Italian conjugation explanation
Passato Remoto irregularities
<p>The
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank">Passato Remoto</a>
(Past Historic) is famous for its irregularities. However, hundreds of Italian verbs follow a specific, predictable structure known as the <strong>1-3-3 pattern</strong>.</p><p>For these verbs, the irregularity is found <strong>only</strong> in three specific persons:</p>
<ul>
<li>S/1: <span style="font-style: italic;">io</span> (1st person singular)</li>
<li>S/3: <span style="font-style: italic;">lui/lei</span> (3rd person singular)</li>
<li>P/3: <span style="font-style: italic;">loro</span> (3rd person plural)</li>
</ul>
<p>The other three forms (S/2 <span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>, P/1 <span style="font-style: italic;">noi</span>, and P/2 <span style="font-style: italic;">voi</span>) are <strong>completely regular</strong>. They retain the original stem of the infinitive and take the standard regular endings (<span style="font-style: italic;">-esti, -emmo, -este</span>).</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">How it works</div>
<p>Let's look at the verb
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/mettere/" title="Click to see conjugations for mettere" target="_blank">mettere</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to put</span>). It has a special irregular stem (<strong style="font-style: italic;">mis-</strong>) for the 1-3-3 forms, but uses the regular stem (<strong style="font-style: italic;">mett-</strong>) for the others.</p><div class="table_container">
<div class="two_column_table">
<div><strong>Irregular Forms (Change stem)</strong></div>
<div><strong>Regular Forms (Infinitive stem)</strong></div>
<div>S/1: io <span class="green_emphasis">misi</span></div>
<div>S/2: tu <span class="brown_emphasis">mettesti</span></div>
<div>S/3: lui <span class="green_emphasis">mise</span></div>
<div>P/1: noi <span class="brown_emphasis">mettemmo</span></div>
<div>P/3: loro <span class="green_emphasis">misero</span></div>
<div>P/2: voi <span class="brown_emphasis">metteste</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Learners often make the mistake of applying the irregular stem to the <span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">noi</span> forms (e.g., <span class="red_emphasis">misesti</span>), or trying to regularize the <span style="font-style: italic;">io</span> form (e.g., <span class="red_emphasis">mettei</span>). Remember that the forms <strong>alternate</strong> between irregular and regular.</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Common Verbs</div>
<p>Many common verbs follow this alternating pattern. While the irregular stem changes depending on the verb, the pattern of <strong>which</strong> persons change is constant.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/scrivere/" title="Click to see conjugations for scrivere" target="_blank">scrivere</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to write</span>) → stem <strong style="font-style: italic;">scriss-</strong></div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Io <span class="green_emphasis">scrissi</span> un libro, e tu lo <span class="brown_emphasis">scrivesti</span> con me. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I wrote a book, and you wrote it with me.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/chiedere/" title="Click to see conjugations for chiedere" target="_blank">chiedere</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to ask</span>) → stem <strong style="font-style: italic;">chies-</strong></div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Lui mi <span class="green_emphasis">chiese</span> un favore. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He asked me a favor.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/prendere/" title="Click to see conjugations for prendere" target="_blank">prendere</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to take</span>) → stem <strong style="font-style: italic;">pres-</strong></div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Loro <span class="green_emphasis">presero</span> il treno, ma noi <span class="brown_emphasis">prendemmo</span> l'autobus. (<span style="font-style: italic;">They took the train, but we took the bus.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/chiudere/" title="Click to see conjugations for chiudere" target="_blank">chiudere</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to close</span>) → stem <strong style="font-style: italic;">chius-</strong></div><div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Lei <span class="green_emphasis">chiuse</span> la porta. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She closed the door.</span>)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>In the conjugation tables below, notice how the highlighted forms (1, 3, 6) differ from the others:</p>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Passato remoto</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
io
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">scrissi<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tu
</span>scrivesti
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
lui
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">scrisse<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
noi
</span>scrivemmo
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
voi
</span>scriveste
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
loro
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">scrissero<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Passato remoto</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
io
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lessi<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tu
</span>leggesti
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
lui
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lesse<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
noi
</span>leggemmo
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
voi
</span>leggeste
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
loro
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">lessero<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>