Present perfect (passato prossimo) in Italian
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The present perfect (passato prossimo) belongs to the indicative mood.
The passato prossimo is one of the most used compound past tenses in Italian. It is used to express:
Example:
In Northern Italy people tend to always use the passato prossimo.
In Southern Italy people tend to use the passato remoto (absolute past) more.
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Marker words that indicate the passato prossimo are:
Example | Translation |
---|---|
Ieri | Yesterday |
Ieri mattina/pomeriggio/sera | Yesterday morning/afternoon/evening |
Due minuti/ore/giorni fa | Two minutes/hours/days ago |
Questa mattina | This morning |
Prima | Before |
Già | Already |
Appena | Just |
Example:
Passato prossimo is formed by two verbs:
*Past participle is important because regular and irregular verbs have different forms.
In order to conjugate the present perfect in Italian, it is important to know how the past participle is formed.
Regular verbs always form the past participle by adding the endings -ato, -uto, -ito to the root.
Here you can find a helping chart:
Verb | Root | Ending | |
---|---|---|---|
-are conjugation | Parlare (to speak) Giocare (to play) | parl gioc | ato ato |
-ere conjugation | Vendere (to sell) Sapere (to know) | vend sap | uto uto |
-ire conjugation | Finire (to finish) Sentire (to feel/listen/hear) | fin sent | ito ito |
Let's now conjugate the regular verbs parlare, vendere and finire in the passato prossimo tense:
Here is the conjugation of the verb parlare:
Example parlare (to speak)
Auxiliary verb | Past participle | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | ho | parlato | Io ho parlato con Maria ieri | I spoke to Maria yesterday |
Tu | hai | parlato | Tu hai parlato con Maria ieri | You spoke to Maria yesterday |
Egli/Ella | ha | parlato | Egli ha parlato con Maria ieri | He spoke to Maria yesterday |
Noi | abbiamo | parlato | Noi abbiamo parlato con Maria ieri | We spoke to Maria yesterday |
Voi | avete | parlato | Voi avete parlato con Maria ieri | You spoke to Maria yesterday |
Essi/Esse | hanno | parlato | Essi hanno parlato con Maria ieri | They spoke to Maria yesterday |
Here is the conjugation of the verb vendere:
Example vendere (to sell)
Auxiliary verb | Past participle | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | ho | venduto | Io ho venduto dei pomodori | I sold some tomatoes |
Tu | hai | venduto | Tu hai venduto dei pomodori | You sold some tomatoes |
Egli/Ella | ha | venduto | Egli ha venduto dei pomodori | He sold some tomatoes |
Noi | abbiamo | venduto | Noi abbiamo venduto dei pomodori | We sold some tomatoes |
Voi | avete | venduto | Voi avete venduto dei pomodori | You sold some tomatoes |
Essi/Esse | hanno | venduto | Essi hanni venduto dei pomodori | They sold some tomatoes |
Here is the conjugation of the verb finire:
Example finire (to finish)
Auxiliary verb | Past participle | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | ho | finito | Io ho finito i compiti | I finished the homework |
Tu | hai | finito | Tu hai finito i compiti | You finished the homework |
Egli/Ella | ha | finito | Egli ha finito i compiti | He finished the homework |
Noi | abbiamo | finito | Noi abbiamo finito i compiti | We finished the homework |
Voi | avete | finito | Voi avete finito i compiti | You finished the homework |
Essi/Esse | hanno | finito | Essi hanno finito i compiti | They finished the homework |
Let's now briefly see how the past participle of irregular verbs is formed.
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow grammatical rules to form the past participle. These verbs have to be studied by heart.
Here is a list of the main irregular forms of the past participle:
Infinite | Past participle |
---|---|
Aprire (to open) | Aperto |
Correre (to run) | Corso |
Rimanere (to remain) | Rimasto |
Apparire (to appear) | Apparso |
Chiudere (to close) | Chiuso |
Chiedere (to ask) | Chiesto |
Dire (to say) | Detto |
Prendere (to take) | Preso |
Leggere (to read) | Letto |
Perdere (to lose) | Perso |
Vedere (to see) | Visto |
Example:
As you already know, transitive verbs can be followed by an object.
e.g. Tu canti una canzone (You sing a song)
Intransitive verbs cannot be followed by an object.
e.g. Luca ride (Luca laughs)
All transitive verbs use the auxiliary verbs "avere" to form the passato prossimo.
