Possessive adjectives and pronouns used as objects or copulas

Pronouns and adjectives do not change inflection when they are used as an object or as a copula (i.e. when they follow verb to be, thus indicating a condition of property or possession). What may change is the use of an article before the pronoun. It is more easy to discuss the two cases separately.

 

USED AS OBJECTS

Either used before a noun (adjective) or alone (pronoun) as direct objects, they always require an article:

leggo il mio giornale = I read my newspaper (adjective)
leggo il mio = I read mine (pronoun)

comprammo i loro libri = we bought their books
comprammo i loro = we bought theirs

prenderò le sue carte = I will take his/her cards
prenderò le sue = I will take his/hers

When the object is a family person (in singular form), the article is required only for pronouns (not for adjectives, as explained above):

vedo tua madre e la sua = I see your mother (adjective) and his/hers (pronoun)

incontrò tuo fratello, e poi incontrò il mio = he/she met your brother, and then he/she met mine

tuo padre è alto, il nostro è basso = your father is tall, ours is short

USED AS COPULAS

When used as the copula's adjective (i.e. they are followed by a noun), they behave exactly as above, requiring an article:

è il mio libro = it is my book
era la sua scuola = it was his/her school
saranno le vostre insegnanti = they will be your teachers (femin.)

è mio zio = he is my uncle
è sua nipote = she is his/her niece
sono i miei nonni = they are my grand-parents

When used after the verb essere (to be) as an actual copula, they describe a state of possession as if it was a quality of the object, and therefore the article is not required:

il libro è mio = the book is mine
la casa era loro = the house was theirs
il cane sarà tuo = the dog will be yours

Nevertheless, a similar form which requires an article does exist, with a rather specific meaning. Focus the following example:

il libro è mio = the book is mine
il libro è il mio = the book is mine

In the second sentence, where mio has an article, the actual meaning is "the book is the one belonging to me", and mio acts both as an adjective and a pronoun, at the same time.
This form is used to indicate the possessed object among others of similar nature. While the standard form puts the stress on the owner of the object, the latter form stresses which of the objects among the present ones are possessed:

la casa piccola è mia = the small house is mine
(meaning "the small house belongs to me")
la casa piccola è la mia = the small house (among other houses) is mine
(meaning "among the other houses, I own the small one")

il cane con il collare bianco è tuo = the dog with the white collar is yours
il cane con il collare bianco è il tuo = the dog with the white collar (among others) is yours

le foto sul tavolo sono sue = the pictures on the table are his
le foto sul tavolo sono le sue = the pictures on the table (among others) are his

(notice that foto is feminine, despite the -o inflection, because it is the shortened form of the original word fotografia = photograph (and foto is therefore either singular or plural, see also paragraph 2.3, "foreign truncated and shortened nouns").

This form is not compulsory, but it is very commonly used.

5.4   INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE FORMS

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Interrogative and negative forms are much more simple in Italian than they are in English.

INTERROGATIVE FORM

This is simply obtained by adding a uestion mark at the end of the sentence, while in speech only the inflection of the voice expresses a question.

hai una penna rossa = you have a red pen
hai una penna rossa? = do you have a red pen?

l'albero è nel giardino = the tree is in the garden
l'albero è nel giardino? = is the tree in the garden?

In spoken language, the question will be expressed by simply raising the pitch of the voice while approaching the end of the sentence, especially stressing the last one or two words (in the two examples above: ...penna rossa and ...nel giardino).

The only situation in which words change order is when verb essere (to be) introduces a copula, expressing a quality, a condition, etc. (not a direct object).
Compare the following examples with the previous ones:

la penna è rossa = the pen is red
è rossa la penna? = is the pen red?

The verb and the copula go before the rest of the sentence, and the subject is postponed.
More examples:

la casa era fredda = the house was cold
era fredda la casa? = was the house cold?

il mio gatto è nero = my cat is black
è nero il mio gatto? = is my cat black?

tuo marito è alto e grosso = your husband is tall and stout
è alto e grosso tuo marito? = is your husband tall and stout?

il mese sarà grigio e piovoso = the month will be dull and rainy
sarà grigio e piovoso il mese? = will the month be dull and rainy?

la donna grassa è sua madre = the fat lady is his/her mother
è sua madre la donna grassa? = is the fat lady his/her mother?

