Language/Italian/Grammar/Trapassato-Prossimo

Italian Grammar - Compound Tenses > Trapassato Prossimo

Trapassato Prossimo is one of the compound tenses in the Italian language, used to talk about a past action that took place before another past action. It is mainly used in formal Italian writing and spoken language.

Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: Futuro Semplice & Give your Opinion.

Formation

To form Trapassato Prossimo, you need two elements:

1. The imperfect tense of the auxiliary verbs "avere" or "essere" (depending on the main verb) in the third person singular 2. The past participle of the main verb

The formula is:

subject + imperfect of "avere/essere" + past participle of the main verb

Here is an example with the verb "parlare" (to speak) with "avere":

Io avevo parlato (I had spoken) Tu avevi parlato (You had spoken) Lui/lei aveva parlato (He/she had spoken) Noi avevamo parlato (We had spoken) Voi avevate parlato (You had spoken) Loro avevano parlato (They had spoken)

And here is an example with the verb "uscire" (to go out) with "essere":

Io ero uscito (I had gone out) Tu eri uscito (You had gone out) Lui/lei era uscito/a (He/she had gone out) Noi eravamo usciti/e (We had gone out) Voi eravate usciti/e (You had gone out) Loro erano usciti/e (They had gone out)

Note that when using "essere", the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

Usage

Trapassato Prossimo is used to indicate an action that was completed before another action in the past. It is often used in combination with Passato Prossimo or Imperfetto.

Here are some example sentences:

• Quando sono arrivato a casa, mio marito era già andato a letto.

(When I arrived home, my husband had already gone to bed.)

• L'anno scorso aveva piovuto molto quando siamo andati in vacanza.

(Last year it had rained a lot when we went on vacation.)

• Avevano già chiuso il negozio quando sono arrivato.

(They had already closed the shop when I arrived.)

Irregular Verbs

Most verbs follow the regular pattern for Trapassato Prossimo formation. However, some verbs have irregular past participles that do not follow the normal rule of adding "-ato", "-uto", or "-ito".

Here are some commonly used verbs with their irregular past participles:

Italian	English	Past Participle
aprire	to open	aperto
bere	to drink	bevuto
chiedere	to ask	chiesto
chiudere	to close	chiuso
decidere	to decide	deciso
dire	to say	detto
fare	to do/make	fatto
leggere	to read	letto
mettere	to put	messo
morire	to die	morto
nascere	to be born	nato
offrire	to offer	offerto
prendere	to take	preso
scrivere	to write	scritto
vedere	to see	visto
vincere	to win	vinto
volere	to want	voluto

Exercises

Translate the following sentences into Italian using Trapassato Prossimo:

1. I had already eaten when my friends arrived.
2. We had seen the movie before, but we wanted to watch it again.
3. They had already left when we arrived at the restaurant.

Sources

• Italian past perfect (trapassato prossimo) grammar lesson
• Trapassato Prossimo: The Italian Past Perfect Tense - The ...
• Italian Past Perfect Tense - Trapassato Prossimo

Table of Contents - Italian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

Introduction to Italian Language

• Italian Alphabet
• Nouns and Articles
• Present Tense of Regular Verbs
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Present Tense of Irregular Verbs

  ---

Daily Life Expressions

• Greetings and Introductions
• Foods and Drinks
• Transportation
• Numbers and Dates

  ---

Italian Culture and Tradition

• Italian Regions and Cities
• Italian Cuisine and Wine
• Italian Art and Music
• Italian Festivals and Celebrations

  ---

Past and Future Tenses

• Passato Prossimo
• Futuro Semplice
• Imperfect Tense
• Condizionale Presente

  ---

Social and Work Life

• Family and Relationships
• Work and Employment
• Shopping and Services
• Tourism and Hospitality

  ---

Italian Literature and Cinema

• Famous Italian Writers and Poets
• Italian Cinema Industry
• Italian Contemporary Art

  ---

Subjunctive and Imperative Moods

• Present Subjunctive
• Imperative Form
• Simple Past Subjunctive
• Conditional Subjunctive

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Science and Technology

• Computer and Technology
• Science and Research
• Environment and Ecology

  ---

Italian Politics and Society

• Contemporary Italian Politics
• Italian Society and Customs
• Religion and Believes

  ---

Compound Tenses

• Trapassato Prossimo
• Trapassato Remoto
• Futuro Anteriore
• Congiuntivo Passato

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Arts and Design

• Fashion and Design
• Music and Performing Arts
• Visual Arts

  ---

Italian Language and Dialects

• Italian Language Variations
• Italian Language in the World
• Italian Language as a Second Language

Other Lessons

• Congiuntivo Passato
• Simple Past Subjunctive
• When use LI and GLI
• Accents
• Definite Articles
• Future Tense
• Present Tense of Regular Verbs
• Definite Articles in Italian
• Past Participle in Italian