Episode 04 - The Moment Everything Changes - Passato Prossimo Part 1

🎙 Podcast Episode Four: Impariamo l’italiano piano piano - Un impegno quotidiano

In this episode, we take our first deep dive into the passato prossimo, the Italian past tense used for completed actions. Whether you’re still a novice in the realm of italian past tenses or if you've been practicing for a while, this tense helps you share past experiences with clarity and precision. 

🌟 Highlights:

✔️ What makes passato prossimo different from imperfetto? A snapshot vs. a looping video!
✔️ How to form passato prossimo using avere + the past participle.
✔️ Practical examples drawn from Mariella’s story as she takes the first steps toward a life-changing discovery.

🎯 Practice Makes Perfect:
Listen, pause, and say the Italian before I do! With structured exercises, you’ll get hands-on experience forming sentences and internalizing this key tense. Plus, an assignment awaits to help you actively mettere in pratica (put into practice) what you've learned.

📜 Care to follow along as you listen? Check out the transcript.

📚 Want more? Click the Support the Show link below to access bonus episodes! Bonus content includes upcoming vocabulary presented in context, recall exercises, mini quizzes, and interactive flashcards to reinforce what you’ve learned.

🎧 Take it slow, embrace the process, and immerse yourself in Italian—piano piano!

Chapters

• 0:00 Passato Prossimo Examples
• 2:55 Examples with Italian translation
• 3:53 Episode intro
• 7:31 Formation of passato prossimo
• 8:39 Conjugation of avere
• 13:17 Formation of the participio passato
• 16:14 Avere or essere?
• 17:37 Vocabulary for practice exercise
• 18:25 Practice putting it all together
• 23:01 Assignment explained
• 26:35 First playback of Part 3
• 29:41 Second playback of part 3
• 31:57 Wrap up

Transcript

🎙 Welcome to  We learn Italian step by step  / Impariamo l’italiano piano piano

🎧 Episode 04 - The Moment Everything Changes - Passato Prossimo Part 1

I started studying Italian last year.

I lived in France for three years. 

You took a book from the library.

You sat down next to me.

We opened a restaurant in the city.

Who can tell me, if you wanted to say these sentences in Italian, what tense would you use? How would you put it together?

Antonio: Oh, lo so! È… ehm… aspetta… il passato… il passato remoto!

Myra: Non proprio, Antonio. That’s not quite right. Il passato remoto non ci serve ancora! We don’t need passato remoto yet.

Antonio (muttering): Uffa… sempre il solito copione!

Myra: Same old script, huh? Hmm… If you say so! Se lo dici tu!

Myra: Antonio, perché pensi sempre al passato remoto? Why do you always think in the passato remoto? Stai leggendo troppi romanzi storici? Have you been reading too many historical novels?

Antonio: Che colpa ne ho se suona più elegante? (Is it my fault that it sounds more elegant?)

Myra: No it’s not your fault that the passato remoto is probably more elegant than passato prossimo? And you are probably right. 

Antonio: Si, visse, amò, morì—suona meglio di ha vissuto, ha amato, è morto! 
(Yes, he lived, he loved, he died (in passato remoto)—sounds better than he lived, he loved, he died (in passato prossimo)).

Myra: Vero, il passato remoto suona più romantico del passato prossimo. True, the passato remoto sounds more romantic than, passato prossimo. 

But then, we mere mortals, to talk about our daily experiences, we use the passato prossimo. Ma noi comuni mortali, per raccontare le nostre esperienze quotidiane, useremo il passato prossimo, no?

Antonio: Per voi comuni mortali, forse… ma io preferisco restare nel mio mondo di avventure epiche!
(For you mere mortals, maybe… but I prefer to stay in my world of epic adventures!)
 
Myra:  For us mere mortals, huh? … but you prefer your world of epic adventures. Fair enough. So, how about we listen to those same examples again, but this time, I'll pause after each one. Time for you to say the Italian, or hit the pause button while you think about it. Say it and hit play again. 

I started studying Italian last year.

Io ho cominciato a studiare italiano l’anno scorso.

I lived in France for three years. 

Io ho vissuto in Francia per tre anni.

You took a book from the library.

Tu hai preso un libro dalla biblioteca.

