The passato prossimo is the go-to past tense in everyday Italian, and the version formed with avere covers the vast majority of verbs you'll ever need to talk about in the past. It's built from two pieces: the present tense of avere (ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno) plus the past participle of the main verb. So mangiare (to eat) becomes ho mangiato (I ate/I have eaten), parlare becomes ho parlato, lavorare becomes ho lavorato, finire becomes ho finito, vedere becomes ho visto. It's used for completed actions in the past — what you did yesterday, this morning, last week, five minutes ago — and it's the tense Italians reach for by default when telling stories in conversation.
Regular past participles are easy: -are verbs form -ato (mangiato, parlato, lavorato), -ere verbs form -uto (venduto, creduto, ricevuto), -ire verbs form -ito (finito, dormito, capito). But many common -ere verbs have irregular past participles that you'll have to memorize one by one: fare → fatto, dire → detto, leggere → letto, scrivere → scritto, vedere → visto, prendere → preso, mettere → messo, chiudere → chiuso, aprire → aperto, rispondere → risposto. These irregular forms show up in high-frequency verbs, so don't be surprised when they dominate your first conversations in the past.
Two details about avere + past participle are worth locking in early. First, the past participle does not agree with the subject (Maria ha mangiato, not Maria ha mangiata). Second, the past participle does agree with a preceding direct object pronoun: L'ho vista (I saw her), Li ho chiamati (I called them), Le ho lette (I read them — feminine plural, for example letters). Negation goes in front of avere (Non ho mangiato), and adverbs like già, ancora, mai, sempre typically slot between avere and the participle (Ho già mangiato, Non ho mai visto). The exercises below will walk you through forming past participles, conjugating avere correctly, handling irregular participles, and placing adverbs and pronouns in the right spots. This is a major step forward — once you can tell stories in the past, real conversation opens up.
The passato prossimo is the most common past tense in Italian. It expresses actions that happened at a specific point in the past and are now completed. It corresponds to both the English simple past ('I ate') and the present perfect ('I have eaten'). It is formed with a present-tense auxiliary verb (avere or essere) plus the past participle of the main verb. This lesson focuses on verbs that use avere as their auxiliary — the majority of Italian verbs.
| Subject | avere (present) | Example (mangiare) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | ho | ho mangiato | I ate / I have eaten |
| tu | hai | hai mangiato | you ate / you have eaten |
| lui / lei | ha | ha mangiato | he/she ate / has eaten |
| noi | abbiamo | abbiamo mangiato | we ate / we have eaten |
| voi | avete | avete mangiato | you all ate / have eaten |
| loro | hanno | hanno mangiato | they ate / they have eaten |
| Infinitive ending | Past participle ending | Example infinitive | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| -are | -ato | parlare (to speak) | parlato |
| -are | -ato | lavorare (to work) | lavorato |
| -ere | -uto | vendere (to sell) | venduto |
| -ere | -uto | credere (to believe) | creduto |
| -ire | -ito | dormire (to sleep) | dormito |
| -ire | -ito | sentire (to hear/feel) | sentito |
| Infinitive | Past Participle | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| fare | fatto | done / made | Ho fatto i compiti. (I did my homework.) |
| dire | detto | said / told | Ha detto la verità. (He told the truth.) |
| vedere | visto | seen | Abbiamo visto un film. (We saw a film.) |
| scrivere | scritto | written | Ho scritto una lettera. (I wrote a letter.) |
| leggere | letto | read | Hai letto quel libro? (Did you read that book?) |
| mettere | messo | put / placed | Ho messo le chiavi sul tavolo. (I put the keys on the table.) |
| prendere | preso | taken | Ha preso l'autobus. (She took the bus.) |
| aprire | aperto | opened | Ho aperto la finestra. (I opened the window.) |
| chiudere | chiuso | closed | Hanno chiuso il negozio. (They closed the shop.) |
| rispondere | risposto | answered | Non ho risposto alla email. (I didn't answer the email.) |
| bere | bevuto | drunk | Abbiamo bevuto il caffè. (We drank the coffee.) |
| vivere | vissuto | lived | Ha vissuto a Roma. (He lived in Rome.) |
| scegliere | scelto | chosen | Ho scelto la pasta. (I chose the pasta.) |
| chiedere | chiesto | asked | Hai chiesto il conto? (Did you ask for the bill?) |
| perdere | perso | lost | Ho perso le chiavi. (I lost my keys.) |
An important rule: when avere is the auxiliary verb, the past participle does NOT agree with the subject in gender or number. It stays in its base form. For example, you say 'Maria ha mangiato la pizza' (not 'mangiata'), and 'I ragazzi hanno lavorato' (not 'lavorati'). This is different from verbs that use essere, where agreement IS required. Exception: when a direct object pronoun (lo, la, li, le) comes before the verb, the past participle must agree with it — for example, 'L'ho vista' (I saw her/it) — but this is covered in a more advanced lesson.