But when there is no definite subject to be postponed, the interrogative form is simply obtained by adding a question mark:

è un treno lungo = it's a long train
è un treno lungo? = is it a long train?

sarà un esame difficile = it will be a difficult exam
sarà un esame difficile? = will it be a difficult exam?

The interrogative form will be discussed again, at a more advanced stage.

NEGATIVE FORM

It is simply obtained by adding non = not to the sentence, just before the verb.

il tuo albero è una quercia = your tree is an oak
il tuo albero non è una quercia = your tree is not an oak

preparò un pranzo per dodici persone = he/she prepared a lunch for twelve persons
non preparò un pranzo per dodici persone = he/she did not prepare a lunch for twelve persons

i miei amici vivono a Parigi = my friends live in Paris
i miei amici non vivono a Parigi = my friends do not live in Paris

mangerete in casa? = will you eat at home?
non mangerete in casa? = will you not eat at home?

era facile = it was easy
non era facile = it was not easy

.5 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS & ADJECTIVES

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QUESTO (this) - QUELLO (that)

 

These pronouns behave as in English; the only difference is that in Italian they are gender-sensitive, according to the object they indicate:

 

questo	this (masculine)		questa	this (feminine)
questi	these (masculine)		queste	these (feminine)
quello	that (masculine)		quella	that (feminine)
quelli	those (masculine)		quelle	those (feminine)

 

questo è il tuo cane = this is your dog
quelli sono i suoi libri = those are his/her books
quella è mia madre = that (she) is my mother (for persons, that is often turned into he or she)
queste sono le nostre zie = these are our aunts
sono questi i miei quaderni? = are these my exercise books?
comprerai quei giornali? = will you buy those newspapers?

 

Sometimes, when demonstrative pronouns are the subject of a nominal sentence (a sentence whose verb is to be, followed by a copula), it is possible to change the arrangement of the sentence, so to leave the pronoun at the bottom; this gives them more emphasis, like in English:

questo è il tuo cane = this is your dog
il tuo cane è questo = your dog is this one

quelle sono le mie penne = those are my pens
le mie penne sono quelle = my pens are those ones

questo è il tuo posto = this is your seat
il tuo posto è questo = your seat is this one

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

When demonstrative pronouns are followed by a noun, a few changes occur to match phonetically the first following letter:

QUESTO - QUELLO

When questo is followed by a noun beginning with a vowel, it drops the last ...o, whose place is taken by an apostrophe. This rule is not so strict, though this is the most correct form:

questo cane = this dog
quest'occhio = this eye (less common form questo occhio)
quest'anno = this year
quest'inverno = this winter

 

Pronoun quello instead, changes according to the same rule used for article lo (see paragraph 2.4):

· when the following name starts with a vowel it turns into quell' with an apostrophe;

· when the following name starts with Z or with S + consonant (sb..., sc..., sd..., etc.) it remains as it is;

· when the following name starts with a consonant it turns into quel (simply dropping ...lo).

quel cane = that dog
quell'occhio = that eye
quello sport = that sport
quel tavolo = that table
quell'anno = that year
quello zucchero = that sugar

QUESTA - QUELLA

questa only changes to quest' (with an apostrophe) if the following name starts with a vowel:

questa casa = this house
quest'automobile = this car
questa strada = this road
quest'orchestra = this orchestra

quella changes in a similar way:

quella casa = that house
quell'automobile = that car
quella strada = that road
quell'orchestra = that orchestra

Generally speaking, the apostrophe is not used when demonstrative pronouns carry a strong emphasis, for the meaning of the sentence:

quest'uomo translates "this man"
questo uomo translates " this man", as if answering a question like "which of these men?"

quell'automobile è veloce plainly translates "that car is fast"
quella automobile è veloce has a sense of " that car is fast (not this one)"

In these cases, they are spelled (and pronounced) throughoutly, to stress their meaning.

