Imperfetto

• The imperfect is normally used to express an action or a habit that was repeated on a regular basis in the past.
  • To describe emotional or physical states.
  • To express abitual action in the past.
  • To express on going past actions that lack a clear beginning or ending point.
• To form the "Imperfetto", remove the final "-re" from the infinitive and add the ending: -vo - vi - va- vamo - vate - vano

Passato Prossimo

• The words passato prossimo in Italian literally mean recent past. This verb tense is mostly used to express an action that began and was completed in a recent past.
• When verbs are used in the passato prossimo, some go with essere and some with avere:
  • All transitive verbs go with avere. Direct objects in sentences designate the objects that receive the action of the verb.
    • ex. mangiare, scrivere, suonare, chiamare
  • Many verbs that indicate movement go with essere.
    • ex. andare, venire, uscire, partire
  • Many verbs that indicate stasis or immobility go with essere.
    • ex. stare, essere, restare, rimanere
  • Many verbs that indicate a change of state go with essere.
    • ex. cambiare, diventare, nascere, morire, ingrandire
  • All reflexive verb go with essere.
    • ex. arrabbiarsi, lavarsi, chiamarsi
• Irregular Verbs:
  • bere -> bevuto
  • decidere -> deciso
  • dire -> detto
  • essere -> stato
  • fare -> fatto
  • leggere -> letto
  • mettere -> messo
  • morire -> morto
  • nascere -> nato
  • perdere -> perso
  • prendere -> preso
  • rimanere -> rimasto
  • scrivere -> scritto
  • vedere -> visto
  • venire -> venuto
• Regular Verbs:
  • ARE -> 'ato' ending
  • ERE -> 'uto' ending
  • IRE -> 'ito' ending
    • from then, conjugate for mas/fem & sing/plural
• To express complete actions.
• To express the beginning or end of a past action.
• To indicate a change of state or a reaction.
• To list a series of past actions.
• To specify the number of times an event took place.