2.6: Indicativo passato remoto
- Page ID
- 288979
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Regular forms of passato remoto
Passato remoto is a one-word verb, like presente and imperfetto.
To conjugate passato remoto:
- drop the -ARE, -ERE, -IRE from the infinitive form of the verb;
- add the endings as follows:
| Passato remoto di arrivare (to arrive) | Passato remoto di credere (to believe) | Passato remoto di dormire (to sleep) |
|---|---|---|
| (io) arrivai | (io) credei (or credetti**) | (io) dormii |
| (tu) arrivasti | (tu) credesti | (tu) dormisti |
| (lui/lei) arrivò | (lui/lei) credè (or credette) | (lui/lei) dormì |
| (noi) arrivammo | (noi) credemmo | (noi) dormimmo |
| (voi) arrivaste | (voi) credeste | (voi) dormiste |
| (loro) arrivarono | (loro) crederono (or credettero) | (loro) dormirono |
NOTE: In the third person singular the ending is stressed (ò, è, ì); ARE verb change the characteristic vowel (a) into -ò.
**Most –ERE verbs have two forms for the IO, LUI/LEI and LORO persons.
Irregular forms of passato remoto
1. Completely irregular
These are verbs that are irregular in all six forms:
| Passato remoto di essere (to be) | Passato remoto di dare (to give) | Passato remoto di stare (to stay) |
|---|---|---|
| (io) fui | (io) diedi | (io) stetti |
| (tu) fosti | (tu) desti | (tu) stesti |
| (lui/lei) fu | (lui/lei) diede | (lui/lei) stette |
| (noi) fummo | (noi) demmo | (noi) stemmo |
| (voi) foste | (voi) deste | (voi) steste |
| (loro) furono | (loro) diedero | (loro) stettero |
2. 1-3-3 verbs
Many verbs can be considered semi-irregular, as they use irregular endings for the persons IO, LUI/LEI, and LORO, while the other persons use the regular endings. These verbs follow the 1-3-3 pattern. The first person singular and the third person singular and plural are the most important ones to memorize and practice.
- The irregularity of the verbs consists in the irregular stem.
- To the irregular stem you must add the following endings: (io) -i; (lui/lei) -e; (loro) -ero.
- The endings are the same for all irregular verbs.
- The other forms (second person singular TU, first person plural NOI, and second person plural VOI) follow the regular conjugation pattern.
| Passato remoto REGOLARE: vendere (to sell) | Passato remoto IRREGOLARE 1-3-3: avere (to have) | Passato remoto IRREGOLARE 1-3-3 chiedere (to have) |
|---|---|---|
| (io) vendetti | (io) ebbi | (io) chiesi |
| (tu) vendesti | (tu) avesti | (tu) chiedesti |
| (lui/lei) vendette | (lui/lei) ebbe | (lui/lei) chiese |
| (noi) vendemmo | (noi) avemmo | (noi) chiedemmo |
| (voi) vendeste | (voi) aveste | (voi) chiedeste |
| (loro) vendettero | (loro) ebbero | (loro) chiesero |
| Common 1-3-3 verbs (irregular io, lui/lei, loro forms) |
|---|
| avere: (io) ebbi, (lui/lei) ebbe, (loro) ebbero |
| chiedere: (io) chiesi, (lui/lei) chiese, (loro) chiesero |
| conoscere: (io) conobbi, (lui/lei) conobbe, (loro) conobbero |
| decidere: (io) decisi, (lui/lei) decise, (loro) decisero |
| leggere: (io) lessi, (lui/lei) lesse, (loro) lessero |
| mettere: (io) misi, (lui/lei) mise, (loro) misero |
| nascere: (io) nacqui, (lui/lei) nacque, (loro) nacquero |
| prendere: (io) presi, (lui/lei) prese, (loro) presero |
| rispondere: (io) risposi, (lui/lei) rispose, (loro) risposero |
| sapere: (io) seppi, (lui/lei) seppe, (loro) seppero |
| scrivere: (io) scrissi, (lui/lei) scrisse, (loro) scrissero |
| vedere: (io) vidi, (lui/lei) vide, (loro) videro |
| venire: (io) venni, (lui/lei) venne, (loro) vennero |
| vivere: (io) vissi, (lui/lei) visse, (loro) vissero |
| volere: (io) volli, (lui/lei) volle, (loro) vollero |
3. Verbs: bere, dire, fare, tradurre
- follow the 1-3-3 pattern;
- use the Latin stems, for the TU, NOI, and VOI forms, as usual: bere (< bevere) → bev-, dire (< dicere) → dic-, fare (< facere) → fac-, tradurre (< traducere) → traduc-.
