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Tense guide
Passato participio (Past Participle)

Language: Italian
Tense:

Introduction

In Italian, there is a special verb form that describes a completed action. It is not used by itself as a main verb. Instead, it works together with other words to express different ideas. Think of it as a verb piece that you can use in several ways, most often to talk about the past or to describe something.

The most common use of this form is to talk about finished actions in the past. You use it together with the present tense of the verbs avere or essere. This combination creates a past tense that is very common in spoken Italian.

Ieri ho mangiato una pizza.
(Yesterday I ate a pizza.)
Ho comprato un libro nuovo.
(I bought a new book.)
Hai visto quel film?
(Did you see that movie?)
Abbiamo parlato con Marco.
(We spoke with Marco.)
Loro hanno finito il lavoro.
(They finished the work.)
Lei è andata al cinema.
(She went to the cinema.)
Noi siamo partiti presto.
(We left early.)
I bambini sono tornati a casa.
(The children returned home.)

When you use this form with the verb *essere*, its ending changes to match the person or thing you are talking about.

You can also use this verb form as an adjective. When used this way, it describes a noun. It gives more information about the noun, usually telling you about something that has happened to it.

Preferisco il caffè macchiato.
(I prefer stained coffee / a macchiato.)
Ho trovato la porta aperta.
(I found the door open.)
Leggo un libro scritto in italiano.
(I am reading a book written in Italian.)
Mettiamo i vestiti lavati nell'armadio.
(We put the washed clothes in the closet.)
Le finestre chiuse non fanno passare aria.
(The closed windows don't let air in.)

When you use this form as an adjective, its ending must match the noun it describes in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).

This form is often used with the verb essere to describe the current state or condition of something. It describes the result of a previous action.

La televisione è spenta.
(The television is turned off.)
Il mio telefono è rotto.
(My phone is broken.)
Siamo seduti al tavolo.
(We are seated at the table.)
Le luci sono accese.
(The lights are on.)

Sometimes, you can use this form by itself at the beginning of a sentence. It works as a shortcut to mean "after" or "once" an action was completed. This is a more advanced structure, but it is useful to recognize.

Finito il compito, sono uscito.
(Once the homework was finished, I went out.)
Arrivati alla stazione, abbiamo preso un caffè.
(After arriving at the station, we had a coffee.)
Letta la sua email, ho risposto subito.
(After reading his email, I replied right away.)

Conjugation patterns