Reading Time: 7 minutes

What are prepositions, and why are they one of the trickiest topics of Italian grammar? English has prepositions, too, and they are not easy to master either: they are words like to, about, in, on, for. Italian prepositions are DI, A, DA, IN, CON, SU, PER, TRA, FRA. There are many more, but these are the basic ones. Again: DI, A, DA, IN, CON, SU, PER, TRA, FRA. This is the order we learn them in school, like a tongue twister. This will help you remember! Now, let’s see what they mean and how to choose one or the other.

Why Prepositions Matter

Prepositions are tiny words that contain a lot of information. They express, for example, where you are, where you are going or where you come from; the moment something happened; the position of something, and much more.

They are called prepositions because they are placed before the noun or pronoun they refer to. Remember! We never put prepositions at the end of a sentence in Italian, like you sometimes do in English. In Italian prepositions always go in front of another word:

• Di cosa stai parlando? What are you talking about?
• Con chi vai al mare? Who are you going to the seaside with?

English and Italian often use prepositions differently, so you cannot always translate them literally. For example, in English you say I live in Milan, while in Italian we don’t use IN for cities, we use A:

• Io vivo a Milano. I live in Milan.

We use IN for bigger areas, like regions or countries:

• Io vivo in Veneto, Alberto vive in Francia. I live in Veneto, Alberto lives in France.

Sometimes you need a preposition in Italian but not in English, or the other way around. It all boils down to the verb you are using. Let’s translate this sentence: I will phone/call Luca later.

Here we have two possibilities:

1. Telefonerò a Luca più tardi.
2. Chiamerò Luca più tardi.

The verb chiamare is transitive and is not followed by a preposition, while the verb telefonare must be followed by the preposition A. This is why it’s a good idea to learn verbs together with the preposition(s) they are usually accompanied by.

Now let’s learn the basic meaning and usage of Italian prepositions, one by one. As you will notice, for most of them there are many different English translations. For the sake of simplicity, in this article we will not get into prepositional contractions (the combination of a preposition with a definite article), but they are very important as well. We have a video lesson on prepositional contractions and we will cover them soon here as well.

The preposition DI (of, by, on, about, from, than)

1. DI shows possession, ownership: la casa di Anita, il giardino di Ernesto, il cane di Luigi – Anita’s house, Ernesto’s garden, Luigi’s dog.

2. DI is also used to say who made, wrote, or composed something: una poesia di Ungaretti, il ponte di Renzo Piano – A poem by Ungaretti, Renzo Piano’s bridge.

3. DI introduces the topic of something:

• Oggi parliamo di grammatica. Today we talk about grammar.
• Questo è un libro di storia. This is a history book.

4. DI indicates the material something is made of: casa di carta, bottiglia di vetro – paper house, glass bottle.

5. DI shows origin, like from:

• Di dove sei? Sono di Firenze. Where are you from? I am from Florence.

All the uses mentioned above express a close relationship, similar to ownership. Here you would use several different English prepositions, but we only use DI.

6. Together with the days of the week, DI shows that something happens on a regular basis:

• Di domenica non lavoro. I don’t work on Sundays.
• Di mattina mi alzo presto. I get up early in the morning.

Here, though, you can also use the article and say: La domenica non lavoro. La mattina mi alzo presto.

7. DI is used in comparative and superlative structures:

• Alberto è più alto di Mauro. Alberto is taller than Mauro.

8. DI often introduces a verb in the infinitive in subordinate clauses:

• Penso di andare al mare. I’m thinking of going to the seaside.
• Finisco di lavorare alle cinque. I finish work at five.

The preposition A (at, to, in)

Our next preposition is A. It’s tricky because it shows movement toward a place, but also just location.

1. A is both at and to: Sono a casa / a scuola / a teatro (I am at home, at school, at the theatre), but also Vado a casa / a scuola / a teatro (I go home, to school, to the theatre).

2. A often introduces the recipient of something (the indirect object, answering the question to whom/what?):

• Ho scritto una lettera a mia sorella. I wrote a letter to my sister.
• Ho mandato un pacco a Stefano. I sent a parcel to Stefano.

3. A also shows distance:

• Abitiamo a 20 chilometri da Venezia. We live 20 kilometres from Venice.

