ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

Let us take a look at these three Italian past tenses in contrast, since it is sometimes really difficult for English speakers to know when to use one or the other.

First of all, let us group the passato prossimo and the passato remoto together, because their difference is just in the point in time they refer to, not in the quality of the action they express.

The kind of action the passato prossimo and the passato remoto express is a completed action which occurred at some point in the past. Whereas the passato prossimo is mainly used in conversation to refer to recent or less recent past actions, the passato remoto is used instead for remote past actions. In addition, the passato remoto is the only tense used in fiction.

Un’ora fa ha chiamato Maria.

Maria called an hour ago.

Mercoledì scorso sono andato al cinema con Francesco.

Last Wednesday I went to the cinema with Francesco.

Il mese scorso siamo andati in vacanza alle Barbados.

Last month we went to Barbados on holiday.

Tre anni fa prenotammo una stanza d’albergo vicino al mare.

Three years ago we reserved a hotel room near the sea.

Nel 1946 l’Italia diventò una Repubblica.

In 1946 Italy became a Republic.

(From a novel:) Laura si svegliò di soprassalto e guardò l’orologio.

Laura woke up with a start and took a look at her watch.

There is much debate among Italians about how remote an action has to be to require a passato remoto. There are two factors to consider: a regional one and an emotional one.

Regarding regional differences, people in Northern Italy tend to prefer the passato prossimo, even for actions that took place long ago. They would rather say (see example above):

Tre anni fa abbiamo prenotato una stanza d’albergo vicino al mare

Three years ago we booked a hotel room near the sea.

In the South, it is the other way round: many Neapolitans and Sicilians would rather say (see examples above):

Il mese scorso andammo in vacanza alle Barbados.

Last month we went on vacation to Barbados.

Mercoledì scorso andai al cinema con Francesco.

Last Wednesday I went to the movies with Francesco.

The emotional factor refers to the emotional proximity felt by the speaker relating a past action, which means that the past action is felt to still have an impact on the present regardless of how remote in the past it actually is. In this case, the passato prossimo would rather be used. For example, one would not normally use the passato remoto in sentences like:

Sono nato in un piccolo paesino della Sicilia. (The speaker is obviously still alive)

I was born in a small village in Sicily.

Ci siamo sposati nell’agosto del 1980. (They are still married)

We got married in August 1980.

Now let us now consider how the IMPERFETTO works. It has got at least three main functions:

1) DESCRIPTION OF A PAST SITUATION:

Ero un ragazzo introverso: parlavo poco e passavo il tempo leggendo romanzi d’avventura.

I was an introverted boy: I spoke little and spent my time reading adventure novels.

Nel 1990 vivevamo in Francia.

In 1990 we lived in France.

La nostra casa si trovava su una collina, e poco sotto iniziava una strada che portava al mare, da cui si poteva vedere un isolotto vulcanico.

Our house was located on a hill, and just below began a road that led to the sea, from where one could see a volcanic holm.

2) REPEATED OR HABITUAL PAST ACTION:

Da bambino, andavo in montagna tutti gli anni.

When I was a child, I used to go to the mountains every year.

Quando tornavo a casa, mi aspettava sempre dietro la porta per farmi uno scherzo.

When I used to return home, she used to always wait behind the door in order to play a trick on me.

3) DURATIVE PAST ACTION (that is, actions where the stress in on duration):

Mi fissava con rabbia.

He was staring at me with anger.

Ieri Paolo, mentre studiava, ascoltava la musica. (parallel durative actions, often introduced by time subordinators such as “mentre”; see below)

Yesterday Paolo, while he was studying, listened to music.

Now let us finally see the passato remoto/passato prossimo tenses in contrast to the imperfetto.

I said that the passato prossimo/passato remoto group refers to completed actions that took place at some point in the past. In contrast, the imperfetto focuses on the duration of an action rather than on its completeness (which is irrelevant here). This contrast is particularly evident when the tenses are used in combination, as in the following examples:

- passato prossimo/passato remoto + passato prossimo/passato remoto

(= A series of completed past actions, one following the other in temporal succession)

Sono tornato a casa e l’ho chiamata. (with the passato prossimo)

I came back home and I called her.

Prima accesi la TV e poi mi misi a letto. (with the passato remoto)

First I turned on the TV and then got into bed.

