Present perfect for events
Use for finished events: something happened, and now we talk about it. It is very common in everyday Italian. You make it with the present of or plus a past participle, like or .
Many action verbs use : , , . These forms do not change for gender. You can also add time words like , , or .
Some movement and change-of-place verbs often use : , . With , the participle agrees with the person: , . This is important for the learner too: for Lukas, for Lena.
In simple stories, gives the main events. It often answers: what happened?
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I looked for Milo. | ||
| I looked for Milo. | ||
| Mrs Rossi saw everything. | ||
| Mrs Rossi saw everything. | ||
| / | Yesterday I went home. | |
| Yesterday I went home. | ||
| I put it here ten minutes ago. | ||
| I put it here ten minutes ago. | ||
Io ho visto Milo al festival.I saw Milo at the festival.
Dieci minuti fa Marco ha messo il bocchino sul banco.Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
Noi abbiamo cercato il gatto tutta la sera.We looked for the cat all evening.
Ieri sono arrivato tardi a casa.Yesterday I arrived home late.
Ieri sono arrivata tardi a casa.Yesterday I arrived home late.
La signora Rossi ha tenuto la tromba per diciotto anni.Mrs Rossi kept the trumpet for eighteen years.
Tommaso ha scritto un rapporto sul festival.Tommaso wrote a report about the festival.
Le luci sono andate via alle 20:14.The lights went out at 20:14.
Sabato ho lavorato al banco del caffè.On Saturday I worked at the café stall.
Practice 1/6 · Finding words
Notice the useful pattern
Tap the form practised in this unit.
.
I saw Milo at the festival.
.
Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
.
We looked for the cat all evening.
.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
Practice 2/6 · The right form
Choose the form
Use the English meaning and the pattern in this unit.
Io Milo al festival.
I saw Milo at the festival.
Dieci minuti fa Marco il bocchino sul banco.
Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
Noi il gatto tutta la sera.
We looked for the cat all evening.
Ieri tardi a casa.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
Ieri tardi a casa.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
La signora Rossi la tromba per diciotto anni.
Mrs Rossi kept the trumpet for eighteen years.
Tommaso un rapporto sul festival.
Tommaso wrote a report about the festival.
Le luci via alle 20:14.
The lights went out at 20:14.
Sabato al banco del caffè.
On Saturday I worked at the café stall.
Practice 3/6 · Fill the gaps
Complete the messages
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
Noi il gatto tutta la sera.
We looked for the cat all evening.
Ieri tardi a casa.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
Ieri tardi a casa.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
La signora Rossi la tromba per diciotto anni.
Mrs Rossi kept the trumpet for eighteen years.
Tommaso un rapporto sul festival.
Tommaso wrote a report about the festival.
Le luci via alle 20:14.
The lights went out at 20:14.
Sabato al banco del caffè.
On Saturday I worked at the café stall.
Practice 4/6 · Building sentences
Build a sentence
Put the words in order.
I saw Milo at the festival.
Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
We looked for the cat all evening.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
Mrs Rossi kept the trumpet for eighteen years.
Tommaso wrote a report about the festival.
Practice 5/6 · In situations
What would you say?
Choose the right words for the situation.
I saw Milo at the festival.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
I saw Milo at the festival.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
Ten minutes ago Marco put the mouthpiece on the stall.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
We looked for the cat all evening.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
We looked for the cat all evening.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
Yesterday I arrived home late.
You say:
Use the meaning and Italian pattern explained in this unit.
Practice 6/6 · Matching
Connect messages and meanings
Match the pairs.
Unit complete