4. A is used with some expressions of time:

• Cosa fai a Natale? What are you doing for Christmas?
• A presto! A domani! A più tardi! See you soon / tomorrow / later!

5. A can also introduce verbs in the infinitive:

• Comincia a piovere. It’s starting to rain.
• Vado a dormire. I’m going to bed.

The preposition DA (from, at, off, for, by)

1. DA translates the English from when talking about place of origin:

• Il treno viene da Milano. The train is coming from Milan.

2. We use DA with the verbs essere and stare to say that we are at someone’s place or shop, or that we are going to someone’s place or shop:

• Sono da una mia amica. I’m at a friend’s house.
• Fra poco vado da Renzo. I’m going to Renzo’s place shortly.

3. You can use DA with a verb in the present to say how long you have been doing something:

• Lavoro qui da tre mesi. I have been working here for three months.

4. DA shows the purpose of something: vestito da sposa, scarpe da ginnastica, tuta da lavoro – wedding dress, trainers, work overalls.

5. DA translates the English by in passive sentences:

• Una torta fatta da Lucia. A cake made by Lucia.

6. DA can also be followed by a verb in the infinitive when talking about things we have to do:

• C’è molto da fare! There is much to do!
• Questo è un film da vedere! This is a film you must see!
• Ho molto da imparare. I have a lot to learn.

The preposition IN (in, to, by)

1. IN shows location but also movement towards a place, just like A, but is used with different words.

• La valigia è in macchina. The suitcase is in the car.
• Sono in Italia. I am in Italy. (Remember! With cities use A: Sono a Torino.)
• Vado in ufficio / in banca / in fabbrica. I’m going to the office / to the bank / to the factory.

So, when to use IN, and when to use A? I know it sounds random, but it’s not. My advice is to memorise complete expressions, so you will just know that you should say IN ufficio and A casa, without thinking too much.

2. IN also means by when used with means of transport:

• Andiamo a Berlino in treno. We are going to Berlin by train.
• È tornata da Londra in macchina. She returned from London by car.

It’s a bit like saying that we are in the train or she was in the car.

3. IN can be used with time: in aprile, in autunno, in dieci minuti – in April, in autumn, in ten minutes.

The preposition CON (with)

1. CON corresponds to the English with:

• Stasera esco con gli amici. Tonight I’m going out with friends.
• Hanno lavorato con Arianna. They worked with Arianna.

2. CON is used to add information about something:

• Mi piacciono i dolci con il cioccolato. I like desserts with chocolate.
• Ho visto delle scarpe con i tacchi alti. I saw some high-heeled shoes.

3. CON can be used to say how something is done:

• Mangia con calma! Eat slowly!
• Taglio la carta con le forbici. I cut the paper with scissors.
• Pago con la carta di credito. I pay by credit card.

The preposition SU (on, about, out of)

1. SU basically means ON:

• L’ho comprato su internet. I bought it on the internet.

2. SU corresponds also to the English about, with reference to a topic, like DI:

• Un libro su Dante Alighieri. A book about Dante Alighieri.

3. With numbers, SU expresses a ratio: uno su tre, sette su dieci – one in three, seven out of ten

The preposition PER (for, to)

1. PER corresponds roughly to the English FOR:

• Questo regalo è per te. This gift is for you.
• Per me un caffè, grazie. A coffee for me, please.

2. Used with the passato prossimo, PER expresses the duration of an action that is no longer happening:

• Ho lavorato a Berlino per due anni. I worked in Berlin for two years (and I no longer work there).

Compare this construction with the use of DA with the present simple that we saw above:

• Lavoro a Berlino da due anni. I have been working in Berlin for two years (and I’m still working there).

3. PER shows the reason for something:

• Sono qui per lavorare. I am here to work.
• Ho cancellato il file per errore. I deleted the file by mistake.
• Ho comprato la tenda per andare in campeggio. I bought the tent to go camping.

4. With the verb partire, PER shows destination:

• Domani parto per Varsavia. I’m leaving for Warsaw tomorrow.

The prepositions TRA and FRA (between, among, in)

TRA and FRA are the same preposition, there is no difference and the choice is personal. Usually we tend to avoid repeating the same sound, so I wouldn’t say FRA fratelli, but TRA fratelli, and FRA trenta minuti instead of TRA trenta minuti.

