NOTES
(by DuoItalian)
The Italian Past Perfect (trapassato prossimo) is used for an action which had finished before another action took place in the past. It is formed with the combination of the following:
Imperfect Tense of Avere or Essere
+
Past Participle of the Conjugated Verb
For example in the sentence “The car was sliding because it had snowed,” you would identify which action happened first. In this case it is “it had snowed” making this the verb to be conjugated in the trapassato prossimo.
You would first conjugate avere in the imperfect tense and then follow it with nevicato (the past participle for nevicare). The result would look like this:
- La macchina sbandava perché aveva nevicato.
Additional examples are given below to hopefully provide a better understanding of this somewhat complicated verb tense.
- Prima di venire in Italia avevi già studiato l’italiano? (Had you already studied Italian before you came to Italy?)
- Quando arrivai in stazione, il treno era già partito. (When I arrived at the station the train had already left.)
- Avevo chiuso le finestre quando è cominciato a piovere. (I had shut the windows when it started to rain.)
Another use of the trapassato prossimo is to express actions which have taken place some time ago and ended.
- Ero stato a casa tutto il fine settimana. (I had been at home the whole weekend.)
- Marco aveva letto il giornale. (Marco had read the newspaper.)
- Luigi e Simona avevano già visto il film. (Luigi and Simona had already seen the film.)
To refresh your memory, the imperfect tense of both avere and essere are as follows:
AVERE | ESSERE | |
io | avevo | ero |
tu | avevi | eri |
lui,lei | aveva | era |
noi | aveviamo | eriamo |
voi | avevate | erate |
loro | avevano | erano |
The past perfect follows the same rules in regard to avere and essere as the present perfect.
→ Click here for a brief explanation: AVERE or ESSERE?
VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
avevamo guardato | we had watched |
aveva scritto | he had written |
avevo aperto | I had opened |
aveva fatto | he had made |
erano arrivati | they had arrived |
ero detto | I was told |
era andato | he had gone |
ero stato | I had been |
erano usciti | they had exited |
avevi dato | you had given |
avevano conosciuto | they had known (someone) |
aveva saputo | he had known (something) |
avevamo lavorato | we had worked |
erano rimasti | they had remained |
avevo visto | I had seen |
avevano voluto | they had wanted |
eravamo venuti | we had come |
aveva trovato | he had found |
avevamo pensato | we had thought |
avevo parlato | I had spoken |
avevi messo | you had put |
aveva preso | he had put |
avevamo portato | we had brought |
avete chiesto | you (all) had asked |
avevo creduto | I had believed |
avevano lasciato | they had left |
aveva sentito | he had heard |
avevo tenuto | I had kept |
erano diventati | they had become |
avevo capito | I had understood |
erano passati | they had passed |
era entrata | she had entered |
aveva vissuto | he had lived |
eravamo ricordati | we had remembered |
avevi usato | you had used |
avevo chiamato | I had called |
erano morti | they had died |
mi era piaciuto | I had liked |
avevano seguito | they had followed |
avevamo aspettato | we had waited |
When translating “When I arrived at the statio, the train had already been left.”, wouldn’t it be “Quando arrivevo…” in Italian?
I’m not sure about the exact form of the verb, but I reckon it would end in -o rather than -i, if talking in first person singular.