Verb tenses Flashcards
Possato Prossimo
Describing actions that were completed in the past
Describing actions that began in the past and are ongoing
Made up of two verbs:
1) conjugated form of ESSERE or AVERE (conjugated for the person/object/subject doing the action;
2) main verb describing the activity (past participle)
Drop the ending of each verb and add the past participle
- ARE -> ATO
- ERE -> UTO
- IRE -> ITO
ESSERE or AVERE?
- Use AVERE for all transitive verbs (verbs that need an object to make sense). If there is a direct object pronoun used (Mi, Ti, Lo/La, Ci, Vi, Li/Le) past participle must agree. If not, use singular male (ato, uto, ito)
- Use ESSERE for all intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take an object and the action refers back to the subject). Past participle must agree with the subject.
IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES
- Bere -> bevuto
- Decidire -> deciso
- Dire -> detto
- Essere -> stato
- Fare -> fatto
- Leggere -> letto
- Mettere -> messo
- Perdere -> perso
- Prendere -> preso
- Rimanere -> rimasto
- Vedere -> visto
- Venire -> venuto
Imperfetto
A continued and prolonged action that happened in the past, or a habit in the past. To talk about events that happened at some point in the past but we don’t say exactly when.
- To describe the way people, objects, or places were in the past.
- To describe ongoing situations and facts which happened over a continuous or unspecified period of time.
- To describe states of mind or health.
- To describe what used to happen, such as habits and repeated actions in the past.
- To describe two past actions happening at the same time. We use the imperfetto for the ongoing “background” action, and we use the passato prossimo for the “interrupting” action which happened for a shorter period of time.
ARE Verbs: -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano
ERE Verbs: -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, evate, -evano
IRE Verbs: -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano
IRREGULAR:
FARE: io facevo, tu faevi, lui/lei faceva, noi facevamo, voi facevate, loro facevano
ESSERE: io ero, tu eri, lui/lei era, noi eravamo, voi eravate, loro erano
DIRE: io dicevo, tu dicevi, lui/lei diceva, noi dicevamo, voi dicevate, loro dicevano
Essere
Imperfetto
The imperfect tense is used when talking about an action that was going on at the time of speaking
Io ero -> I was
Tu eri -> You were
Lui / Lei era -> He / She was
Noi eravamo -> We were
Voi eravate -> You were
Essi erano -> They were
Passato prossimo
The most versatile past tense, passato prossimo is used to indicate an action that happened and reached its conclusion in the past, compared to imperfetto, where the action was still happening at the time of speaking
Io sono stato -> I have been
Tu sei stato -> You have been
Lui / Lei è stato/a -> He / She has been
Noi siamo stati -> We have been
Voi siete stati -> You have been
Essi sono stati -> They have been
Trapassato prossimo
This tense is used to talk about an action or event already performed in the past, which precedes another to which it is connected and which is expressed by a past tense. Nowadays, it is only used very rarely.
Io ero stato I had been
Tu eri stato You had been
Lui / Lei era stato/a He / She had been
Noi eravamo stati We had been
Voi eravate stati You had been
Essi erano stati They had been
Futuro anteriore
This tense is used when you want to talk about what is going to happen once the action will have happened in the future
Io sarò stato I will have been
Tu sarai stato You will have been
Lui / Lei sarà stato/a He / She will have been
Noi saremo stati We will have been
Voi sarete stati You will have been
Essi saranno stati They will have been
Subjuncvitve Mood
The subjunctive (congiuntivo) mood is used to express subjectivity, uncertainty, or doubt. It is used in subordinate clauses—clauses that cannot exist as a complete sentence because they do not express a complete thought—and always introduced by the word che (that). Like the indicative, it has simple and compound tenses. Let’s see how to conjugate essere in the subjunctive mood.
Presente
Che io sia I am
Che tu sia You are
Che lui / lei sia He / She is
Che noi siamo We are
Che voi siate You are
Che essi siano They are
Imperfetto
Che io fossi (that) I were
Che tu fossi (that) you were
Che lui / lei fosse (that) he / she were
Che noi fossimo (that) we were
Che voi foste (that) you were
Che essi fossero (that) they were
Passato
Che io sia stato I have been
Che tu sia stato You have been
Che lui / lei sia stato/a He / She has been
Che noi siamo stati We have been
Che voi siate stati You have been
Che essi siano stati They have been
Trapassato
This tense is used to express a past possibility or a need that has not happened or been realized
Che io fossi stato
Che tu fossi stato
Che lui / lei fosse stato/a
Che noi fossimo stati
Che voi foste stati
Che essi fossero stati
Verb Tenses
Indicativo - It is used to describe actual, real events.
- Presente - describes events that happen in the present, facts that are always true, general habits, or events of the near future.
- Passato prossimo - It describes past events that have been completed in the past. It can have a reference with the present. A compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in presente and the past participle of the main verb.
- Imperfetto - This is used to describe past states, habits, or ongoing events. It is the classic narrative tense for descriptions. The imperfetto is formed by separating the infinitive ending are/ere/ire from the verb stem, adding the corresponding thematic vowel a/e/i per verb group are/ere/ire, and then adding the imperfetto ending (vo, vi, va, vamo, vate, vano)
- Trasportto prossimo - Expresses events that occurred before something that has already happened. A compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in imperfetto and the past participle of the main verb.
- Futuro semplice - Describes an event in the future. It is also used to express an assumption. The futuro semplice is formed by separating the infinitive ending are/ere/ire from the verb stem, adding the thematic vowel e (are/ere) or i (ire) and the corresponding futuro semplice ending (rò, rai, rà, remo, rete, ranno)
- Futuro anteriore - expresses the anteriority of a future event before another future event, or is used to express an assumption that refers to the near past. The futuro anteriore is a compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in futuro semplice and the past participle of the main verb.
Congiuntivo - mood of subjectivity and uncertainty
- Congiuntivo presente - found in a subordinate clause that follows a main clause in the present indicative and expresses simultaneity or posteriority. (present + present)
- Congiuntivo passato - found in a subordinate clause that follows a main clause in the present indicative and expresses antecedence. The congiuntivo passato is a compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in congiuntivo presente and the past participle of the main verb. (present + past)
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Congiuntivo imperfetto - is found in a subordinate clause following a main clause with a past tense (e.g. indicativo imperfetto) and expresses contemporaneity or posteriority. It is also used in hypothetical conditional clauses. The congiuntivo imperfetto is formed by separating the infinitive ending are/ere/ire from the verb stem, adding the thematic vowel a/e/i and the corresponding congiuntivo imperfetto ending (ssi, ssi, sse, ssimo, ste, ssero). (past + present)
- Congiuntivo trapassato - is found in a subordinate clause following a main clause with a past tense (e.g. indicativo imperfetto) and expresses antecedence. It is also used in hypothetical conditional clauses (impossibility). The congiuntivo trapassato is a compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in congiuntivo imperfetto and the past participle of the main verb. (past + past)
Condizionale - mainly used to indicate an event or situation that takes place only when a certain condition is met
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Condizionale presente - expresses the consequence in the hypothetical clause. Also, this tense is used as a form of politeness or to express wishes. The condizionale presente is formed by separating the infinitive ending are/ere/ire from the verb stem, adding the thematic vowel e (are/ere) or i (ire) and the corresponding condizionale presente ending (rei, resti, rebbe, remmo, reste, rebbero)
- Condizionale passato - expresses the consequence in the hypothetical clause of impossibility. Also, this tense is used to express the so-called future-in-the-past. The condizionale passato is a compound tense and is formed by the auxiliary verbs essere or avere in condizionale presente and the past participle of the main verb.