| Italian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ieri | yesterday | Ieri ho lavorato tutto il giorno. |
| ieri sera | last night / yesterday evening | Ieri sera abbiamo mangiato al ristorante. |
| stamattina / stamane | this morning | Stamattina ho bevuto il caffè. |
| la settimana scorsa | last week | La settimana scorsa ho visto Marco. |
| il mese scorso | last month | Il mese scorso abbiamo comprato una macchina. |
| l'anno scorso | last year | L'anno scorso ho vissuto a Milano. |
| un'ora fa | an hour ago | Ho mangiato un'ora fa. |
| due giorni fa | two days ago | Due giorni fa ho scritto una email. |
| già | already | Ho già fatto i compiti. |
| non … ancora | not … yet | Non ho ancora risposto. |
1. Most Italian verbs use avere in the passato prossimo — especially transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). 2. The past participle never changes its ending when avere is the auxiliary (stays -ato, -uto, or -ito). 3. Negation: place 'non' before avere — 'non ho mangiato'. 4. Questions: simply use rising intonation — 'Hai mangiato?' 5. Memorize the most common irregular past participles (fatto, detto, visto, scritto, letto, messo, preso, aperto, chiuso, risposto) as they appear very frequently.
10 exercises · 0 completed
Regular -are Verbs: Choose the Correct Form
10 questions
More -are Verbs: Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Identify the Past Participle of -are Verbs
10 questions
Complete Sentences with -are Verbs
10 questions
Fill in the Passato Prossimo: -are Verbs
10 questions
Choosing the Auxiliary: avere with Transitive Verbs
10 questions
Full Sentences with -are Verbs
10 questions
Time Expressions with -are Verbs
10 questions
Sentences with Time Expressions and -are Verbs
10 questions
Mixed -are Verbs Review
10 questions
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Regular -ere Verbs: Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Regular -ire Verbs: Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Identify Past Participles of -ere Verbs
10 questions
Identify Past Participles of -ire Verbs
10 questions
Fill in the Passato Prossimo: -ere Verbs
10 questions
Fill in the Passato Prossimo: -ire Verbs
10 questions
Mixed -ere and -ire Verbs
10 questions
Negation with Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Negative Sentences in Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Review: -ere and -ire Verbs
10 questions
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Irregular Past Participles: fare, dire, vedere
10 questions
Irregular Past Participles: scrivere, leggere, mettere
10 questions
Irregular Past Participles: prendere, aprire, chiudere
10 questions
Irregular Past Participles: rispondere, bere, vivere
10 questions
Irregular Past Participles: scegliere, chiedere, perdere
10 questions
Sentences with Irregular Past Participles: fatto, detto, visto
10 questions
Sentences with Irregular Past Participles: scritto, letto, messo
10 questions
Mixed Irregular Past Participles
10 questions
Mixed Irregular Past Participle Sentences
10 questions
Review: All Irregular Past Participles
10 questions
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Time Expressions: ieri, ieri sera, stamattina
10 questions
Time Expressions: la settimana scorsa, il mese scorso, l'anno scorso
10 questions
Time Expressions: un'ora fa, due giorni fa, tre settimane fa
10 questions
già and non…ancora with Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Fill in Sentences with Time Expressions
10 questions
già and non…ancora Sentences
10 questions
Choose the Correct Time Expression for Context
10 questions
Full Sentence Construction with Time Expressions
10 questions
Mixed Time Expressions — Fill in the Blank
10 questions
Review: Time Expressions with Passato Prossimo
10 questions
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All Persons of avere: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro
10 questions
All Persons of avere with Various Verbs
10 questions
Full Sentences: All Persons
10 questions
Questions in Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Questions and Answers in Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Common Mistakes: Past Participle Agreement with avere
10 questions
Direct Object Pronouns with Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Mixed Review: Fill in the Passato Prossimo
10 questions
Comprehensive Review
10 questions
Final Mixed Review
10 questions
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Passato prossimo with avere is formed with the present of avere (ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno) + the past participle of the main verb (mangiato, bevuto, dormito). Example: ho mangiato la pizza.
Use avere with transitive verbs — verbs that take a direct object: mangiare, leggere, vedere, comprare. "Ho letto il libro", "Hanno visto il film".
Normally no. With avere the past participle stays in -o (ho mangiato). However, it agrees in gender and number with a preceding direct-object pronoun: "Le mele? Le ho mangiate".
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