QUESTI - QUESTE & QUELLI - QUELLE

Pronouns questi, queste and quelle do not have special phonetic changes:

questi uomini = these men
questi numeri = these numbers
questi alberi = these trees
questi scudi = these shields
queste idee = these ideas
queste carte = these cards
queste armi = these weapons
queste zone = these zones
questi idioti = these idiots
questi giardini = these gardens
questi operai = these workmen
questi strumenti = these instruments

BUT...

when followed by a noun, quelli changes to quei or quegli (according to the same reasons for which articles i or gli are used, see paragraph 2.4):

quegli is used when the following noun starts with a vowel, or with z..., or with cluster s + consonant (sb...; sc...; etc.)

quegli uomini = those men
quegli zoccoli = those clogs
quegli schermi = those screens

quei is used in all other cases:

quei tavoli = those tables
quei serpenti = those serpents
quei libri = those books

 

These rules are summarized in the following table:

the following noun starts with...		masculine singular	feminine singular	masculine plural	feminine plural
pronoun used alone (no noun)		questo	questa	questi	queste
followed by any vowel		quest'	quest'	questi	queste
followed by any consonant		questo	questa	questi	queste
pronoun used alone (no noun)		quello	quella	quelli	quelle
followed by any vowel		quell'	quell'	quegli	quelle
followed by Z or S+consonant		quello	quella	quegli	quelle
followed by any other consonant		quel	quella	quei	quelle

 

.1   VERB ESSERE PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

To proceed with this paragraph you should feel confident with the simple tenses of this verb (paragraph 4.3).
For an introduction to these tenses, see paragraph 4.2.
As explained in paragraph 4.2, compound tenses are made of two parts: an auxiliary verb (used in one of the simple tenses previously discussed) and the actual verb (used in past participle tense).
Essere (to be) is a transitive verb, so avere (to be) should be used as an auxiliary verb; but essere is a very irregular verb, so as an exception, the same verb essere is also used as the auxiliary one.
The past participle of the verb essere is stato (irregular). Actually, stato is the regular past participle of the verb stare = to stay, to be (phisically), which is though used also by essere, because often the meaning of these two verbs overlaps.

 

PASSATO PROSSIMO

This tense is made by present + past participle:

 

		singular			plural
1st person		sono stato	I have been		siamo stati	we have been
2nd person		sei stato	you have been (singular)		siete stati	you have been (plural)
3rd person		è stato	he/she/it has been		sono stati	they have been

As will be explained more in detail in paragraph 6.3, when essere acts as an auxiliary verb for a past participle, the latter becomes gender- and number-sensitive: since this condition now occurs, when stato is referred to feminine gender it becomes stata, while their plurals are stati and state (all regular).

è stato un bello spettacolo = it has been a nice show

sono stati giorni terribili = they have been terrible days

è stata la segretaria del ministro = she has been the secretary of the minister

tutti noi siamo stati giovani = all of us have been young

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO

This tense is made by imperfect + past participle:

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ero stato	I had been		eravamo stati	we had been
2nd person		eri stato	you had been (singular)		eravate stati	you had been (plural)
3rd person		era stato	he/she/it had been		erano stati	they had been

Actions expressed by this tense have taken place in the past, translating the English form "I had been".

ero stato a Roma quattro volte = I had been to Rome four times

eravamo stati al museo = we had been to the museum

erano state con un amico = they (feminine) had been with a friend

TRAPASSATO REMOTO

This tense is made by past perfect + past participle.

 

		singular			plural
1st person		fui stato	I had been		fummo stati	we had been
2nd person		fosti stato	you had been (singular)		foste stati	you had been (plural)
3rd person		fu stato	he/she/it had been		furono stati	they had been

Due to the fact that the verb essere acts both as an auxiliary verb and as a main verb, this tense is not commonly used, and other forms (which will be discussed further on) are more commonly used to express the same concept.

FUTURO ANTERIORE

This tense is made by future + past participle:

 

		singular			plural
1st person		sarò stato	I will have been		saremo stati	we will have been
2nd person		sarai stato	you will have been (singular)		sarete stati	you will have been (plural)
3rd person		sarà stato	he/she/it will have been		saremo stati	they will have been

This tense can express two concepts:

· when used in a future sentence, it indicates an action that has already happened by that time:
tomorrow by 10 o'clock, you will have gone to work.

 

· more often, this tense expresses the chance that an action has already been carried out, but we have no proof of it, or we are not sure:

sarà stato a Firenze = he might have been to Florence

saranno state in casa = they (feminine) might have been at home

sarà stato un incidente = it might have been an accident

.2   VERB AVERE PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

Avere (to have) is transitive, so it will also be used as an auxiliary verb.