You sat down next to me.

Tu ti sei seduto accanto a me.

We opened a restaurant in the city.

Noi abbiamo aperto un ristorante in città.

Hi and welcome to my podcast. I’m Myra and today is part one of the Passato Prossimo.

The Passato Prossimo, in English referred to as Past Perfect, is about completed actions tied to the present or relevant to the current discussion. For example, I ate a pizza, ... Ho mangiato una pizza. Passato Prossimo is a snapshot—something happened, it’s done, but it’s still fresh in our minds.

Antonio:

"Ah, il passato prossimo! Perfetto per raccontare le mie grandi imprese… tipo: 'Ho conquistato il cuore di una ragazza ieri sera.' Una cosa veloce, fatta, conclusa! Capito?"
  ("Ah, the passato prossimo! Perfect for recounting my great achievements… like: 'I won a girl’s heart last night.' Something quick, done, completed! Got it?")

Maira:

You won a girl’s heart last night? Something quick, done, completed? Interessante scelta di esempio. Interesting choice of example, Antonio.

Ritorniamo a noi anchora una volta, returning to the topic at hand, once again,  we’re going to cover Passato Prossimo from the beginning. However if you are more of an intermediate learner, don’t loose faith. "Even if you already know how to form the passato prossimo, this podcast will help you to  mettere in pratica (put into practice) what you've learned. Through practical exercises, you’ll actively form sentences and gain confidence to use this tense in real conversations. 

If you have listened to the episodes on the imperfetto tense, I think you will agree that we are  doing it as painlessly as possible, immersing you in a 10-chapter story where we have already met Mariella, a young woman living in Florence, dreaming of a more fulfilling life. Mariella is about to embark on an adventure through Italian history, family secrets, and personal discovery. Along the way, you’ll practice the passato prossimo and other essential grammar through engaging, practical exercises. 

In previous episodes, we studied the imperfetto (which describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or provides background details and descriptions.) 

For example, I used to eat pizza every Saturday. / Mangiavo sempre la pizza il sabato.

So where the Passato Prossimo is a snapshot, you could think of the imperfetto as a looping video—something that happened repeatedly or lasted over time without a clear endpoint. 

There is a third past tenses that is also included in the B1 level, which for now, this podcast is aiming at. That is the Trapassato Prossimo. We will get to that one later in our ten chapter story. 

And then there are more past tenses such as Passato Remoto and Trapassato Remoto which you will not need just yet – or so I am told, because I do come across the Passato Remoto quite often. However officially it is not required for this level so we’ll leave that one for now. 

Formation of Passato Prossimo

Italian past tenses vary in how they’re constructed—some are single-word or simple tenses, like the imperfetto. And some are two word or compound tenses. Passato Prossimo is a compound tense. 

Antonio: Due parole? Facile! Io ho conquistato. Lei mi ha adorato. Lei ha ceduto al mio fascino.
(Two words? Easy! I conquered. She adored me. She succumbed to my charm.)

Myra: Esatto, Antonio…You conquered, she adored you and she succumbed to your charms. A verb and a completed action.  But before this podcast becomes X-rated, can we get back to l’argomento in questione?

As I was saying,  it takes two words to form the Passato Prossimo.7

So what are these two words? 

1.           The present tense of avere or essere

2.           The past participle of the verb

Auxiliary Verbs

I am assuming that you have already learned some basic verb conjugation in the present tense. You need to know that in order to form the auxiliary, or helping verbs. As I did earlier, I will provide you with the prompts and you will have the opportunity to come up with the Italian. This way, if you care to listen to this podcast episode again, you have the opportunity to solidify your knowledge, to make your brain work and come up with the Italian. If you’re not too shy or concerned about what the people around you might think of you speaking out loud in Italian, then you are ready to make the most of this podcast experience. Enough talk. Let’s roll up our sleeves - Rimbocchiamoci le maniche!

When you are conjugating a verb in Italian, what are the first 3 persons? 

I - Io

you informal - tu

he/she - lui/lei

And the second 3 persons, the plural of the first three:

we – noi

you all or you guys – voi

they - loro

What did we say the 2 auxiliary or helping verbs are? to have and to be. or … Avere and Essere. 

