The Past Tense

Front 1

What are two ways that the past is expressed in Italian? Which is most common?

Back 1

- Passato Prossimo (most common)

- Imperfetto

Front 2

What auxiliary verb does PP take?

Back 2

Both, but avere (to have) most often

(ho, hai, ha, avete, abiamo, hanno)

Front 3

What auxiliary verb does imperfetto take?

Back 3

None. It needs a conjugation.

Front 4

When is imperfetto used? In how many cases?

Back 4

Used in 5 cases:

- Habitual actions ('I used to", "I would")

- Weather and time

- Two on-going and separate actions (Mente: While)

- Mental and physical state (age, appearance)

- Continuous action

Front 5

When is PP used? In how many cases?

Back 5

Used in 3 cases:

- Specific instances

- Something repeated a specific # of times

- Indefinite time periods

Front 6

Endings for imperfetto '-are'

Back 6

io - 'avo'

tu - 'avi'

Lui/lei - 'ava'

noi - 'avamo'

voi - 'avate'

loro - 'avanno'

Front 7

Endings for imperfetto '-ere'

Back 7

io - 'evo'

tu - 'evi'

Lui/lei - 'eva'

noi - 'evamo'

voi - 'evate'

loro - 'evanno'

Front 8

Endings for imperfetto '-ire'

Back 8

io - 'ivo'

tu - 'ivi'

Lui/lei - 'iva'

noi - 'ivamo'

voi - 'ivate'

loro - 'ivanno'

Front 9

essere in imperfetto

Back 9

'eri'

'era'

'eravamo'

'eravate'

'erano '

Front 10

When using essere in PP what must we do?

Back 10

Remember to:

- to change according to gender and number of the subject(s)

- 'i' for masculine and 'e' for feminine

Front 11

How do you find the subject of the sentence?

Back 11

Ask: Who or what 'verbs' or 'verbed'? The answer is the subject.

Front 12

Hints for spotting Imperfetto

Back 12

- Ogni/sempre - every

- tutti - (almost) every

- Mentre - While

- Spesso - Often

- Quando ero giovane

Front 13

Hints for spotting PP

Back 13

fa - ago

scorso - last

Ieri - Yesterday

Front 14

fare in imperfetto

Back 14

'facevo'

'facevi'

'faceva'

'faceviano'

'faceviano'

'facevate'

'facevanno'