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Tense guide
Trapassato prossimo (Past Perfect)

Language: Italian
Tense:
Person:

Practice conjugation drills

Introduction

This tense is used to talk about the past of the past. Imagine two actions happened in the past. You use this tense for the action that happened first. It helps show the order of events.

The most common use is to describe an action that was already finished when a second past action happened. It sets the background for another past event.

Quando sono arrivato, il film era già iniziato.
(When I arrived, the movie had already started.)
Ho mangiato la pasta che mia nonna aveva preparato.
(I ate the pasta that my grandmother had prepared.)
Lui mi ha detto che aveva perso le chiavi.
(He told me that he had lost the keys.)
Non avevamo capito la domanda, perciò abbiamo chiesto aiuto.
(We had not understood the question, so we asked for help.)
Credevo che voi foste partiti ieri.
(I thought that you had left yesterday.)

You also use it to describe a state or a feeling that existed before a past event. It explains the reason for a past situation.

Ero molto stanco perché avevo lavorato tutto il giorno.
(I was very tired because I had worked all day.)
Era felice perché aveva ricevuto una buona notizia.
(She was happy because she had received good news.)

This tense is often used with words that emphasize sequence, like già (already), appena (just), non ... ancora (not yet), or mai (never).

Quando mi hai telefonato, avevo appena finito di cenare.
(When you called me, I had just finished dinner.)
Non avevo mai visto un film così prima di allora.
(I had never seen a movie like that before then.)
Alle dieci, non erano ancora tornati a casa.
(At ten o'clock, they had not yet returned home.)

Sometimes, the second past action is not stated directly but is understood from the context. The tense provides background information for a story you are telling.

Avevo studiato molto per l'esame.
(I had studied a lot for the exam.)
Quel giorno, avevamo camminato per chilometri.
(That day, we had walked for kilometers.)

Be careful not to overuse this tense. If past actions happened in chronological order and you are just listing them, you do not need it. Use it only when you need to clarify that one past action happened before another.

Further explanations

Conjugation patterns