong>in the passato prossimo<\/strong>. The good news, therefore, is that you only have to memorise a handful of common verbs that use essere<\/span><\/strong>.
\nN.B. this list does not contain reflexive verbs, which will be dealt with separately. You’ll also see that a small number of verbs use either essere<\/strong> <\/span>or avere<\/strong><\/span>.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

A<\/span><\/strong>
\nabitare<\/strong> – abitato<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)
\naccendere<\/strong> – acceso<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)
\nandare<\/strong> – andato<\/strong> <\/em>(essere<\/strong><\/span>)
\naprire<\/strong> – aperto<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)
\narrivare<\/strong> – arrivato<\/strong> <\/em>(essere<\/strong><\/span>)
\nascoltare<\/strong> – ascoltato<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)
\naspettare<\/strong> – aspettato<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)
\navere<\/strong> – avuto<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)<\/p>\n

B<\/span><\/strong>
\nbere<\/strong> – bevuto<\/strong> <\/em>(avere<\/strong><\/span>)<\/p>\n

C<\/span><\/strong>
\ncamminare – camminato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ncapire – capito<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ncenare – cenato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ncercare – cercato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nchiamare – chiamato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nchiedere – chiesto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nchiudere – chiuso<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ncominciare – cominciato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ncorrere – corso<\/em> (avere<\/span>\/essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

D<\/strong><\/span>
\ndare – dato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ndimenticare – dimenticato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ndire – detto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ndomandare – domandato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ndormire – dormito<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

E<\/strong><\/span>
\nentrare – entrato<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nessere – stato<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

F<\/strong><\/span>
\nfare – fatto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nfinire – finito<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

G<\/strong><\/span>
\ngiocare – giocato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nguardare – guardato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I<\/strong><\/span>
\nimparare – imparato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

L<\/strong><\/span>
\nlasciare – lasciato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nlavare – lavato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nlavorare – lavorato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nleggere – letto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

M<\/strong><\/span>
\nmangiare – mangiato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nmettere – messo<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nmorire – morto<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

N<\/strong><\/span>
\nnascere – nato<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

P<\/strong><\/span>
\nparlare – parlato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\npartire – partito<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\npiacere – piaciuto<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\npiovere – piovuto<\/em> (avere<\/span>\/essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nportare – portato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\npranzare – pranzato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nprendere – preso<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

R<\/strong><\/span>
\nricordare – ricordato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nridere – riso<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nrimanere – rimasto<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nrispondere – risposto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

S<\/strong><\/span>
\nsalire – salito<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nsapere – saputo<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nscendere – sceso<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nscrivere – scritto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nspegnere – spento<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nsperare – sperato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nstare – stato<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nstudiare – studiato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nsuonare – suonato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

T<\/strong><\/span>
\ntornare – tornato<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\ntrovare – trovato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

U<\/strong><\/span>
\nusare – usato<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nuscire – uscito<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

V<\/strong><\/span>
\nvedere – visto<\/em> (avere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nvenire – venuto<\/em> (essere<\/span>)<\/strong>
\nvivere – vissuto<\/em> (avere<\/span>\/essere<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

N.B.<\/span> Not included in the above list are the three modal verbs:<\/em>
\ndovere – dovuto<\/em>
\npotere – potuto<\/em>
\nvolere – voluto<\/em>
\n<\/strong>These are a special case, and have been dealt with here: Understanding Italian Modal Verbs<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Reflexive Verbs<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflexive verbs always use the auxiliary essere<\/span> <\/strong>in the passato prossimo<\/strong>. Here are a few frequently used reflexives with their past participles:<\/p>\n

abituarsi – abituato<\/em>
\naddormentarsi – addormentato<\/em>
\nalzarsi – alzato<\/em><\/strong>
\nannoiarsi – annoiato<\/em>
\ncambiarsi – cambiato<\/em>
\ndivertirsi – divertito<\/em>
\nfarsi (qualcosa) – fatto<\/em>
\n<\/strong>lamentarsi – lamentato<\/em><\/strong>
\nlavarsi – lavato<\/em>
\n<\/strong>occuparsi (di qualcosa) – occupato<\/em>
\npreoccuparsi – preoccupato<\/em>
\nprepararsi –\u00a0 preparato<\/em><\/strong>
\nsvegliarsi – svegliato<\/em><\/strong>
\nvestirsi – vestito<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember<\/span>: when using the auxiliary essere<\/strong> <\/span>you must modify the past participle according to number and gender (see examples below<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Now let’s construct some sentences in the <\/span>passato prossimo<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Our first sentence is: ‘The dog has eaten all the biscuits!’<\/em>
\nFrom the list above we find the verb mangiare<\/strong> (to eat). Now we find the past participle, mangiato<\/strong><\/em>, and in brackets, the relevant auxiliary verb, which for mangiare<\/strong> is avere<\/strong><\/span>.
\nHence our Italian sentence is: ‘Il cane ha<\/span> mangiato<\/em> tutti i biscotti!’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s try another one: ‘Geoff was born in England’<\/em>
\nWe find the verb nascere<\/strong> (to be born) and its past participle nato<\/strong><\/em>. The list tells us that the auxiliary verb for nascere<\/strong> is essere<\/strong><\/span>. Remember that when we use the auxiliary essere<\/strong>, we have to modify the past participle according to number and gender. The third person singular masculine form of the past participle for nascere<\/strong> is nato<\/strong><\/em>.
\nHence our Italian sentence is: ‘Geoff \u00e8<\/span> nato<\/em> in Inghilterra’.
\n<\/strong>If we wanted to say ‘Serena was born in Libya’<\/em> we would need to use the third person singular feminine form of the past participle nata<\/strong><\/em>, hence: ‘Serena \u00e8<\/span> nata<\/em> in Libia’.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are another couple of examples:<\/p>\n

‘We left the car at the station’<\/em>. We find the verb lasciare<\/strong> (to leave), and its past participle lasciato<\/strong><\/em>, and see that the auxiliary is avere<\/strong><\/span>.
\nThis gives us: ‘Abbiamo<\/span> lasciato<\/em> la macchina alla stazione’<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

‘Paolo and Laura entered the room’<\/em>. Here we need entrare<\/strong> (to enter) and its past participle entrato<\/strong><\/em>. This time the auxiliary is essere<\/strong><\/span>, so we need to use the third person plural form of the past participle entrati<\/strong><\/em>.
\nThis gives us ‘Paolo e Laura sono<\/span> entrati<\/em> nella stanza’<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now for an example using a reflexive verb. We’re going to construct the sentence ‘I woke up early this morning’<\/em>, so we need svegliarsi<\/strong> (to wake up), and its third person singular masculine past participle svegliato<\/strong><\/em>. This gives us: mi sono <\/span>svegliato<\/em> presto stamattina<\/strong>. If we wanted to say ‘Serena woke up early’<\/em> we’d use the third person singular feminine past participle svegliata<\/strong><\/em>, hence: Serena si \u00e8 <\/span>svegliata<\/em> presto<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can apply the same rule to any reflexive verb. e.g.: ‘Paolo really enjoyed himself’<\/em> – verb = divertirsi<\/strong> – third person singular masculine past participle = divertito<\/strong><\/em>, hence Paolo si \u00e8<\/span> divertito<\/em> molto<\/strong>. And so on …….<\/p>\n

In my next post we’ll have a go at an exercise based on the passato prossimo so that we can identify any difficulties that you’re experiencing. A presto!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

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…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":16474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[292246,58910,839],"class_list":["post-16442","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-essere-or-avere","tag-italian-present-perfect","tag-passato-prossimo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t