1. TRA and FRA mean between, among:

• La biglietteria è tra il bar e il museo. The ticket office is between the bar and the museum.
• Fra tutti questi, scelgo quello blu. Of all these, I choose the blue one.

2. In reference with time, TRA and FRA also mean in:

• Sarò da te fra due ore. I’ll be with you in two hours.

That was a lot of information, and yet it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a good start, though! As I mentioned above, most of the prepositions we saw today are often combined with a definite article, but their usage is the same. More about this later!

As always, practice is key. Notice which prepositions follow specific verbs when you read something in Italian. And why not, try to write simple sentences with prepositions in the comments below!

A presto,

Anna

Related video lessons:

• How to Use Italian Prepositions – Le preposizioni
• How to Use Italian Prepositional Contractions – Le preposizioni articolate
• Let’s Practise Italian Prepositions! – Esercizi con le preposizioni

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Have you ever told a story about the past… but starting from before the main event? Welcome to the fascinating world of the trapassato prossimo, the Italian past perfect. This tense lets you describe an action that happened even earlier than another past action.

La tensione cresce

Let’s read a short exchange between two friends, Marco and Giulia:

Giulia: You look upset! Everything okay?
Marco: Don’t even ask… I had left the house early…
Giulia: Yeah?
Marco: I had taken the bus…
Giulia: And then? Come on!
Marco: When I got there I saw that I had forgotten my wallet at home.
Giulia: Oh no! What did you do?
Marco: Nothing… I went back, but by then I had already missed the job interview.

Can you see what’s happening? Marco builds tension using the trapassato prossimo, and only later reveals what happened in the end. 

So, What Is the Trapassato?

In English, we call it the past perfect. In Italian, it’s formed like this:

Imperfetto of “essere” or “avere” + past participle of the main verb.

Examples:

1. Avevo mangiato prima di uscire. – I had eaten before going out.
2. Era arrivata troppo tardi. – She had arrived too late.

We use the trapassato to show that an action happened before another one in the past.

Sequence of past events; describing a state

1. Sequence of past events

Quando siamo arrivati, il film era già iniziato.
When we got there, the film had already started.

Ho perso il cellulare che avevo appena comprato.
I lost the phone that I had just bought.

2. With the imperfetto (describing a state)

Ero triste perché avevo ricevuto una brutta notizia.
I was sad because I had received bad news.

Volevo uscire, ma avevo dimenticato l’ombrello.
I wanted to go out, but I had forgotten my umbrella.

Be Careful with “prima di…”

If the subject of the sentence stays the same, you can use the trapassato with prima di + infinitive:

 Avevo già fatto la spesa prima di tornare a casa.
I had already done the shopping before going home.

Luca aveva studiato molto prima di sostenere l’esame.
Luca had studied a lot before taking the exam.

The “Polite” Trapassato

Yes! Italians sometimes use the trapassato to sound more polite, especially in shops or formal situations:

Scusi, avevo visto una giacca rossa ieri… è ancora disponibile?
Excuse me, I had seen (= I saw) a red jacket yesterday… is it still available?

Ero venuto per chiedere un’informazione…
I had come (= I came) to ask for some information…

In these cases, you can also use the passato prossimo instead, and the meaning stays the same:

Scusi, ho visto una giacca rossa ieri…
Sono venuto per chiedere…

Using It Alone (With mai)

Sometimes the trapassato is used on its own, when the context makes the meaning clear. This often happens with the word mai (never):

Buono questo dolce! Non lo avevo mai assaggiato.
This dessert is great! I had never tasted it before.

Marco non era mai stato a Roma prima d’ora.
Marco had never been to Rome before now.

Let’s Recap!

Use the trapassato prossimo to:

1. Talk about past actions that happened before other actions in the past.
2. Describe emotional states or situations caused by earlier events.
3. Make polite requests in formal or service situations.
4. Express something that had never happened until that moment (often with mai).

Would you like to practice? Try writing a short story using at least three verbs in the trapassato prossimo. If you want, send it to me and I’ll give you some feedback. Don’t forget to watch our video lesson on this useful tense!

Anna

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Italian reflexive verbs, a simple subject that can sometimes confuse even advanced learners!

Simply put, a reflexive verb is a verb conjugated with reflexive pronouns. We call them reflexive because, in most cases, the action performed by the subject reflects on the subject: I’m enjoying myself, mi diverto.

