Giving Descriptions of Past Events in Italian - Exercises

Practice using the passato prossimo with essere to describe past events clearly and naturally

Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

arrivata a casa tardi ieri sera.

Sono

Sono arrivata a casa tardi ieri sera.

"I arrived home late last night."

We use sono because the subject is "I" and the verb arrivare uses essere in the passato prossimo. The form sono is the first-person singular of essere, which matches with a singular subject.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Siamo per Roma alle otto del mattino.

partiti

Siamo partiti per Roma alle otto del mattino.

"We left for Rome at eight in the morning."

Let's look at the choices:

partito is masculine singular, but "siamo" means we, so the past participle must be plural.

partita is a feminine singular, which only works with a single female subject. Again, that doesn't match "we".

So, partiti is the only correct answer — it's a masculine plural, and it agrees with "siamo", meaning a group of men or a mixed group.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Lucia è dal viaggio la settimana scorsa.

tornata

Lucia è tornata dal viaggio la settimana scorsa.

"Lucia came back from the trip last week."

Let's look at the choices:

tornato is masculine singular, but Lucia is a woman, so the past participle must be feminine.

tornati is a masculine plural, which only works for a group of people. Lucia is just one person.

So, tornata is the only correct answer — it's feminine singular, and it agrees with Lucia, the subject of the sentence.

Unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Ready?

I miei

I miei amici

I miei amici sono

I miei amici sono venuti

I miei amici sono venuti alla

I miei amici sono venuti alla festa.

"My friends came to the party."

I miei amici sono venuti alla festa.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Ci (siamo or siete) incontrati al parco per caso.

siamo

Ci siamo incontrati al parco per caso.

"We met at the park by chance."

Siamo is used here because incontrarsi is a reflexive verb and requires essere in the passato prossimo. Since the subject is "we," we use siamo, the first-person plural form of essere, to match the subject.

Siete is the second-person plural form of essere, meaning "you all are"; it doesn't match the subject "we" in this sentence.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Mi (sei or sono) svegliata presto questa mattina.

sono

Mi sono svegliata presto questa mattina.

"I woke up early this morning."

Sono is correct here because the subject is "I," and the verb svegliarsi is reflexive, which means it uses essere in the passato prossimo.

We use sono, the first-person singular form of essere, to agree with the subject, and it's paired with the reflexive pronoun mi.

sei is the second-person singular form of essere, meaning "you are," it doesn't match the subject here.

Let's translate some sentences into Italian.

Translate "Did you go to the library after lunch?" into Italian.

Siete, the second-person plural present of essere, meaning "you all are,"

followed by

andate, the past participle of andare, meaning "gone," in the feminine plural form,

in biblioteca, meaning "to the library,"

followed by

dopo pranzo, meaning "after lunch."

Siete andate is used here because andare is a verb of movement that requires essere in the passato prossimo. The subject is plural and feminine, so the past participle must agree in gender and number — andate.

Siete andate in biblioteca dopo pranzo?

"Did you go to the library after lunch?"

Translate "Something strange happened today." into Italian.

È, the third-person singular present of essere, which functions like 'has' in English when used with past participles.

successo, the past participle of succedere, meaning "happened,"

followed by

qualcosa di strano, meaning "something strange,"

oggi, meaning "today."

È successo is used here because succedere is an intransitive and impersonal verb that always takes essere in the passato prossimo.

The subject is qualcosa ("something"), which is singular and masculine, so the past participle stays in the masculine singular form: successo (not successa).

È successo qualcosa di strano oggi.

"Something strange happened today."

Translate "My grandmother became very wise over the years." into Italian.

Mia nonna, the subject, meaning "my grandmother,"

followed by

è, the third-person singular present of essere, which functions like 'has' in English when used with past participles.

diventata, the past participle of diventare, meaning "become," adjusted for feminine singular agreement,

followed by

molto saggia, meaning "very wise,"

con gli anni, meaning "over the years."

È diventata is used here because diventare is a state-of-being verb that takes essere in the passato prossimo. Since the subject is feminine and singular, the participle diventata reflects that gender and number.

Mia nonna è diventata molto saggia con gli anni.

"My grandmother became very wise over the years."

Listen to me as I speak. Which form of essere is used in the sentences?

Sono arrivata a casa tardi ieri sera.

Let's listen one more time.

Sono arrivata a casa tardi ieri sera.

Did you hear, sono? Sono, meaning "I am," is used before a past participle because it's the first-person singular form of essere, and arrivare uses essere in the passato prossimo. The subject is feminine, so we use arrivata to match.

How about...?

Ci siamo incontrati al parco per caso.

Let's listen one more time.

Ci siamo incontrati al parco per caso.

Did you hear, siamo? Siamo, meaning "we are," is used before a past participle because it's the first-person plural of essere, and incontrarsi is a reflexive verb that requires essere in the passato prossimo.

Next…

Siete andate in biblioteca dopo pranzo?

One more time.

Siete andate in biblioteca dopo pranzo?

Did you hear, siete? Siete, meaning "you all are," is used before a past participle because it's the second-person plural of essere. Since the subject is a group of females, the participle becomes andate to agree in gender and number.

And...

Mia nonna è diventata molto saggia con gli anni.

One more time.

Mia nonna è diventata molto saggia con gli anni.

Did you hear, è? È is the third-person singular form of essere, and it's used here as a helping verb in the passato prossimo. The verb diventare (to become) uses essere in the past tense because it expresses a change of state. The past participle diventata agrees with the subject Mia nonna, who is feminine and singular, so we add -a to show that.

Thank you for watching.

Now you know how to describe past events in Italian.

...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.

A presto!

Comments

Hide