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Passato Remoto
The passato remoto i s another past tense that reports actions completed in the past. Unlike passato prossimo, the passato remoto is a one word tense. It is most commonly used in narrative writing. The passato prossimo is more widely used in conversation.
The passato remoto is formed by adding the characteristic vowel (a for -are verbs, e for -ere verbs, and i for -ire verbs) to the infinitive stem plus the identical endings.
However, for -are verbs, note that in the third person singular the characteristic vowel changes from an a to an o. Please also note that an accent is added to the third person singular in all three conjugations.
parlare (parl-)
credere (cred-)
finire (fin)
parlai
credei
finii
parlasti
credesti
finisti
parlò
credè
fini
parlammo
credemmo
finimmo
parlaste
credeste
finiste
parlarono
crederono
finirono
Giotto affrescò la Cappella dell’ Arena verso il 1305.
Giotto frescoed the Arena Chapel around 1305.
Petrarca finì Il Canzoniere nel 1374.
Petrarca finished The Canzoniere in 1374.
Most -ere verbs have an alternate set of endings for the first and third persons singular and the third person plural:
· credei- credetti (io)
· credè – credette (lui/lei)
· crederono – credettero (loro)
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The passato remoto of essere, dare, dire fare, and stare is irregular in all persons.
essere
dare
dire
fare
stare
fui
diedi
dissi
feci
stetti
fosti
desti
dicesti
facesti
stesti
fu
diede
disse
fece
stette
fummo
demmo
dicemmo
facemmo
stemmo
foste
deste
diceste
faceste
steste
furono
diedero
dissero
fecero
stettero
Many other verbs that are irregular in the passato remoto follow a 1-3-3 pattern: they are irregular only in the first person singular and the third person singular and plural. Those irregular forms use the following endings: irregular stem + (io) -i, (lui/lei) -e, and (loro) -ero.
Avere
(Irregular stem: ebb)
ebbi
avemmo
avesti
aveste
ebbe
ebbero
Common verbs that follow the 1-3-3 pattern
*Below you will see the io ending: -i
The lui/lei ending is: -e
The loro ending is: -ero
avere- ebb-i
prendere- pres-i
chiedere- chies-i
rispondere- rispos-i
conoscere- conobb-i
scrivere- scriss-i
decidere- decis-i
vedere- vid-i
dipingere- dipins-i
venire- venn-i
leggere- less-i
vincere- vins-i
mettere- mis-i
vivere- viss-i
nascere- nacqu-i
volere- voll-i
Marco ebbe fortuna: vinse una borsa di studio.
Marco was lucky: he won a scholarship.
Quando i turisti domandarono dov’era il museo, nessuno li capì.
When the tourists asked where the museum was, nobody understood them.
- To describe a condition or express a habitual or ongoing action in the past, the imperfetto is used with the passato remoto exactly as it is used with the passato prossimo.
Non comprai/ho comprato il quadro perché non avevo abbastanza soldi.
I didn’t buy the painting because I didn’t have enough money.
Mi chiesero/ hanno chiesto perché non parlavo.
They asked me why I was not speaking.