N.B. The verb 'essere' is also the auxiliary verb for itself; the past participle is "stato". Here is the full past tense :
I was/have been sono stato/a we were siamo stati/e
you were sei stato/a you were siete stati/e
he was è stato they were sono stati/e
she was è stata    

 

Notice how the past participle must change to match the gender and number of the subject.

The Perfect Tense — Il Passato Prossimo

  1. This is a compound tense — i.e. composed of two words — auxiliary verb and past participle.
  2. This tense corresponds to two different tenses in English:
The Simple Past: e.g. I visited Italy last year.
The Present Perfect: e.g. She has gone on holiday for a month.

N.B. This means that the English "I went" and "I have gone" are the same in Italian.

To make this tense you need the present tense of avere followed by the past participle of the verb you want.
You already know the present tense of avere, so you now need you learn how to make the past participle.
The table below explains how:

Present Infinitive
Past Participle
  parlare   parlato
  vedere   veduto
  finire   finito
So, to say in Italian "I have finished" you say Ho (I have) finito (finished); if you want to say "I finished" it is also Ho finito.
It is important that you understand that you can only make the past tense in Italian in two words — auxiliary verb and a past participle. Here is the full past tense of the verb vedere (to see) :
ho veduto I saw; I have seen abbiamo veduto we saw; we have seen
hai veduto you saw; you have seen avete veduto you saw; you have seen
ha veduto he/she saw; has seen hanno veduto they saw; they have seen
Note that the past participle does not change when the auxiliary verb is avere.

If you have learned French you will see that the system is exactly the same.

The vast majority of verbs make their past participle by following the pattern in the table above, but some do not follow the general rule; they are called strong verbs. You have to learn them as you meet them but listed below you will find some of the most common verbs. Learn them now!

infinitive
meaning
past participle
 aprire  to open    aperto
 bere  to drink    bevuto
 chiedere  to ask    chiesto
 chiudere  to close    chiuso
 dire  to say; to tell    detto
 fare  to make; to do    fatto
 leggere  to read    letto
 mettere  to put    messo
 prendere  to take    preso
 rispondere  to answer    risposto
 scegliere  to choose    scelto
 scoprire  to discover    scoperto
 scrivere  to write    scritto
 smettere  to stop    smesso
 vedere  to see    visto
 vincere  to win    vinto
 vivere  to live    vissuto

You will see that the verb vedere (to see) has two past participles: veduto and visto; choose whichever you like.

 

Verbs which require the verb essere as the auxiliary:

Intransitive verbs (usually verbs of motion) and all the reflexive verbs require essere as the auxiliary verb, not avere. This means that you use the present tense of essere and the past participle.

N.B. When essere is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees with the subject of the verb. 

For example: “The girls have left” = Le ragazze sono partite.
          “The boys arrived late” = I ragazzi sono arrivati in ritardo.
             “The children woke up early” = I bambini si sono svegliati presto.

Listed below are the commonest verbs which require essere as their auxiliary; learn them now be careful to learn the strong past participles.

Infinitive
Meaning
Past Participle
andare
  to go
andato
venire
  to come
venuto
partire
  to leave
partito
arrivare
  to arrive
arrivato
entrare
  to enter
entrato
uscire
  to go out
uscito
salire
 to get into
salito
scendere
 to get out of
sceso
nascere
 to be born
nato
morire
  to die
morto
tornare
  to return
tornato
cadere
  to fall
caduto
rimanere
  to remain
rimasto
succedere
  to happen
successo
essere
   to be
stato
diventare
  to become
diventato
This is a very important tense: you must be able to use it for both Standard Grade and Higher. Try the following exercises.

Exercise 1. Translate into English:

  1. Ho mangiato troppo.
  2. Non ho mai visitato Roma.
  3. Hai fatto i compiti?
  4. Dove hai passato le vacanze?
  5. Non ho fatto niente durante le vacanze.
  6. Ho letto un libro interessante la settimana scorsa.
  7. Hai visto quel film ieri sera?
  8. Mariella ha chiuso la porta quando ha lasciato la casa.
  9. La mamma ha comprato del pane al mercato.
  10. Cosa hai preso da mangiare oggi?

To check your answers click here.

Exercise 2. Translate into English:

  1. La famiglia è andata a Roma.
  2. Tutti sono arrivati in treno.
  3. La mia amica è partita ieri sera.
  4. L'uomo è salito in macchina.
  5. Roberto si è svegliato molto presto.
  6. Le ragazze si sono alzate alle sette.
  7. I miei genitori sono venuti qui anni fa.
  8. La principessa Diana è nata in Inghilterra ma è morta a Parigi.
  9. Sono rimasti dieci giorni a Bologna.
  10. Dopo la guerra gli uomini sono tornati a casa.

To check your answers click here.

Exercise 3 Translate into Italian: [transitive verbs — use avere as the auxiliary]

  1. I visited Italy last year.
  2. I had a strange dream.
  3. We have finished.
  4. Have you seen my watch?
  5. They spent two weeks in Sicily.
  6. We ate a delicious pizza.
  7. Marco drank too much.
  8. They have not paid the bill.
  9. I have never slept so well.
  10. I closed the door and opened the windows.

To check your answers click here.

Exercise 4. Translate into Italian: [intransitive and reflexive verbs — use essere as the auxiliary]

  1. The results have arrived.
  2. Maria has gone to the cinema.
  3. The guests left this morning.
  4. The girls got up very early.
  5. Franco got dressed in a hurry.
  6. The children fell asleep.
  7. Giuliana has been in Florence on holiday.
  8. The others arrived two hours ago.
  9. She went out and got into the car.
  10. The boys have gone home.

To check your answers click here.

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