The Italian Past Perfect, known as “Trapassato Prossimo,” is a compound tense used to express actions that occurred before another past action or a specific point in the past. It is often used to convey a sense of completed events that took place before a more recent past event. In English, this tense is equivalent to the Past Perfect tense, which is formed by using the auxiliary verb “had” followed by the past participle of the main verb. Similarly, in Italian, the Trapassato Prossimo is formed using the auxiliary verb “essere” (to be) or “avere” (to have), combined with the past participle of the main verb.
Conjugation of the Italian Past Perfect (Trapassato Prossimo) Tense
To conjugate verbs in the Past Perfect tense, we need to consider two factors: the auxiliary verb and the past participle. The choice of the auxiliary verb (either “essere” or “avere”) depends on the main verb being transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs take “avere” as the auxiliary verb, while intransitive verbs take “essere.”
Let’s break down the conjugation of the Past Perfect tense for each category of verbs, using both “avere” and “essere” as auxiliary verbs.
Conjugation with “avere” as the auxiliary verb:
When “avere” is used as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the direct object, if present.
Example sentence: I had eaten.
Io avevo mangiato.
Singular:
Io avevo (I had)
Tu avevi (You had)
Lui/lei aveva (He/she had)
Plural:
Noi avevamo (We had)
Voi avevate (You had)
Loro avevano (They had)
Conjugation with “essere” as the auxiliary verb:
When “essere” is used as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
Example sentence: I had gone.
Io ero andato/a.
Singular:
Io ero (I had)
Tu eri (You had)
Lui/lei era (He/she had)
Plural:
Noi eravamo (We had)
Voi eravate (You had)
Loro erano (They had)
Categories of Verbs in the Italian Past Perfect Tense
In Italian, verbs are categorized into three groups based on their endings and how they are conjugated in the present tense: -are verbs, -ere verbs, and -ire verbs. The conjugation of verbs in the Past Perfect tense follows a similar pattern for all three categories.
-are verbs:
To conjugate -are verbs in the Past Perfect tense, we remove the -are ending and add -ato for the masculine form or -ata for the feminine form.
Example sentence: I had talked.
Io avevo parlato.
Singular:
Io avevo parlato (I had talked)
Tu avevi parlato (You had talked)
Lui/lei aveva parlato (He/she had talked)
Plural:
Noi avevamo parlato (We had talked)
Voi avevate parlato (You had talked)
Loro avevano parlato (They had talked)
-ere verbs:
To conjugate -ere verbs in the Past Perfect tense, we remove the -ere ending and add -uto for the masculine form or -uta for the feminine form.
Example sentence: I had read.
Io avevo letto.
Singular:
Io avevo letto (I had read)
Tu avevi letto (You had read)
Lui/lei aveva letto (He/she had read)
Plural:
Noi avevamo letto (We had read)
Voi avevate letto (You had read)
Loro avevano letto (They had read)
-ire verbs:
To conjugate -ire verbs in the Past Perfect tense, we remove the -ire ending and add -ito for the masculine form or -ita for the feminine form.
Example sentence: I had written.
Io avevo scritto.
Singular:
Io avevo scritto (I had written)
Tu avevi scritto (You had written)
Lui/lei aveva scritto (He/she had written)
Plural:
Noi avevamo scritto (We had written)
Voi avevate scritto (You had written)
Loro avevano scritto (They had written)
It’s important to note that there are irregular past participles in Italian, and they must be memorized as they don’t follow a consistent pattern. Some commonly used irregular past participles include “avuto” (had), “fatto” (done), “detto” (said), and “visto” (seen).
Example Sentences in the Italian Past Perfect (Trapassato Prossimo) Tense:
Transitive verb with “avere” as the auxiliary verb:
I had seen the movie.
Io avevo visto il film.
She had read the book.
Lei aveva letto il libro.
Intransitive verb with “essere” as the auxiliary verb:
We had arrived late.
Noi eravamo arrivati in ritardo.
They had left early.
Loro erano partiti presto.
-are verb:
He had sung a beautiful song.
Lui aveva cantato una bella canzone.
We had talked for hours.
Noi avevamo parlato per ore.
-ere verb:
She had written a letter.
Lei aveva scritto una lettera.
They had chosen a different path.
Loro avevano scelto una strada diversa.
-ire verb:
I had opened the door.
Io avevo aperto la porta.
You had received the gift.
Tu avevi ricevuto il regalo.
By using the Italian Past Perfect (Trapassato Prossimo) tense, you can describe past events that happened before another past action or a specific point in the past. Remember to choose the correct auxiliary verb (“avere” for transitive verbs and “essere” for intransitive verbs) and conjugate the past participle accordingly. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern, but irregular past participles should be memorized. With practice, you will become more comfortable and confident in using the Past Perfect tense in Italian.
Originally posted 2023-07-16 20:11:35.