OK let’s make ourselves heard - Facciamoci sentire!

Conjugating avere, present tense, indicative / Presente indicativo 

Io, tu, Lui/Lei:

Io ho

Tu hai

Lui/lei ha

Noi voi loro:

Noi abbiamo

Voi avete

Loro hanno 

If you are at the level of a learner studying for your B1, you likely have this down pat by now because avere is one of the two most important verbs in Italian, and one of the first things that most people learn. (the other very important verb, of course, is essere) But for the sake of any new learners, let’s do this one more time - Rifacciamolo! This time we’ll do as the native Italians do, and leave out the pronouns. E ora senza i pronomi soggetto

Avere Io, tu, Lui Lei:

ho

hai

ha

Noi, voi, loro:

abbiamo

avete

hanno

Ok, now let’s mix it up a little! Here’s avere again, but this time, not in the usual order:

Noi – abbiamo

Lui/Lei – ha

Io – ho

Loro – hanno

Voi – avete

Tu – hai

Let’s do it again, even more shuffled:

Tu – hai

Loro – hanno

Io – ho

Voi – avete

Lui/Lei – ha

Noi – abbiamo

So that is avere, one of the 2 auxiliary verbs that you need for any compound tense in Italian.

The next thing you need to form the passato prossimo is the past participle, il participio passato. So how do we come up with that? 

Formation of the Past Participle

Generally speaking you need to take off the last three letters from the infinitive of the verb. What is an infinitive? If you were brought up a native English speaker like myself, you may not know these basic grammar terms. So let’s just say that the infinitive of a verb is the same as saying TO do something. To note, to believe, to feel. 

In Italian, infinitives generally end in -are, -ere or -ire. They are also referred to as first, second and third conjugations. So to get to the past participle, we need to remove the last three letters from the Italian infinitive/or ‘infinito’ and change it to:

for are verbs,- ato

 for ere verbs - uto 

and for ire verbs - ito

For example, how do you say to note, as in to take note: notare

Notare is an are verb, so the past participle would be: notato.

Next, to believe: credere

Credere is an ere  verb, so the participio passato is creduto

How about to feel or to smell: sentire

Sentire is an ire verb. Past participle: sentito

Let’s do those three again. I’ll provide the infinito (infinitive) and you say the participio passato (past participle):

Notare (to note) - notato

Credere (to believe) – creduto

Sentire (to feel or to smell) – sentito

So to form these verbs you need to know which auxiliary verb, avere or essere you need to use. Put them together and Ecco fatto! it’s done.

So how do we decide which verbs use avere and which ones use essere? Is the verb transitive or not? What? Nothing like a word you have never heard of to explain a concept that you don’t understand.  For this I am truly sorry, but it will give us common language and it will provide you with a hook where you can hang this very useful rule.

A transitive verb is a verb that can take an object. In other words, Can you logically answer what or whom after the verb?

So tell me can you ask what about notare? Yes, you can note something. This is a transitive verb.

What about credere? Yes, you can believe something.

What about sentire? Yes again. you can feel or smell something.

These are transitive verbs. They take the auxiliary verb avere.

How about, let’s think of transitive verbs, being verbs that trans-fer the action to someone or something. 

So, knowing these are transitive verbs, let’s put it together. But first, some vocabulary.

What is the Italian word for a mistake? – un errore / for the news? – la notizia / the thunderstorm? – il temporale.

Perfect. Now, do you recall the Italian word for to note? notare. Past participle? notato.

And now for some practice. Positions everybody. Are you ready?

I noted a mistake.                                                   Io ho notato un errore.

You noted a mistake.                                            Tu hai notato un errore.

He or she noted a mistake.                                Lui/Lei ha notato un errore.

We noted a mistake.                                             Noi abbiamo notato un errore.

You all noted a mistake.                                      Voi avete notato un errore.

They noted a mistake.                                          Loro hanno notato un errore.

Well done. Next, what was to believe?                                credere.  
 Past participle?                                                                       creduto.

I believed the news.                                               Io ho creduto la notizia.

You believed the news.                                        Tu hai creduto la notizia.

He/she believed the news.                                Lui/Lei ha creduto la notizia.

We believed the news.                                         Noi abbiamo creduto la notizia.