The past participle of the verb is avuto (regular past participle inflection).
In these tenses, the participle is insensitive to gender and number, so avuto will be the participle for both masculine and feminine, both singular and plural.

 

PASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ho avuto	I have had		abbiamo avuto	we have had
2nd person		hai avuto	you have had (singular)		avete avuto	you have had (plural)
3rd person		ha avuto	he/she/it has had		hanno avuto	they have had

The tense expresses an action which has happened in a near past, and is now over. It may be translated with the English corresponding tense ("I have had"), but the use of simple past tense is commonly preferred:

ho avuto un incidente = I had an accident (actual translation: I have had an accident)
hanno avuto una grande fortuna = they had a big luck (actually: they have had a big luck)

The difference with passato remoto tense is that the latter expresses an action happened a long time ago:

ieri ho avuto un incidente = yesterday I had an accident (tense: passato prossimo)
lo scorso anno ebbi un incidente = last year I had an accident (tense: passato remoto)

As a colloquial form, passato prossimo tense is more popular, despite being compound, irrespectively of time: in common speech, the last sentence above could often be turned into:

lo scorso anno ho avuto un incidente (less correct, but very common).

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		avevo avuto	I had had		avevamo avuto	we had had
2nd person		avevi avuto	you had had (singular)		avevate avuto	you had had (plural)
3rd person		aveva avuto	he/she/it had had		avevano avuto	they had had

Actions expressed by this tense have taken place in the past, translating the English past perfect "I had been".

avevamo avuto un gatto = we had had a cat
(but in English, a different verb would often be used to avoid repeating "had" twice: "we had owned a cat", etc.)

TRAPASSATO REMOTO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ebbi avuto	I had had		avemmo avuto	we had had
2nd person		avesti avuto	you had had (singular)		aveste avuto	you had had (plural)
3rd person		ebbe avuto	he/she/it had had		ebbero avuto	they had had

Actions expressed by this tense have taken place in the past, and were already over by the time the sentence refers to. It is usually translated with the English form "I had had". When this tense is used, the action expressed is followed by another action, in passato remoto tense.

In English, this pattern can be turned into an alternative form: "having" + past participle.
For example: "after he had received his wage, he came back from work" could be turned into "after having received his wage, he came back from work". This literally means: "at first he received his wage, then he came back from work".
In Italian, this sentence would require a past pluperfect for the first verb, and a past perfect for the second:

dopo che ebbe avuto la paga, tornò dal lavoro

ebbe avuto = trapassato remoto, tornò = passato remoto

IMPORTANT NOTE

In Italian, the English form "to have something done" is translated in a completely different way, so expressions like "he has the car washed", or "he had the car washed" are NEVER translated with any of the tenses discussed above.

FUTURO ANTERIORE

 

		singular			plural
1st person		avrò avuto	I will have had		avremo avuto	we will have had
2nd person		avrai avuto	you will have had (singular)		avrete avuto	you will have had (plural)
3rd person		avrà avuto	he/she/it will have had		avremo avuto	they will have had

Again, this tense is mostly used for expressing chance:

il treno avrà avuto un problema = the train might have had a problem
avranno avuto bel tempo = they might have had fine weather

But in fewer cases it does express a past action in the future:

pagherò quando avrò avuto una risposta = I will pay when I will have had a reply
(in English, it would be more common to say "I will pay after having received a reply").

.3   PAST PARTICIPLE

Before introducing compound tenses of the three conjugations, it is necessary to become familiar with past participle.

NOTE
accented vowels are used to mark the accent (stress) in verbs of the 2nd conjugation,
but remember that they are not used in common spelling

Many verbs have a regular past participle, whose inflections are as follows:

1st CONJUGATION: infinitive ...are, past participle ....ato
2nd CONJUGATION: infinitive ...ere, past participle ....uto
3rd CONJUGATION: infinitive ...ire, past participle ....ito

 

camminare (to walk)	camminato (walked)
mangiare (to eat)	mangiato (eat)
saltare (to jump)	saltato (jumped)
véndere (to sell)	venduto (sold)
sedére (to sit)	seduto (sat)
prèmere (to press)	premuto (pressed)
capire (to understand)	capito (understood)
sentire (to hear)	sentito (heard)
partire (to leave)	partito (left)