| bere (to drink) | dire (to say, to tell) | fare (to do, to make) | tradurre (to translate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (io) bevvi | (io) dissi | (io) feci | (io) tradussi |
| (tu) bevesti | (tu) dicesti | (tu) facesti | (tu) traducesti |
| (lui/lei) bevve | (lui/lei) disse | (lui/lei) fece | (lui/lei) tradusse |
| (noi) bevemmo | (noi) dicemmo | (noi) facemmo | (noi) traducemmo |
| (voi) beveste | (voi) diceste | (voi) faceste | (voi) traduceste |
| (loro) bevvero | (loro) dissero | (loro) fecero | (loro) tradussero |
The irregular verbs often follow the pattern of irregular participio passato. (The verbs below are grouped by similarities.)
| Infinito | Participio passato | "io" form of passato remoto |
|---|---|---|
| chiudere | chiuso | chius-i |
| correre | corso | cors-i |
| decidere | deciso | decis-i |
| immergere | immerso | immers-i |
| prendere | preso | pres-i |
| ridere | riso | ris-i |
| scendere | sceso | sces-i |
| spargere | sparso | spars-i |
| spendere | speso | spes-i |
| chiedere | chiesto | chies-i |
| dipingere | dipinto | dipins-i |
| porre | posto | pos-i |
| rimanere | rimasto | rimas-i |
| spingere | spinto | spins-i |
| vincere | vinto | vins-i |
| dire | detto | diss-i |
| leggere | letto | less-i |
| scrivere | scritto | scriss-i |
| bere | bevuto | bevv-i |
| cadere | caduto | cadd-i |
| piovere | piovuto | piovv-i |
| piacere | piaciuto | piacqu-i |
| sapere | saputo | sepp-i |
| tacere | taciuto | tacqu-i |
| tenere | tenuto | tenn-i |
| venire | venuto | venn-i |
| volere | voluto | voll-i |
| avere | avuto | ebb-i |
| conoscere | conosciuto | conobb-i |
| crescere | cresciuto | crebb-i |
| fare | fatto | fec-i |
| mettere | messo | mis-i |
| vedere | veduto | vid-i |
| vivere | vissuto | viss-i |
Risorse
Per trovare le coniugazioni di tutti i verbi, usa le risorse in APPENDIX
Uso del passato remoto
As you already know, passato prossimo is used to talk about the past. Generally, this tense is used for events in the recent past: for instance, something that happened this morning, yesterday or last year. Passato remoto is used instead to narrate events that happened in the distant (remote) past. More specifically:
- Passato remoto is commonly used in written Italian, especially in novels and for the narration of historical events.
- In terms of personal, day-to-day narration, there are regional differences in the use of passato remoto. In some areas of Southern Italy (Sicily in particular) passato remoto is often used in spoken language instead of passato prossimo, even when talking about the very recent past. In Tuscany and other central regions, it is often used when speaking about the distant past (for instance, to talk about when your grandparents met). In the North, passato remoto is not commonly used in speaking.
- Imperfetto is used with passato remoto (for descriptions and habitual actions) just as it is used with passato prossimo.
- Passato remoto and passato prossimo are translated in the same way. For example:
Dante scrisse la Divina Commedia. → passato remoto Dante wrote the Divine Comedy. Ieri, Matteo ha scritto un saggio. → passato prossimo Yesterday, Matthew wrote an essay.