Graphically speaking, we can see each passato prossimo/passato remoto action as a single vertical arrow (the point in time) hitting the time line. So, the first example could be represented as follows:

- imperfetto + imperfetto

(= Parallel durative actions)

Mentre ascoltava la radio, fumava una canna.

While he was listening to the radio, he was smoking a joint.

Graphically speaking, these actions in the imperfetto can be seen as two parallel horizontal segments along the time line. So, the example could be represented as follows:

- imperfetto + passato prossimo/passato remoto

Mentre parlavo con Maria, è squillato il telefono.

While I was talking to Maria, the telephone rang.

Anna passava per quella strada proprio nell’istante in cui l’auto esplose.

Anna was going by that street just at that moment when the car exploded.

Finally, we can combine the above symbols in the following representation of the first example:

The imperfect (l’imperfetto) is mainly used as a past tense, but it also has these other following uses:

• The imperfect can be used for courteous requests o to express opinions in a polite or subdued manner. It is often used to replace the present tense or the conditional and is mainly used in spoken Italian:

  Volevo un caffè e un cornetto, per favore.
  I would like a coffee and croissant, please.

  Ti diceva la verità ma ha paura.
  He would tell you the truth, but he is scared.

• The imperfect can also be used to express actions that might have occurred but did not for whatever reason in the past. This usage is most common with the modals: volere, potere and dovere. When the imperfect is used, it is implied that the action did not take place, even if it is not qualified. This construction often replaces the past conditional:

  Voleva andare alla festa.
  He would have wanted to go to the party. (but did not for whatever reason)

• The imperfect can be used to express the future in the past, often expressed with the past conditional, of an action in the future that did not occur because of an impediment (in place of the past conditional):

  Provavo a chiamarti, ma ho perso il mio telefonino.
  I would have tried to call you, but I lost my mobile.

• Imperfect can also be used in hypothetical statements (often with se) in both phrases:

  Se non mi tradivi ti sposavo.
  If you would not have betrayed me, I would have married you.

Seeing the imperfect and the passato prossimo/remoto in action is a tough area for English speakers. Below is a passage from de Amicis’s Cuore. See if you can determine which tense should be used (imperfect or the passato remoto/passato prossimo) and then check your answers (nb: it’s ok if you use the passato prossimo in place of the passato remoto – the important thing is the learn the differences between the two tenses):

Oggi primo giorno di scuola. (1)___________ (passare) come un sogno quei tre mesi di vacanza in campagna! Mia madre mi (2) ________(condurre) questa mattina alla Sezione Baretti a farmi inscrivere per la terza elementare: (3) _________ (pensare) alla campagna e (4) ________ (andare) di mala voglia. Tutte le strade (5) __________ (brulicare*) di ragazzi; le due botteghe di libraio (6) _________ (essere) affollate di padri e di madri che
(7) __________ (comprare) zaini, cartelle e quaderni, e davanti alla scuola
(8) s’ __________ (accalcarsi**) tanta gente che il bidello e la guardia civica (9) ________ (durare) fatica a tenere sgombra la porta.

*brulicare – to swarm
**accalcarsi – to crowd

(scroll down for the answers!)

ANSWER KEY:
Oggi primo giorno di scuola. (1) Passarono come un sogno quei tre mesi di vacanza in campagna! Mia madre mi (2) condusse questa mattina alla Sezione Baretti a farmi inscrivere per la terza elementare: io (3) pensavo alla campagna e (4) andavo di mala voglia. Tutte le strade (5) brulicavano di ragazzi; le due botteghe di libraio (6) erano affollate di padri e di madri che (7) compravano zaini, cartelle e quaderni, e davanti alla scuola (8) s’accalcava tanta gente che il bidello e la guardia civica (9) duravan fatica a tenere sgombra la porta.

1) passato remoto of passare; why? Remember that the passato prossimo/passato remoto refer to complete actions in the past. Typically the passato prossimo/remoto refer to actions that happened within a specific period of time, in this case, tre mesi di vancaza in campagna.
2) passato remoto of condurre: why? The key is ‘questa mattina’ – a specific period in time. She took her son and it was done.
3) imperfect: why? It’s telling about a continuing action in the past while another action was going on (see #4 – andare).
4) imperfect: see explanation for #3
5) imperfect: see explanation for #3; A string of actions in the past is usually a good indication of the imperfect. Remember that the imperfect is also a filler tense – it is used to fill in details of things that happened in the past – remember also that the narrator is bringing us back to the past as if we were seeing for ourselves. Actions that are happening in the past are good indications that the imperfect should be used.
6) imperfcet: With essere, it is a good bet that the imperfect is used when describing something, in this case, the crowded stores. The imperfect is also a descriptive tense, It provides ‘color’ for the scene.
7) imperfect: see explanation for #5; filler for the past, describing an action that was incomplete and ongoing in the past
imperfect: describing an action that was in progress in the past
9) imperfect: describing an action that was in progress in the past