In Italian these verbs are quite common, and you are likely to encounter them early on because many verbs that describe our daily routine are reflexive: alzarsi, lavarsi, pettinarsi, and so on.

Compare English and Italian

Italian has a higher number of reflexive verbs compared to English. However, there is positive news: English verbs that are reflexive in English are likely to be reflexive in Italian. For example:

To enjoy oneself/To have fun – Divertirsi

I am enjoying myself —> (io) mi diverto

You are enjoying yourself —>(tu) ti diverti

She/he is enjoying herself —> (lei/lui) si diverte

We are enjoying ourselves —> (noi) ci divertiamo

You are enjoying yourselves —> (voi) vi divertite

They are enjoying themselves —> (loro) si divertono

Mi lavo le mani, lavo le mie mani o mi lavo le mie mani?

Often in Italian there is a reflexive verb where in English there is a verb followed by a possessive pronoun. For example: I brush my teeth, she combs her hair: io mi lavo i denti, lei si pettina i capelli. In Italian we don’t need the possessive adjective, it’s redundant, so do not say: mi lavo le mie mani or lavo le mie mani, but simply: mi lavo le mani.

A common mistake

The infinitive form of reflexive verbs ends with the pronoun -si, so the endings of the three conjugations are not -are, -ere, -ire, but -arsi, -ersi, -irsi. A common mistake is to keep the ending -si of the infinitive when conjugating the verb. Don’t say *mi divertirsi, but mi diverto. Conjugate the verb normally, and put the reflexive pronoun before the verb.

The past tense of reflexive verbs

We can conjugate reflexive verbs in all tenses; let’s look at the passato prossimo of lavarsi. Basic rules:

1. Reflexive verbs take the auxiliary essere and not avere: sono lavato.

2. Add the reflexive pronoun in front of the verb: mi sono lavato.

3. Remember! When the passato prossimo is formed with essere, the past participle agrees with the subject: Elena si è lavata i denti; Leonardo e Marco si sono lavati le mani.

L’importanza di lavarsi i denti

Lavarsi i denti è importante, il mio dentista lo dice sempre! Io mi lavo i denti tutte le sere, mentre Paolo non si lava i denti prima di andare a letto, ma solo la mattina. Questa non è una buona idea! Nella mia famiglia ci laviamo i denti con molta attenzione e usiamo lo spazzolino elettrico. I miei vicini di casa non si lavano i denti molto bene, infatti hanno i denti gialli!

Brushing your teeth is important, my dentist always says so! I brush my teeth every night, while Paolo does not brush his teeth before going to bed, but only in the morning. This is not a good idea! In my family, we brush our teeth very carefully, and we use an electric toothbrush. My neighbours don’t brush their teeth very well, in fact they have yellow teeth!

In this little story the verb lavarsi is conjugated with different pronouns, could you identify them all? Write your answer in a comment below!

Alla prossima,

Anna

Related content:

• I verbi riflessivi in italiano – VIDEO

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The subjunctive is the most elegant mood of the Italian language, and at some point you need to at least be able to identify it when you hear it. If you can also use it correctly, then you will be well on your way to fluency. This article will introduce all you need to know on the Italian subjunctive mood.

What is the subjunctive mood?

What is the subjunctive mood – il congiuntivo? Il congiuntivo congiunge – the subjunctive joins two clauses. Most of the times (but not always!), you will find it in a dependent clause, a statement that is connected to another one by the conjunction (congiunzione) CHE, that or which.

For example:

Penso che Jannik Sinner sia bravissimo.

Penso —> I think, main clause

che —> that, conjunction

Jannik Sinner sia bravissimo —> Jannik Sinner is very good, dependent clause.

The verb SIA in the dependent clause is present subjunctive; here it means (he) is. Look at a similar sentence:

So che Jannik Sinner è bravissimo.

So —> I know, main clause

che —> that, conjunction

Jannik Sinner è bravissimo —> Jannik Sinner is very good, dependent clause.

Here we didn’t use SIA, subjunctive, but the basic form È, (he) is, present indicative. Why? It all depends on the verb that comes before CHE. First we had Penso, I think, then we had So, I know.