The majority of intransitive verbs use the auxiliary verb "essere" to form the passato prossimo.
When the passato prossimo if formed with the auxiliary verb "essere", the past participle must agree with the gender and number of the subject.
e.g: Giulia è andata a casa (Giulia went home)
Edoardo è andato a casa (Edoardo went home)
Edoardo e Giulia sono andati a casa (Edoardo and Giulia went home)
Here is how the auxiliary verbs essere and avere form the passato prossimo:
Essere | Avere | |
---|---|---|
Io | sono stato/a | ho avuto |
Tu | sei stato/a | hai avuto |
Egli/Ella | è stato/a | ha avuto |
Noi | siamo stati/e | abbiamo avuto |
Voi | siete stati/e | avete avuto |
Essi/Esse | sono stati/i | hanno avuto |
Example:
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
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Daniela is an extraordinary teacher and has helped me become very confident in speaking Italian and I really like every lesson, thanks Daniela.
Daniela V.Dear Pip, thank you for your positive feedback and thank you for your trust !. You're doing an exceptional job, keep it up :-)
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Hello! My name is Deborah! I am a language instructor. I teach Italian, English and Bulgarian. I have more than 15 years teaching experience, both face-to-face and online to individual as well as to small and large groups. At the moment I am teaching Italian in a private school in Sofia, Bulgaria- where I lived for more than 10 years. I teach English to students ready to move to English speaking countries for work, and to students who need Еnglish for their career. I also prepare students for exams (KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE), and I offer language courses for communication and travelling purposes.
I attended the College (tourism) in Lucca-Italy. I have a diploma in Secretarial and Business Administration from the South Kensington and Chelsea Collage in London- (I lived in London few years ago). I have a TEFL certificate -grade A. and an ECL certificate in Bulgarian C1 with 96/100. Therefore, I have a good knowledge of how languages work and I can provide my students with helpful insight. Teaching is my passion, and I am constantly in search for new methods to help my students to get through the challenges and the difficults when learning a new language.
I am an enthusiastic, dedicated and adaptable teacher. I always use the communicative method in my teaching and I try to make my students feel comfortable by creating a funny and relaxed environment.
I hope to see you soon in one of my classes!
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Amazing teacher , always on time and the more I took lessons the more I understood Italian , I am still not speaking well but I can understand 75% of what people on the street are saying to me compared to the beginning when I only understood 20-30% , that really helped me a lot specially since it is hard to find English speaking places around me , the lesson is always on time and the teacher is flexible and the teaching materials are great with Italian culture and everyday life mixed in recommended
Deborah M.Thank you!! You have an always positive attitude, you work hard to do a great job!
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Hello Everybody
My name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students
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I am available for any explanations also via e mail
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Luisa A.Dear Juliet thank you, thank you so much !!!!! you improve because you're a good student !!!!
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Bonjour à tous!
My name is Daniel, and I have been an online and face-to-face French teacher for more than 5 years (I work at the Alliance Française of Burgos and I have been teaching private classes online and face-to-face for several years).
I have experience in teaching children, teenagers and adults, whether for professional or educational purposes or simply for the pleasure of learning a language as beautiful as French.
I also have experience in preparing official exams such as DELF (A1-B2) and DALF (C1/C2), and I have many exam samples at my disposal to help you achieve your goal!
À très bientôt!!!
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Daniel is a teacher with a lot of experience in teaching and plenty of materials. .I can totally recommend him
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Dear student, my name is Domingo and I am an Italian teacher. 2 short words about me:
After classical studies, I graduated in Italian language and literature. Then I obtained the Cedils certificate as a teacher of Italian for foreigners.
What kind of teacher am I? How can I help you?
Well, I can help you who already know Italian, B1, B2, C1, C2, but you want to deepen the Italian culture, you love poetry, music or maybe you want to discover Italian cinema, or you simply want to improve your command in this tongue.
You who study in Italy, you have to deal with subjects such as history, literature, philosophy, sociology, and you want to deepen some words or concepts in Italian and you want coaching, a valid help.
