Passato Prossimo in Italian (How To Use It)

What is the passato prossimo?

The passato prossimo is the main past tense in Italian. We use it to talk about actions and events that happened and finished in the past: Ieri ho mangiato una pizza (Yesterday I ate a pizza).

Passato prossimo vs. English tenses

The passato prossimo corresponds to both the simple past and the present perfect in English:

Common time expressions with the passato prossimo

How to form the passato prossimo

The passato prossimo has two parts:

• an auxiliary verb, avere or essere, in the present tense: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno / sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono
• the past participle of the main verb

To form a regular past participle, take the stem of the verb and add the right ending:

Most Italian verbs use avere. Only a smaller group uses essere. Let’s start with the more common pattern.

Passato prossimo with avere

With avere, the participle normally doesn’t change: Giulia ha parlato, i ragazzi hanno parlato.

Passato prossimo with essere

Some verbs use essere as the auxiliary. Most of them express movement from one place to another (andare, venire, partire), a change of state (nascere, diventare, morire) or staying (stare, restare, rimanere). Reflexive verbs also always take essere: mi sono svegliata.

Careful: not all verbs of movement take essere. Camminare, ballare, viaggiare and nuotare take avere: ho camminato.

Agreement of the past participle

With essere, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject, like an adjective:

For a mixed group of men and women, use the masculine plural: Marco e Giulia sono andati al mare.

Common verbs that take essere

A few verbs, like salire, scendere, cominciare, finire and passare, can take both auxiliaries depending on the sentence. Read more: Italian verbs with two auxiliaries and the verbs that take essere.

Irregular past participles

Some verbs, just like in English, have an irregular past participle. Many of the most common ones are -ere verbs. These are the ones you’ll use most:

Read more: irregular passato prossimo verbs and passato prossimo vs. imperfetto.

Exercise: avere or essere?

Complete with the passato prossimo of the verb in brackets.

1. Ieri sera io (mangiare) ______ una pizza buonissima.
2. Giulia (andare) ______ a Roma la settimana scorsa.
3. I ragazzi (arrivare) ______ in ritardo.
4. Che cosa (tu, fare) ______ nel weekend?
5. Stamattina mi (svegliarsi) ______ alle sei. (io, femminile)
6. Noi (leggere) ______ tutto il libro in due giorni.
7. Mia nonna (nascere) ______ in Sicilia.

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the passato prossimo in Italian?

Use the present tense of avere or essere plus the past participle of the verb: ho parlato (I spoke), sono andata (I went).

When do you use essere in the passato prossimo?

Most verbs of movement (andare, venire, partire), change of state (nascere, diventare, morire), staying (stare, rimanere) and all reflexive verbs take essere. With essere, the participle agrees with the subject.

What is the difference between passato prossimo and imperfetto?

The passato prossimo describes completed actions (Ieri ho visto un film), while the imperfetto describes habits, ongoing situations and descriptions in the past (Da bambino guardavo i cartoni).

Stories are told in the past, so reading is the best way to get the passato prossimo into your ear. Here are three of my stories, with audio:

Due Amiche e un Album di Fotografie
Level A1

Two friends, an old photo album and a trip through southern Italy.

Incontri in Sicilia
Level A2

Fiona travels to Sicily and meets the people who change her trip.

Mediterraneo
Level B1

Liam and Charlotte’s new life in Puglia turns into a mystery.