The Golden Rule

Bear in mind that this is a simplification, but we can think of the matter this way: the subjunctive is the mood that expresses everything that is subjective – uncertainty, possibility, fear, doubt, wish, personal opinion. A few examples:

• Possibility —> Magari oggi fosse una bella giornata! I wish today was a good day!
• Assumption —> Penso che Luca sia un medico. I think Luca is a doctor.
• Fear —> Ho paura che Sara non passi l’esame. I’m afraid Sara won’t pass the exam.
• Doubt —> Paolo è in ritardo: che abbia perso il treno? Paolo is late: could he have missed the train?

The indicative mood, instead, presents facts as true, real, certain:

• Oggi è una bella giornata. It’s a fine day today.
• So che Luca è un medico. I know Luca is a doctor.
• Sono sicura che Sara passerà l’esame. I’m sure Sara will pass the exam.
• Paolo è in ritardo: ha perso il treno. Paolo is late: he missed the train.

Alas, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the expression secondo me, in my opinion, is followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. What you really need to focus on is the verb in the main clause: some verbs must be followed by the subjunctive. Pensare, ritenere, credere, dubitare, sperare, temere, augurarsi che… are all followed by the subjunctive.

But don’t use the subjunctive all the time!

There is a rule that has no exceptions: do not use che + subjunctive when the subject of the dependent clause is the same as the subject of the main clause. For example:

Lucia thinks she is special.

Lucia is the subject of both clauses: she thinks and she is special. In Italian we cannot say: Lucia pensa *che lei sia speciale. We must use di + infinitive instead:

Lucia pensa di essere speciale.

You can find the infinitive in English as well:

I hope to understand. —> Io spero di capire. (and NOT Io spero *che io capisca.)

If the subject is different, then it’s time to use the subjunctive!

I hope he understands. —> Spero che lui capisca.

The subjunctive in independent clauses

Sometimes, the subjunctive is also used by itself, in independent clauses, usually to express a wish, a doubt, or an exhortation, or in an exclamation:

• Paolo è in ritardo: che abbia perso il treno? Here che abbia perso il treno is similar to forse ha perso il treno, maybe he missed the train, but it has more emphasis.
• Viva l’Italia! (Long live Italy!) is also subjunctive: here the word che is not expressed, but the sentence actually means Che viva l’Italia! We find this in Spanish: ¡Que viva!
• Magari fosse vero! How I wish it were true. Fosse is imperfect subjunctive, and here we use the subjunctive in English, too.

Let’s sum it all up!

• The subjunctive mood is used to express possibility, wish, fear, doubt, personal opinion. The indicative mood, in contrast, presents a fact as true, certain.
• The subjunctive is often used in dependent clauses introduced by che: Io spero che tu vinca la gara. BUT if the subject of the two clauses is the same, we use di + infinitive: Io spero di vincere la gara.
• The subjunctive is also used in independent clauses to express a doubt, a wish, an exhortation, an exclamation: Fosse vero! Viva l’Italia!
• The subjunctive has four tenses: presente, imperfetto, passato, trapassato.

Some say the subjunctive is dead. While it’s true that it is often replaced by the indicative mood in informal speech among friends and family, it’s actually very well alive and kicking, and not only in high-register written Italian. Try to identify it whenever you listen or read in Italian, and you won’t be caught off-guard when someone uses it with you.

Alla prossima!

Anna

We also wrote three articles on the subjunctive mood for our favourite website for learners of Italian, Daily Italian Words.

Related content:

• Il congiuntivo 1: Independent Clauses – VIDEO
• Il congiuntivo 2: Dependent Clauses – VIDEO
• Il congiuntivo 3: Conjunctions – VIDEO
• Il congiuntivo passato – VIDEO
• Congiuntivo o infinito? – VIDEO
• Corso A2 Lezione 19: Il congiuntivo – Patreon

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Italian has several past tenses, but the passato prossimo and the imperfetto are the two most common ones. The imperfetto does not exist in English, but it can be translated using the past simple or the past continuous. The passato prossimo is a compound tense, similar to the English present perfect, but it can also be translated with the past simple. How do we choose between one or the other?

What is the difference?

To understand the nature of these tenses, let us consider three shapes: a circle, a point, a line. We can associate a completed action to a circle, an action that took place at a precise moment to a point, and an action seen in its duration to a line.

In Italian, a completed action corresponds to the passato prossimo: 

• Ho guardato questo video tre volte. I have watched this video three times.