Verbs of the 1st and 3rd conjugation have regular past participles in most cases, while very often verbs of the 2nd conjugation have an irregular one. Most dictionaries state irregular past participles:

a common inflection is ...so:

 

prèndere (to take)	preso (taken)
scéndere (to come off, to come down)	sceso (come off)
estèndere (to extend)	esteso (extended)
spèndere (to spend)	speso (spent)
delùdere (to disappoint)	deluso (disapponted)
evàdere (to escape)	evaso (escaped)
chiùdere (to close)	chiuso (come off)

Some verbs double the s:

 

flèttere (to flex)	flesso (flexed)
méttere (to put, to place)	messo (put, placed)
sopprìmere (to cancel, to kill)	soppresso (cancelled, killed)	notice the change of i into e
esprìmere (to express)	espresso (cancelled, killed)	same as above
discùtere (to discuss)	discusso (read)

Some verbs have a ...to inflection:

 

spìngere (to push)	spinto (pushed)
piàngere (to cry)	pianto (cried)
avvòlgere (to wind)	avvolto (wound)
raccògliere (to pick up)	raccolto (picked up)	for phonetic reasons, the cluster gli turns into l

Some verbs have a similar inflection, but double the t:

 

lèggere (to read)	letto (read)
cuòcere (to cook)	cotto (cooked)	the u is dropped
dirìgere (to direct)	diretto (directed)	the second i turns into e

Sometimes a compound of ...so and ...to occurs, forming ...sto:

 

chiedere (to ask)	chiesto (asked)
nascondere (to hide)	nascosto (hidden)
vedére (to see, to watch)	visto (seen, watched)	this verb also allows the regular form veduto

A special case is that of two verbs belonging to the 3rd conjugation, whose past participle inflection is ...to, but with a number of changes in the verb's root:

 

soffrire (to suffer)	sofferto (suffered)
aprire (to open)	aperto (opened)

Notice how in the two cases above letter r swaps position with vowel i, which turns into e.

Obviously you don't need to learn all forms at once, but try to get slowly familiar with them, because it is important to tell a past participle from other words (a noun, an adjective, etc.) whose last part mimics the above-mentioned inflections:

vaso (vase, noun); brutto (ugly, adjective); cesto (basket, noun); piatto (dish, noun); sotto (under - below, adverb); etc.

Also try to focus how verbs with similar phonetic structure often behave in the same way: if the past participle of spingere is spinto, verbs with a similar sound (tingere, vincere, dipingere, etc.) have a similar past participle. But this is not an absolute rule.

Some past participles can be used both as a verbal tense and as an adjective; this happens also in English:

rotto (broken): I have broken the stick (verb) - the stick is broken (adjective);
sigillato (sealed): you had sealed the envelope - the sealed envelope;
rubato (stolen): they had stolen the car - the stolen car;
etc. etc.

It is also important to learn how to trace back the verb's root (thus, the verb's infinitive) from its past participle. It's easy when the participle is regular:

preparato comes from preparare (to prepare)
goduto comes from godére (to enjoy)
fuggito comes from fuggire (to run off)

It's less easy for irregular participles:

compreso comes from comprèndere (to comprehend, to understand)
compresso (notice, double s) comes from comprìmere (to press)
chiuso comes from chiùdere (to close)
aperto comes from aprire (to open)
and so on.

.4   VERBS OF THE 1st CONJUGATION PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

As previously said, compound tenses are formed by the auxiliary verb avere when the verb is transitive (i.e. when the action expressed by the verb may have a direct object).
Things are a little more complicated when the verb is intransitive (i.e. when the action may not have a direct object); in these cases, the auxiliary verb used may be avere, as well, but some require essere; dictionaries usually indicate which auxiliary intransitive verbs use in compound tenses.

Therefore, the following examples show both situations, by using the transitive verb alzare (to lift, to raise) and the intransitive verb scappare (to run off, to escape).
But a few examples with telefonare (to phone) will also be shown: unlike the English verb, in Italian it is an intransitive verb, and it always requires preposition a = to before the object, but the auxiliary verb is avere all the same.

Most verbs of the 1st conjugation are transitive, despite some of them might seem intransitive at first sight: for example, lavorare = to work is not often followed by a direct object, but you can still work something (clay, wood, etc.), so it's perfectly transitive).

PASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ho alzato	I have lifted		abbiamo alzato	we have lifted
2nd person		hai alzato	you have lifted (singular)		avete alzato	you have lifted (plural)
3rd person		ha alzato	he/she/it has lifted		hanno alzato	they have lifted
1st person		sono scappato	I have escaped		siamo scappati	we have escaped
2nd person		sei scappato	you have escaped (singular)		siete scappati	you have escaped (plural)
3rd person		è scappato	he/she/it has escaped		sono scappati	they have escaped

You will notice that the intransitive verb uses the past participle also in PLURAL form.
This depends on the fact that when essere is used as an auxiliary verb, the following past participle behaves almost as if it was an adjective, or a copula. So, when a past participle follows verb essere, it is gender- and number-sensitive.

sono scappato = I have escaped (said by a male)	siamo scappati = we have escaped (said by males)
sono scappata = I have escaped (said by a female)	siamo scappate = we have escaped (said by females)

This tense is used to translate actions which have been carried out a small time ago (a few minutes, up to a few weeks ago, but there is no fixed time limit). For older actions, passato remoto (English simple past) should be more properly used.
In common speech, though, this tense is often used in place of passato remoto also for older actions.

When translating this tense into English, often the closest equivalent is a simple past, not the actual compound tense (i.e. present perfect), but this is not a strict rule.
Some elements in the sentence might help to decide which of the two is better.

questa mattina ho preso l'autobus = this morning I took the bus

ha mangiato una grossa bistecca = he has eaten a big steak (but "he ate a big steak" would be a fair translation, as well)

abbiamo telefonato a casa = we phoned home (notice how Italian requires the use of preposition a)

In the first sentence, Italian uses passato prossimo because "this morning" is a short time ago. English instead would use simple past: it sounds uncommon to use present perfect this morning I have taken the bus.
In the same way, in Italian a simple past (questa mattina non presi l'autobus: camminai) would sound rather incorrect.
So, when turning Italian into English, in most cases passato prossimo will require simple past; when doing the opposite translation (English into Italian), rely on how much time ago the action happened, but if you find difficulties with passato remoto tense, you can use the easier passato prossimo, in any case.

 

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		avevo alzato	I had lifted		avevamo alzato	we had lifted
2nd person		avevi alzato	you had lifted (singular)		avevate alzato	you had lifted (plural)
3rd person		aveva alzato	he/she/it had lifted		avevano alzato	they had lifted
1st person		ero scappato	I had escaped		eravamo scappati	we had escaped
2nd person		eri scappato	you had escaped (singular)		eravate scappati	you had escaped (plural)
3rd person		era scappato	he/she/it had escaped		erano scappati	they had escaped

In this case, the English past perfect corresponds more or less precisely to the Italian tense:

avevi alzato il volume della radio = you (singular) had raised the radio volume

erano scappate da casa = they (feminine) had ran away from home

avevate telefonato a Paolo = you (plural) had phoned Paul

TRAPASSATO REMOTO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ebbi alzato	I had lifted		avemmo alzato	we had lifted
2nd person		avesti alzato	you had lifted (singular)		aveste alzato	you had lifted (plural)
3rd person		avesti alzato	he/she/it had lifted		ebbero alzato	they had lifted
1st person		fui scappato	I have escaped		furono scappati	we had escaped
2nd person		fosti scappato	you have escaped (singular)		foste scappati	you had escaped (plural)
3rd person		fu scappato	he/she/it has escaped		fummo scappati	they had escaped

The use of this tense, less common than others, has already been discussed; here are a few more examples.

quando tutti i gatti furono scappati, il cane tornò indietro = when all the cats had ran away, the dog came back

notice how this tense describes an early action, which has already finished when the following action starts. The latter is in passato remoto tense (English simple past). Had there not been a following action, the trapassato prossimo tense would have been used:

tutti i topi erano scappati, così il gatto tornò indietro = all the rats had ran off, so the cat came back

 