You all believed the news.                                  Voi avete creduto la notizia.

They believed the news.                                      Loro hanno creduto la notizia.

And the word for to feel or to smell?                               sentire.
 Past participle?                                                                   sentito.

I heard the thunderstorm.                                  Io ho sentito il temporale.

You heard the thunderstorm.                           Tu hai sentito il temporale.

He/she heard the thunderstorm.                    Lui/Lei ha sentito il temporale.

We heard the thunderstorm.                            Noi abbiamo sentito il temporale.

You all heard the thunderstorm.                     Voi avete sentito il temporale.

They heard the thunderstorm.                         Loro hanno sentito il temporale.

You’ve got it!  - Ci sei!

So far we have said that if a verb takes an object, answers the question of what or whom it is transitive. And for transitive verbs the auxiliary verb is avere.  

And verbs that are intransitive, don’t take an object. The auxiliary verb would be… You’ve got it …essere.

Using essere as the auxiliary in passato prossimo will be covered in the next episode. 

Today's Assignment

Right now, I have an exercise for you that will help to bring this passato prossimo tense to light. Remember the last part of our story when Mariella was dreaming of a job where she could share her love of culture and history?

How about we rewrite it in passatto prossimo? And then I’d like you to consider what effect that would have on our story.

If you take a look at the transcript for this episode, you can find the text that you have seen already for part 2, but with the verbs in imperfetto highlighted along with their infinitive. With the exception of ‘dire’ and ‘prendere’ all of these verbs have regular past participles, so those two you may have to look up.

Your assignment is to replace the imperfetto verbs in this text with passato prossimo, meaning the conjugated form of avere for the appropriate person or subject pronoun, and the past participle of the verb. For example, the first one is ‘she dreamed of a job in which she could share her love for culture.

Sognava (sognare) un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore per la cultura.

What is the past participle of sognare; sognato. And the third person conjugation of avere; ha. So the same sentence in passato prossimo would be:
 Ha sognato un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore per la cultura.

Can you sense the difference between the two tenses? Sognava….Ha sognato.  You tell me. 

If you would like to comment on this, I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to click Send me a text in the podcast description for this episode. 

The answers for this assignment will be provided in the transcript for the next regular episode. I’d like to encourage you to do this exercise before you check the answer key.

We’re just getting started with passato prossimo, but let’s take a break from the theory and grammar and see how past tenses work in action.

Antonio: Finalmente! Pensavo fosse un podcast di avventura, non di coniugazioni!

Myra: Un po’ di entrambi, Antonio. A bit of both.

Antonio (interrompendola, con un sospiro): Entrrrrambi, Maira! Devi arrotare la r!
(You have to roll your r!)

Myra (sospirando): Entrambi, entrambi

Antonio (scuotendo la testa): Mah… sarà una lunga strada.
(Well… it’s going to be a long road.)

And speaking of adventure, as you listen to this next part of our story, notice how we’re still using imperfetto for descriptions and background details… but when something happens, passato prossimo takes over. See if you can catch the exact moment when passato prossimo takes over—when the action kicks in. 

And now, let’s return to our story, where Mariella’s days have been following a familiar routine—work, dreams of something more, and quiet moments of nostalgia for her grandmother, Nonna Maria. 

But tonight, as the autumn rain falls over Florence, an unexpected visitor arrives at her door—holding something that just might change everything.

The Pages of the Past – Le Pagine del Passato. 

Chapter 1 - The Ancient Library - La Biblioteca Antica – Part 3 - Italian Only

Ora che sua nonna non c’era più, Mariella sentiva la sua mancanza, non solo perché era gentile e affettuosa, ma anche per i giochi che preparava per i bambini.

Organizzava cacce al tesoro o enigmi da risolvere.

Lorenza, la migliore amica di Mariella, che nonna Maria aveva soprannominato Nenzina, ma Mariella aveva sempre chiamato Zina, lavorava come barista in un bar non lontano dall'ufficio di Mariella.

Zina faceva i migliori cappuccini di Firenze, ma spesso si lamentava dei clienti scortesi e dei turni lunghi.

“Se non avessi bisogno dei soldi, lascerei domani,” aveva detto a Mariella più di una volta.