To you professional, who know Italian but need cultural support to achieve your goals.
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I have 3 + years of experience as a teacher, and I have also been a translator/proofreader for almost three decades. I can speak English, a bit of German, French and Spanish, as well as very, very basic Swedish. In short, I know just how it feels to be a learner of a foreign language, too!
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But enough about me. Let's talk about you! What is your current level and what are your short- and long-term goals in learning Italian? Book a free trial lesson (half an hour) with me. We'll talk about your goals and discuss how best to achieve them.
Hope to meet you soon!
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Am prepared and skilled as a languages teacher. My unit includes phonetic, orthography, lexis, comunicative functions, cultural themes. Culturali elements are the focus of my teaching, bit grammar Is not missing, you learn It by funny way with me. Am very nice, polite and witty. I put the student in a confortable zone, I want him/her feel too feel at ease. I don't ask the student to memorize list of words or verbs, I let him or her know them by learning them in use , have experience of language system and culture. I teach you how to speak, how to do practical things with language according the pragmatic approach. We use the language for many purposes and to comunicate with other people.
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela is a wonderful teacher. I really had difficulty properly expressing myself in Italian. Daniela not only tought me the basic rules of Italian grammar, but more importantly, during our many conversations in Italian, she helped me express myself much better and with confidence. I still have some path to go, particulalry deepening my knowledge of grammar. The next phase that I will start in a couple of months will focus on perfectionning that. I hope Daniela will find the time to work with me again
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela is a great teacher, she is helping me with my Italian. The lessons always fly by because it it so easy to talk with her. She makes you feel very at ease and has a great way of keeping the conversation going, while in the meantime keeping an eye on explaining grammatical things and making sure you improve your vocabulary each time. Therefore the lessons have a nice balance between being very enjoyable as well as informative, which makes the learning process proceed at a very consistent pace. Definitely can recommend Daniela!
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Are you doing an Erasmus in Italy or Spain?
Are you came back recently?
Do you want a languages certification?
Here i am! I'm Andrea an Italian/spanish teacher that living in Spain. I got a Teaching Master and I'm working as italian teacher. Also, I have a C1 spanish level ( DELE certification) and I can teach you both languages.
Send me a request and we can find the best solution for you ;)
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It's very useful to go through writing I have done and discuss other ways of expressing the same idea.
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Hi, guys! My name is Lucia and I would like to invite you to learn Italian with me.
I am both a native speaker and a QUALIFIED teacher, as I hold a post-graduate degree in “Teaching Italian as a second language” and a national certification as teacher of Italian to not-native speaking.
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I offer lessons for all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced, as well as support in preparation to certification exams (I am also qualified ad examiner for the oral part of CELI).
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me to find a suitable time-slot for your trial lesson!
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I am an Italian native speaker with a Master's degree in Languages for International Relations. I have experience in tutoring students from all ages.
I prepare tailored lessons based on the students' needs and interests using textbooks, videos, interactive resources and ad-hoc materials.
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I began Italian lessons with Mariarosa a few weeks ago and she has been a stellar teacher thus far! She tailors each of our lessons to my pace, and includes things that I mention I don't know yet or want to learn. All of our lessons have a good mix of grammar, vocabulary and review, and I always have a good bit of homework to keep me busy and continue learning between lessons :) highly recommend her as a teacher.
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Why should you choose me? Take a look at what people say who have taken online classes with me.
Book lessons with me and
- prepare Dutch exams "Basisinburgering A1" and "Inburgeringsexamen A2". Your full commitment and my energetic, professional approach are the winning combination to help you succeed at once!
- learn Dutch because you live in the Netherlands (or are planning to move there) and still don’t speak the language properly or haven’t started yet. You’ll enjoy your environment more!
- learn Italian for work or because you will move to this beautiful country or simply because you just love it. Let me help you experience the language!
- study Spanish for pleasure, work or because you have to prepare an exam for school and you need to get confident to perform optimally
- get confident in useful daily conversations, meetings at work, exams, and presentations
- overcome the fear of failure; if you have learning problems, feel shy or need a boost of energy you’ll get confident enough to achieve your goals
My lessons are based on conversations. My method is to help you practice the language from the very beginning in spontaneous and direct conversations, using often role plays.