Here I underline the completed nature of the action; I don’t care when exactly I watched the video, or what happened while I was watching it, I care about the fact that the action was completed: a circle.

The passato prossimo is also used to describe an action that took place at a specific time: a point.

• Ieri ho guardato il video che mi hai consigliato. Yesterday I watched the video you recommended.

The passato prossimo corresponds to a circle: action completed, in general; or to a point: action completed at a specific time.

What is the imperfetto?

What about the imperfetto? This tense is imperfect, unfinished, not because the actions it describes are incomplete, but because we are interested in their duration, not in their completion. The imperfetto describes a state, a situation, an action seen in its duration: a line. We don’t care when the action began or when it ended, we are interested in the fact that the action or the state lasted for some time:

• Ieri non volevo parlare con nessuno. Yesterday I didn’t want to talk to anyone. —> Probably for the entire day.

The imperfetto is also used to talk about a past habit, a habitual, repeated action in the past, like the English “used to“:

• Da piccolo andavo al mare ogni anno. As a child I used to go to the seaside every year. —> Ogni anno, spesso, sempre are often used in this kind of sentences.

If we talk about actions that we did once or more than once, but which are not habits, we use the passato prossimo, instead:

• Sono stato a Roma due volte. I went to Rome twice. —> I went and came back: completed actions.

Instead, we use the imperfetto to talk about a state or a continuous action in the past:

• Nel 2010 vivevo a Roma. I was living in Rome in 2010. —> Past continuous.

• Ieri ero di cattivo umore. Yesterday I was in a bad mood. —> My bad mood lasted for some time.

Can we use both tenses in the same sentence? Yes, if we have an action that interrupted another one, for example:

• Mentre dormivo ho sentito un rumore improvviso. While I was sleeping I heard a sudden noise. —> Imperfetto for the continuous action of sleeping, passato prossimo for the sudden noise.

When talking about the past, the conjunction mentre, while, is always used with the imperfetto. Quando, when, can use both:

• Quando ero all’università sono andato in Cina. When I was at university I went to China. —> I went to China while I was at university.

• Quando mi sono laureato sono andato in Cina. When I graduated I went to China. —> First I graduated, then I went to China.

Another use of the imperfetto that is becoming increasingly common is the imperfetto ipotetico. Here the imperfetto is used in a conditional sentence instead of more complex compound tenses:

• Se lo sapevo, non venivo. 

In standard Italian, this sentence would be:

• Se lo avessi saputo (congiuntivo trapassato), non sarei venuto (condizionale passato). If I had known it, I wouldn’t have come.

Conclusion – When to use the imperfetto

This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it should give you a sense of the difference between imperfetto and passato prossimo. The imperfetto is a powerful tense that we use a lot in conversation, so it’s important to keep it in mind as an option when you need to talk about the past.

Use the imperfetto to describe people, places or situations in the past; to talk about a state of mind or a physical state in the past; to describe things you used to do or that you did for some time; to talk about actions that took place at an unspecified time, or something that was going on when something else happened.

Ask me questions in the comments if you have any, and watch our video lessons on these tenses for more examples and exercises.

A presto!

Anna

We also discuss the choice between imperfetto and passato prossimo, in more detail and using different examples, on Daily Italian Words.

Related video lessons:

• L’imperfetto
• Il passato prossimo
• Imperfetto o passato prossimo?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

What is all the fuss about essere and avere in Italian? Why do we bring up this topic so often in our grammar lessons? Essere and avere have their own meanings, be and have, but they are also used to form compound tenses.

What is a compound tense? The English present perfect, for example: I have done. Have is an auxiliary here, it helps or supports the verb to do. English has many auxiliaries, but to form compound tenses it uses have. In Italian, instead, we can use have, avere, or be, essere. So we say Io ho fatto and Io sono andato. We cannot say *Io ho andato, it would sound awful! But how to choose? There are a few rules that can help us remember.

Regola! The basic rule is that transitive verbs always form compound tenses with avere: 

• Ho organizzato una mostra al museo e ho fatto tutto io. I set up an exhibition at the museum and I did it all myself.

Una mostra and tutto are the objects of organizzare and fare, respectively, therefore these are transitive verbs that form compound tenses with avere.

Now, what is a transitive verb? It’s a verb that makes the action transition to a direct object. There is something or someone that receives the action of the verb. How to figure out if a verb is transitive? If our sentence answers the question “Chi?” or “Che cosa?”, who or what, we have a transitive verb, and we form compound tenses with avere.

