NOTES
(by DuoItalian)

The Italian passato prossimo (present perfect) is used to express a completed action that has happened in the past, but with some relation to the present. It is actually formed by combining two verbs.

  • Ho mangiato una fragola per colazione. (I ate a strawberry for breakfast.)
  • Sono andato al cinema per vedere un film. (I went to the cinema to see a movie.)

AUXILLARY
The present tense of one of the two auxiliary verbs avere or essere.

→ Click here for a brief explanation: AVERE or ESSERE?

PAST PARTICIPLE
The participio passato (past participle) expresses the meaning and is formed by changing the ending of an infinitive verb (-are, -ere, or -ire) as follows:

  1. Infinitive verbs ending in -are become  –ato (lavorare → lavor-ato)
  2. Infinitive verbs ending in -ere become –uto (sapere → sap-uto)
  3. Infinitive verbs ending in -ire become –ito (finire → fin-ito)

There are however some verbs that have a past participle which is completely irregular. Listed below are some of the more important ones to remember.

aprireto openaperto
bereto drinkbevuto
chiedereto askchiesto
chiudereto closechiuso
correreto runcorso
decidereto decidedeciso
direto saydetto
essereto bestato
fareto dofatto
leggereto readletto
mettereto putmesso
morireto diemorto
nascereto be bornnato
piangereto crypianto
prendereto takepreso
ridereto laughriso
rimanereto remainrimasto
rispondereto answerrisposto
rompereto breakrotto
scegliareto choosescelto
scrivereto writescritto
sorridereto smilesorriso
stareto staystato
succedereto happensuccesso
vedereto seevisto
venireto comevenuto
vincereto winvinto
vivereto livevissuto

TIP: Keep in mind, the past participle is a “verbal adjective” and is subject to various rules.

  • Verbs conjugated with a third person direct object clitic (lo, la, l’, li, le) must match in gender and number.
  • If the auxiliary verbs is essere, it must match the gender and number of the subject.
  • In all other cases, the masculine singular form must be used.

VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
avutohad
ho fattoI have done
siamo venutiwe have come
hanno bevutithey have drank
hai dettoyou have told
siamo conosciutiwe have met
sono andatithey went
ho volutowanted
ha presohas taken
sono arrivatithey have arrived
ha datohe has given
ha portatashe has brought
ha messohe has put
ha pensatashe has thought
ho lasciatoI have left
siamo diventatewe have become
ho sentitoI have heard
ho credutoI have believed
ha tenutashe has kept
ho capitoI have understood
ha chiestohe has asked
è rimastohe has stayed
hanno lavoratithey have worked
abbiamo vissutiwe have lived
è passatoit has passed
sono apertithey are open
hai seguitoyou have followed
è mortohe has died
ho aspettatoI have waited
hanno guardatithey have watched
ho chiamatoI have called
siamo piaciutiwe have liked
ha vintohe has won
ho persoI have lost
ho iniziatoI have started
ho ricevutoI have received
ho decisoI have decided
ha scrittashe had written
ho tentatoI have tried
ha insistitohe has insisted
siamo incontratiwe have met
ha prodottoit has produced
è cambiatoit has changed
abbiamo cominciatiwe have started
ho pagatoI have paid

 

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