FUTURO ANTERIORE

 

		singular			plural
1st person		avrò alzato	I shall have lifted		avremo alzato	we shall have lifted
2nd person		avrai alzato	you will have lifted (sing.)		avrete alzato	you will have lifted (pl.)
3rd person		avrà alzato	he/she/it will have lifted		avranno alzato	they will have lifted
1st person		sarò scappato	I shall have escaped		saranno scappati	we shall have escaped
2nd person		sarai scappato	you will have escaped (sing.)		sarete scappati	you will have escaped (pl.)
3rd person		sarà scappato	he/she/it will have escaped		saranno scappati	they will have escaped

As previously said, this tense is mostly used for expressing chance:

il leone sarà scappato da uno zoo = the lion might have escaped from a zoo

ieri avrò camminato almeno dieci chilometri = yesterday I have walked at least ten kilometers (what is not definite is the length of the walk, not the walk itself; "I might have walked at least ten kilometers" would sound slightly different, as if the walk had been uncertain, not the distance).

avrà telefonato all'ufficio questa mattina = he might have phoned the office this morning

But in fewer cases it expresses a past action in the future:

telefonerò ad Enrico quando avrò parlato con suo figlio = literally I will phone Henry when I will have spoken to his son (but in English, it would be better to say "I will phone Henry as soon as I have spoken to his son", or "...after having spoken to his son").

.5   VERBS OF THE 2nd CONJUGATION PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

To choose the right auxiliary verb, follow the same rule as the 1st conjugation: for transitive verbs use avere, while intransitive ones more often require avere, as well, but some use essere (check the dictionary).
Since some verbs may be either transitive or intransitive according to different meanings, the auxiliary verb may change: for example crescere = to grow requires essere in expressions such as this plant has grown, the dog had rapidly grown, etc., but it requires verb avere when it is used with a transitive meaning i.e. he grew (up) two children, etc.

Tables will be shown by using spingere = (to push, transitive), whose past participle is spinto, and scendere (to go down, to come off, always intransitive, requiring essere), whose past participle is sceso.

 

PASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ho spinto	I have pushed		abbiamo spinto	we have pushed
2nd person		hai spinto	you have pushed (singular)		avete spinto	you have pushed (plural)
3rd person		ha spinto	he/she/it has pushed		hanno spinto	they have pushed
1st person		sono sceso	I have come down		siamo scesi	we have come down
2nd person		sei sceso	you have come down (singular)		siete scesi	you have come down (plural)
3rd person		è sceso	he/she/it has come down		sono scesi	they have come down

Also in this case the intransitive verb using essere treats past participles as adjectives, using both singular and plural forms.

 

sono sceso = I have come down (masculine)	- siamo scesi = we have come down (masculine)
sono scesa = I have come down (feminine)	- siamo scese = we have come down (feminine)

ho spinto il carrello = I have pushed the trolley (or I pushed the trolley)

sono sceso dall'aereo = I have come off the plane (or I came off the plane)

 

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		avevo spinto	I had pushed		avevamo spinto	we had pushed
2nd person		avevi spinto	you had pushed (singular)		avevate spinto	you had pushed (plural)
3rd person		aveva spinto	he/she/it had pushed		avevano spinto	they had pushed
1st person		ero sceso	I had escaped		eravamo scappati	we had escaped
2nd person		eri sceso	you had escaped (singular)		eravate scappati	you had escaped (plural)
3rd person		era sceso	he/she/it had escaped		erano scappati	they had escaped

In this case the English compound tense corresponds more or less precisely to the Italian tense:

aveva spinto la porta = he/she had pushed the door

l'ascensore era sceso al primo piano = the lift had gone down to the first floor

 

TRAPASSATO REMOTO

 

		singular			plural
1st person		ebbi spinto	I had pushed		avemmo spinto	we had pushed
2nd person		avesti spinto	you had pushed (singular)		aveste spinto	you had pushed (plural)
3rd person		avesti spinto	he/she/it had pushed		ebbero spinto	they had pushed
1st person		fui sceso	I have escaped		furono scappati	we have escaped
2nd person		fosti sceso	you have escaped (singular)		foste scappati	you have escaped (plural)
3rd person		fu sceso	he/she/it has escaped		fummo scappati	they have escaped

dopo che ebbero spinto l'automobile fino a casa, entrarono in casa = when all the rats had ran off, the cat came back

quando fu sceso dal treno, telefonò al principale = when he had come off the train, he phoned the boss

 

FUTURO ANTERIORE