Io leggo un libro. I read a book. This is the present tense.

Io leggo – che cosa? – un libro.

Libro is the object, so leggere is transitive, the passato prossimo is:

Io ho letto un libro. Auxiliary avere. Easy.

You might end up thinking that intransitive verbs, those that cannot take an object, always use essere. Yes and no, it depends on the type of verb.

Regola! Intransitive verbs describing a physical or mental activity take avere: ho respirato (I breathed), ho pensato (I thought), ho parlato (I spoke).

What about essere? Essere indicates a state, and these types of verbs take the auxiliary essere: sono stato.

• Sono stato molto impegnato con il lavoro. I have been very busy with work.

Regola! So, remember: among the verbs that usually take essere are those that indicate a state of being or the result of a process, such as rimanere and restare (stay), diventare (become), nascere (be born).

• Paolo Sorrentino è nato a Napoli, io sono nata a Bologna. Paolo Sorrentino was born in Naples, I was born in Bologna.
• Dove sei stata ieri? Sono rimasta a casa. Where were you yesterday? I stayed home.

So, there are two main rules to keep in mind:

1. Transitive verbs take avere.
2. Verbs that indicate a state of being or the result of a process usually take essere.

Regola! Let’s move on and add one more piece to the puzzle: the vast majority of verbs of movement also take essere, so a sentence like: yesterday I went to Venice in Italian is Ieri sono andata a Venezia.

Andare is a verb of movement, so we have to use essere: io sono andata, Luca è andato, le ragazze sono andate and so on.

You may have noticed an additional complication here: when the auxiliary is essere, the past participle agrees with the subject. Luca, masculine singular: è andato; le ragazze, the girls, feminine plural: sono andate. This does not happen with avere.

Now, this rule seems simple enough, but watch out! A few verbs of movement take avere, such as camminare and viaggiare, so we say ho viaggiato and ho camminato. Rule of thumb: when the verb indicates only a movement, the auxiliary is avere; when it expresses a movement from a place or to another, then it takes essere. Compare:

Sono partita ieri (even if the place is not expressed, I must have come from somewhere), ho viaggiato tutta la notte e sono arrivata a casa alle 16.00. I left yesterday, I travelled all night and I got home at 4pm.

Compare again: Ho corso per due ore – I ran for two hours (here I’m focusing on the movement) and Sono corsa a casa – I ran home (here I have a destination). Correre can take both avere and essere, and it’s not the only verb that can do this!

Regola! Now, to cheer you up, let’s add a rule that’s always true: reflexive verbs always take essere. These are verbs whose action reflects on the subject or something that belongs to it, like alzarsi and lavarsi:

• Marco si è alzato alle sette. Marco got up at seven.
• Io mi sono lavata i denti dopo colazione. I brushed my teeth after breakfast.
• I ragazzi non si sono lavati le mani. The boys did not wash their hands.

What about the weather? Freedom! For weather verbs, use either essere or avere:

• Ha piovuto tutta la notte. / È piovuto tutta la notte. It rained all night.

• Ieri è nevicato. / Ieri ha nevicato. It snowed yesterday.

Finally, we need to remember that some verbs are not intrinsically transitive or intransitive, but can be used in one way or the other: they may have an object or not, such as cominciare, finire, iniziare, terminare, vivere, aumentare, cambiare. For example:

• Il professore ha cominciato (transitive use) la lezione (direct object).
  The professor started the lesson. Transitive verbs form compound tenses with avere.
• La lezione è cominciata (intransitive use, no direct object).
  The lesson started. Intransitive verbs form compound tenses with essere.

Let us sum it all up:

How to remember all this? Learning the rules is a good starting point, but you also need to read and listen to as much Italian as you can, paying attention to auxiliaries when you read your favourite Italian magazine, Italian website, or when you listen to your favourite Italian TV programme. This way, you will naturally pick up these patterns. Ultimately, you will figure out what sounds right and what sounds wrong. And whenever in doubt… check the dictionary! It will tell you which auxiliary to use.

A presto!

Anna

Related video lessons:

• Il passato prossimo – Essere o avere?
• Common uses of essere and avere in Italian
• Learn Italian with Art 3 – Essere o avere?