With books, articles, songs, and other interesting and stimulating material I will encourage conversation, develop grammar in a simpler way, and improve pronunciation.
Learning a foreign language is not a matter of doing much effort, but rather of being consistent, enjoying the lessons and allowing your intuition to work with you. You will book immediate results while having fun!
I've been teaching Dutch, Spanish and Italian for many years, in The Netherlands, for private institutes, for the integration of foreigners into society (Inburgering), and online from Italy, where I currently live.
Contact me for a free trial and let me know how I can help you.
CANCELATION POLICY
If you cancel a reservation please do it at least 24 hours before the session
(otherwise I would have to charge you for the lesson).
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Elena is a great teacher, she is extremely accessible, knowledgeable and will work with you to develop the best approach that works best for you. My husband and I have had multiple lessons now and we enjoy it a lot and look forward every week to the next lesson!
Elena P.Thank you for your feedback, Marja. It's a real pleasure to work with you and your husband. I am very satisfied of the results that you both have achieved in such a short time!
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Hello everyone!
ABOUT ME
I was born and have grown up in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am passionate about football, traveling ( who isn't ! ), and reading books that make me want to stay indoors and read all day! But I have many interests and the most exciting thing is getting a chance to talk to you about all of them and finding out about your interests too. This is one way we will practice your English skills and together we will set goals and aims to make you perfect in English.
ME AS A TEACHER
I have completed the 120 hour CELTA course, including six hours’ assessed teaching practice at two different levels. This is in addition to my Bachelor of Arts and Higher Diploma in Education qualifications.
I have taught student's in classrooms from Johannesburg, to London and Athens from as young as 13 right up to adults. This included business people and corporate individuals such as bankers. I am excellent at teaching from pre-intermediate to proficiency and with my business background, I am ready to help with Business English. In addition, I can greatly help with any exam preparation for IELTS, TOEFL, and TOEIC.
MY LESSONS & TEACHING STYLE
I teach because it has always been the one thing I am most passionate about. It’s this very feeling and passion that helps me create lessons that are well prepared, with a focus on short term and long terms goals and lessons that we will do as a team. I do believe strongly that any teaching is done as a partnership.
I do this through lessons that are creative, fun, interesting, and engaging - which means I get to hear what your thoughts and opinions are. So I will build a personal course for you based on using your interests, passions, and needs to create our study material. Lessons will always be focused on exactly what you need to learn to improve your skills and learn to speak like a native!
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Angelo is competent, funny and a really good teacher. I totally recommend him to everyone who wants to be taught in English professionally. His lessons are extremely well structured and adjusted individually.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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**Other time slots can be made available upon request. Don't hesitate to get in touch**
Native speaker from Paris with about 15 years of teaching experience. I’m well-travelled, and I’ve lived and worked in different parts of the world (Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia and a little bit in Asia).
I have a postgraduate degree (France) in Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies and I’m currently a freelance translator. I’ve previously worked at universities in France and abroad (South Africa/Australia) and have a solid experience in teaching (French Language, Literature, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, etc.), designing courses, evaluating and guiding students, preparing students for exams/job interviews/professional presentations, managing a Language and Literature department at the university, presenting papers at academic conferences worldwide, publishing, translating and journalism. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to teach people with different profiles and from various backgrounds: international professionals, university students, beginner translators and teachers, high school students, retirees, travellers, francophiles, children (help with homework), etc.
Being an open-minded, flexible and patient teacher, I enjoy helping others to discover their potential and to explore it. Adapting myself to my students' needs, pace and objectives is essential for me, and designing the best way to work with each student is very stimulating and rewarding.
After the initial introductory lesson, I will design customised lesson plans that will evolve as you progress. We can also, at any time during the programme, change our working method if you wish to do so. I remain very flexible in that regard.
The learning materials will be varied, and we will choose together the themes and aspects of French language to be covered, in line with your objectives. In any case, I am very attentive in general, so please don't hesitate to make any suggestions.
Regardless of your level and objectives, I'm sure that we can find the best way possible to share and enjoy this French language adventure together.
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