Preterite perfect tense (trapassato remoto) in Italian
The preterite perfect (trapassato remoto) is a compound tense that belongs to the indicative mood.
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Definition and usage of the preterite perfect tense (trapassato remoto) in Italian
- 1.1.Marker words that indicate the trapassato remoto
- 2.Conjugation of the trapassato remoto
- 2.1.Conjugation of regular verbs in the trapassato remoto
- 2.1.1.Verbs that belong to the -are conjugation
- 2.1.2.Verbs that belong to the -ere conjugation
- 2.1.3.Verbs that belong to the -ire conjugation
- 2.2.Conjugation of irregular verbs in the trapassato remoto
- 3.Auxiliary verbs: essere/avere
- 4.Exercises
- 4.1.Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the trapassato remoto
- 4.2.Match the correct form of the trapassato remoto to the box with the correct personal pronoun
Definition and usage of the preterite perfect tense (trapassato remoto) in Italian
The trapassato remoto is usually used in literary contexts. In everyday language* it is rarely used, except in very formal contexts.
*
In everyday language the trapassato remoto is usually replaced with the passato remoto or the trapassato prossimo.
The trapassato remoto refers to an action that took place in the past before another action introduced by the passato remoto.
Therefore, the trapassato remoto can be usually found in subordinate clauses.
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Marker words that indicate the trapassato remoto
The trapassato remoto can be introduced by the following marker words:
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dopo che | After |
| Quando | When |
| Non appena | As soon as |
| Finché | Until |
Examples:
- Non appena ebbe finito di piovere, il lupo andò a dormire (As soon as it had stopped raining, the wolf went to sleep).
- Quando ebbe finito di lavorare, gli chiesi informazioni sull'evento che stava organizzando (When he had finished to work, I asked him some information on the event he was planning).
Conjugation of the trapassato remoto
Th trapassato remoto is formed as follows:
Passato remoto of the auxiliary verb essere/avere + participio passato (past participle) of the main verb
Conjugation of regular verbs in the trapassato remoto
Here you can find three examples of regular verbs in the trapassato remoto tense.
Verbs that belong to the -are conjugation
Example mangiare (to eat)
| Passato remoto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | ebbi | mangiato | Io ebbi mangiato una mela | I had eaten an apple |
| Tu | avesti | mangiato | Tu avesti mangiato una mela | You had eaten an apple |
| Egli/Ella | ebbe | mangiato | Egli ebbe mangiato una mela | He had eaten an apple |
| Noi | avemmo | mangiato | Noi avemmo mangiato una mela | We had eaten an apple |
| Voi | aveste | mangiato | Voi aveste mangiato una mela | You had eaten an apple |
| Essi/Esse | ebbero | mangiato | Essi ebbero mangiato una mela | They had eaten an apple |
Verbs that belong to the -ere conjugation
Example credere (to believe)
| Passato remoto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | ebbi | creduto | Io ebbi creduto alle sue bugie | I had believed to his lies |
| Tu | avesti | creduto | Tu avesti creduto alle sue bugie | You had believed to his lies |
| Egli/Ella | ebbe | creduto | Egli ebbe creduto alle sue bugie | He had believed to his lies |
| Noi | avemmo | creduto | Noi avemmo creduto alle sue bugie | We had believed to his lies |
| Voi | aveste | creduto | Voi aveste creduto alle sue bugie | You had believed to his lies |
| Essi/Esse | ebbero | creduto | Essi ebbero creduto alle sue bugie | They had believed to his lies |
Verbs that belong to the -ire conjugation
Example dormire (to sleep)
| Passato remoto auxiliary verb | Participio passato main verb | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | ebbi | dormito | Io ebbi dormito tutto il giorno | I had slept all day |
| Tu | avesti | dormito | Tu avesti dormito tutto il giorno | You had slept all day |
| Egli/Ella | ebbe | dormito | Egli ebbe dormito tutto il giorno | He had slept all day |
| Noi | avemmo | dormito | Noi avemmo dormito tutto il giorno | We had slept all day |
| Voi | aveste | dormito | Voi aveste dormito tutto il giorno | You had slept all day |
| Essi/Esse | ebbero | dormito | Essi ebbero dormito tutto il giorno | They had slept all day |
Conjugation of irregular verbs in the trapassato remoto
Verbs that form the participio passato irregularly, have to be studied by heart.
Here are some examples:
| Vedere (to see) | Morire (to die) | Vivere (to live) | Scrivere (to write) | Leggere (to read) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | ebbi visto | fui morto/a* | ebbi vissuto | ebbi scritto | ebbi letto |
| Tu | avesti visto | fosti morto/a* | avesti vissuto | avesti scritto | avesti letto |
| Egli/Ella | ebbe visto | fu morto/a* | ebbe vissuto | ebbe scritto | ebbe letto |
| Noi | avemmo visto | fummo morti/e* | avemmo vissuto | avemmo scritto | avemmo letto |
| Voi | aveste visto | foste morti/e* | aveste vissuto | aveste scritto | aveste letto |
| Essi/Esse | ebbero visto | furono morti/e* | ebbero vissuto | ebbero scritto | ebbero letto |
*Remember that when you use the auxiliary verb essere, the participio passato must agree with the subject in gender and number!
Auxiliary verbs: essere/avere
The auxiliary verbs form the trapassato prossimo as follows:
| Essere (to be) | Avere (to have) | |
|---|---|---|
| Io | fui stato/a | ebbi avuto |
| Tu | fosti stato/a | avesti avuto |
| Egli/Ella | fu stato/a | ebbe avuto |
| Noi | fummo stati/e | avemmo avuto |
| Voi | foste stati/e | aveste avuto |
| Essi/Esse | furono stati/e | ebbero avuto |
Examples:
- Non appena ebbi avuto notizie da Luca, parlai con Caterina (As soon as I got news from Luca, I talked to Caterina)
- Quando ebbi avuto modo di andare in libreria, comprai un libro (When I had tha chance to go to the bookshop, I bought a book)
Now don't forget to try our exercises to improve your knowledge!
Exercises
- Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the trapassato remoto
- Match the correct form of the trapassato remoto to the box with the correct personal pronoun
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the trapassato remoto
Match the correct form of the trapassato remoto to the box with the correct personal pronoun
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