In short:

When you are describing an ongoing action that was in progress in the past, use the imperfect.
When you are describing an action that is completed (as in the example, how the summer past so fast, your mom took you to school) within a specific period of time, the passato prossimo/preterito should be used.

I hope that this small passage from Cuore was helpful to you. Please post a comment if you have any questions, or if you think that I have made an error. I’ll post another example from Cuore later this week.

The imperfect tense, l’imperfetto, is a past tense that is used in Italian:

• to describe an action that began in the past and had an uncertain duration or beginning
  (usually time expressions such as molti anni fa, di solito, sempre, una volta frequently accompany the imperfect)
• a continuing action that occurred in the past
• to describe two actions in the past happening at the same time (often introduced with the adverb, mentre)
• things one ‘used to’ do (habitual actions)
• to describe a state of being (i.e. the weather, one’s age, the time, etc)Examples of this would be:

• Molti anni fa abitavo a Roma.
  Many years ago I lived in Rome.

• Mentre mangiavo, il telefono ha suonato.
  While I was eating, the phone rang.
  [notice the use of the imperfect and the passato prossimo -- while something was being done in the past for an unspecificied amount of time, another complete event occurred]

• Giocavo ai videogiochi, e lei studiava.
  I was playing video games, and she was studying.

• Andavamo in chiesa la domenica finché siamo traslocati.
  We used to go to church every Sunday until we moved.

• Era un bel giorno.
  It was a beautiful day.

• Pioveva?
  Was it raining?

1. As you can see, some of the actions take place during uncertian periods of time (many years ago), a continuing action (was eating, was playing video games), habitual actions (used to go…), descriptions of state or being (was it raining? was a beautiful day) — we don’t know when they began or when they ended. We can guess, but we are not certain. This contrasts with the passato prossimo or the passato remoto which describe actions which we know took place and began and ended at specific points in time.
2. If you are still confused about the imperfect/passato prossimo, check out this podcast from Radio Arlecchino from the University of Texas.
3. The imperfetto is a fairly regular tense but there are some irregulars. Drop the -re from the stem of the infinitive and follow the patterns listed below:cantare: to singio cantavo
   tu cantavi
   lui/lei/Lei cantava
   noi cantavamo
   voi cantavate
   loro cantavano

   sapere: to know
   (the meaning of sapere changes between the passato prossimo/imperfetto)

   io sapevo
   tu sapevi
   lui/lei/Lei sapeva
   noi sapevamo
   voi sapevate
   loro sapevano

   finire: to finish

   io finivo
   tu finivi
   lui/lei/Lei finiva
   noi finivamo
   voi finivate
   loro finivano

4. Some irregular verbs in the imperfect:bere: bevevo, bevevi, beveva, bevevamo, bevevate, bevevano
   condurre: conducevo, conducevi, conduceva, conducevamo, conducevate, conducevano
   dire: dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano
   essere: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, eravano
   fare: facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano
   porre: ponevo, ponevi, poneva, ponevamo, ponevate, ponevano
   tradurre: traducevo, traducevi, traduceva, traducevamo, traducevate, traducevano

Sapere and conoscere have different meanings in the passato prossimo (present perfect) and the l’imperfetto (imperfect).

Sapere means: to know (a fact), to know how to do something

In the imperfect (l’imperfetto), sapere translates as “knew,” retaining the meaning of the present but in the past (knew):

Sapevo che la festa era oggi.

I knew that the party was today.

In the present perfect (il passato prossimo), the meaning changes:

Ho saputo che la festa era oggi.

I found out that the party was today.

Conoscere means: to know in the sense of being familiar or acquainted with someone or something.In the imperfect, conoscere translates as such, retaining the meaning of the present tense with in the past:

Lei conosceva Gianna già.

She knew Gianna already.

In the present perfect, the meaning changes:

Lei ha conosciuto Gianna alla festa.

She met Gianna at the party.