Mariella ricordava che in giornate autunnali come quella di oggi sua nonna Maria preparava loro la cioccolata calda e che si sedevano tutti accanto al camino nella residenza collegata alla biblioteca ad ascoltare storie...

… su Lorenzo de’ Medici, un uomo potente di Firenze che sosteneva artisti e pensatori, Caterina Sforza, una donna di grande intelligenza nota per il suo coraggio, e naturalmente Garibaldi, l’“eroe dei due mondi,” che credeva nella libertà e nella giustizia e che, come piaceva dire a nonna Maria, era stato molto importante nella creazione dell’Italia che conosciamo oggi.

Una sera piovosa di ottobre, dopo un’altra lunga giornata all’agenzia di viaggi, Mariella si è versata un bicchiere di vino e si è seduta sul suo scomodo e vecchio divano.  

Si stava appena rilassando quando ha sentito bussare alla porta. Il rumore era deciso ma non troppo forte.

“Chi può essere a quest’ora?” ha mormorato, alzandosi con un sospiro.

Quando ha aperto la porta, Zina era lì, completamente fradicia.

“Zina! Che cosa ci fai qui con questo tempo?” ha chiesto Mariella, notando la giacca gocciolante e l’espressione stanca dell’amica.

“Devo mostrarti qualcosa,” disse Zina, tirando fuori un pacchetto avvolto in carta marrone dalla sua borsa.

Shall we have one more listen before we wind things up?

***replay of part 3***

Before we wrap up, I’m excited to let you know that there’s a bonus episode available exclusively for subscribers! 🎉 In this episode, we’ll explore key vocabulary from Part 4 of our story, giving you a head start for podcast episode 5. You’ll hear new words in context, work through recall exercises, and challenge yourself with a mini quiz and interactive flashcards. If you’d like to boost your Italian and support the podcast, just click the link in the description to support the show.

Oh—and before we go, I want to say grazie di cuore to a listener from Syracuse, New York, who sent me a short message through the Buzzsprout platform. It simply said: “Vorrei ascoltare il tuo podcast.”

There wasn’t a name—just a 4 digit number, so I cannot reply. —but if that was you, I want you to know I received your message, and it really means a lot to me.

And maybe it’s a good time to clarify something for any new listeners. If you ever try to play an episode and get a message saying it requires a subscription, that just means you’ve clicked on a bonus episode. All the main episodes are free. But if you’d like to support the show and get extra practice materials like vocabulary, quizzes, flashcards, and interactive practice exercises, you would need to subscribe.

 Also, a quick note about transcripts: I include transcripts for every episode, but not all podcast platforms display them. If you don’t see one where you’re listening, just follow the link in the episode description to find the show on Buzzsprout. There, you’ll always find the full transcript—plus any assignment text and answers when available. 

This brings us to the end of today’s episode, but as usual, you have some work to do. Good luck with your assignment. In bocca a lupo!  Does anybody know the correct answer to that well known Italian expression of good luck? Let me know if you do!

In the meantime, let’s find that quiet place where you can feel free to speak out loud and have another listen to this episode, practicing along with me. 

Take your time, enjoy the process, and remember—learning happens piano piano. Ci vediamo, alla prossima!

 Here is the text for the assignment:

Sognava (sognare) un lavoro in cui potesse  condividere il suo amore per la cultura e la storia di Firenze, ma invece passava (passare) la maggior parte del tempo davanti a un computer, risolvendo i problemi degli altri.

Spesso, durante la pausa pranzo, passeggiava (passeggiare) per le strade di Firenze, sbirciando (sbirciare) nei grandi cortili attraverso i cancelli decorati, immaginando come sarebbe stato vivere in un posto così magnifico. 

Sua madre Anita, che lavorava come infermiera all’ospedale locale, le diceva (dire) sempre di continuare a sognare in grande. 

"I tuoi sogni si realizzeranno  un giorno," diceva (dire) con un sorriso pieno di significato che Mariella non ha mai capito del tutto.

Il sabato mattina Mariella prendeva (prendere) la bicicletta per andare nel suo bar preferito a bere un cappuccino e a fare una pausa dall’ufficio.

Il percorso la portava (portare) sempre davanti a un vecchio edificio con finestre alte e polverose.