Past perfect (trapassato prossimo) in Italian
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The trapassato prossimo is a compound tense that belongs to the indicative mood.
Example:
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The trapassato prossimo can be found in sentences together with the passato prossimo, imperfetto or passato remoto.
Passato prossimo |
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Imperfetto |
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Passato remoto |
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The trapassato prossimo is formed as follows:
Imperfetto of the auxiliary verb + past participle (participio passato)
Regular verbs form the trapassato prossimo as follows:
Example mangiare (to eat)
Imperfetto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | avevo | mangiato | Io avevo mangato una fragola | I had eaten a strawberry |
Tu | avevi | mangiato | Tu avevi mangiato una fragola | You had eaten a strawberry |
Egli/Ella | aveva | mangiato | Egli aveva mangato una fragola | He had eaten a strawberry |
Noi | avevamo | mangiato | Noi avevamo mangiato una fragola | We had eaten a strawberry |
Voi | avevate | mangiato | Voi avevate mangiato una fragola | You had eaten a strawberry |
Essi/Esse | avevano | mangiato | Essi avevano mangiato una fragola | They had eaten a strawberry |
Example credere (to believe)
Imperfetto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | avevo | creduto | Io avevo creduto alla sua storia | I had believed to his story |
Tu | avevi | creduto | Tu avevi creduto alla sua storia | You had believed to his story |
Egli/Ella | aveva | creduto | Egli aveva creduto alla sua storia | He had believed to his story |
Noi | avevamo | creduto | Noi avevamo creduto alla sua storia | We had believed to his story |
Voi | avevate | creduto | Voi avevate creduto alla sua storia | You had believed to his story |
Essi/Esse | avevano | creduto | Essi avevano creduto alla sua storia | They had believed to his story |
Example partire (to leave)
Imperfetto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | ero | partito/a* | Io ero partito troppo tardi | I had left too late |
Tu | eri | partito/a* | Tu eri partito troppo tardi | You had left too late |
Egli/Ella | era | partito/a* | Egli era partito troppo tardi | He had left too late |
Noi | eravamo | partiti/e* | Noi eravamo partiti troppo tardi | We had left too late |
Voi | eravate | partiti/e* | Voi eravate partiti troppo tardi | You had left too late |
Essi/Esse | erano | partiti/e* | Essi erano partiti troppo tardi | They had left too late |
*Remember that when you use the auxiliary verb essere, the participio passato must agree with the subject in gender and number!
Here are some verbs that form the trapassato prossimo in an irregular way. The conjugation of such verbs has to be studied by heart.
Dire (to say) | Chiedere (to ask) | Bere (to drink) | Correggere (to correct) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | avevo detto | avevo chiesto | avevo bevuto | avevo corretto |
Tu | avevi detto | avevi chiesto | avevi bevuto | avevi corretto |
Egli/Ella | aveva detto | aveva chiesto | aveva bevuto | aveva corretto |
Noi | avevamo detto | avevamo chiesto | avevamo bevuto | avevamo corretto |
Voi | avevate detto | avevate chiesto | avevate bevuto | avevate corretto |
Essi/Esse | avevano detto | avevano chiesto | avevano bevuto | avevano corretto |
Example:
Here is the conjugation for the auxiliary verbs essere and avere in the trapassato prossimo
Essere (to be) | Avere (to have) | |
---|---|---|
Io | ero stato/a | avevo avuto |
Tu | eri stato/a | avevi avuto |
Egli/Ella | era stato/a | aveva avuto |
Noi | eravamo stati/e | avevamo avuto |
Voi | eravate stati/e | avevato avuto |
Essi/Esse | erano stati/e | avevano avuto |
Example:
Now don't forget to test your knowledge with our exercises on the trapassato prossimo!
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