Explore the trapassato prossimo in Italian, learning how to form it with the imperfect of 'avere' or 'essere' plus the past participle, as in 'avevo salvato' (I had saved) and 'ero andato' (I had gone). This lesson highlights using 'avere' for transitive verbs and 'essere' for movement or state verbs, essential for narrating past action sequences.
- As with the passato prossimo, the auxiliary avere is used with transitive verbs, while the auxiliary essere is used with verbs of movement or state.
- The trapassato prossimo is formed with the imperfect of avere/essere + the past participle of the verb.
| Verbo salvare (verb to save) | Verbo andare (Verb to go) |
|---|---|
| Io avevo salvato (I had saved) | Io ero andato (I had gone) |
| Tu avevi salvato (You had saved) | Tu eri andato (You were gone) |
| Lui / lei aveva salvato/a (He / she had saved) | Lui / lei era andato/a (He / she had gone) |
| Noi avevamo salvato (We had saved) | Noi eravamo andati (We had gone) |
| Voi avevate salvato (You had saved) | Voi eravate andati (You were gone) |
| Loro avevano salvato (They had saved) | Loro erano andati (They had gone) |
Exercise 1: Il trapassato prossimo
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
aveva avuto, avevano usato, aveva chiamato, erano andati, avevi visto, avevamo salvato, avevano spento, avevamo chiamato
1.
Avere:
Giulia ... paura e non ha reagito subito.
(Giulia had been scared and did not react immediately.)
2.
Usare:
I paramedici ... il kit di primo soccorso.
(The paramedics had used the first aid kit.)
3.
Spegnere:
I pompieri ... il fuoco prima del nostro arrivo.
(The firemen had put out the fire before our arrival.)
4.
Vedere:
Tu ... l'emergenza prima degli altri?
(Had you seen the emergency before the others?)
5.
Salvare:
Noi ... le persone in pericolo.
(We had saved the people in danger.)
6.
Andare:
Loro ... a salvare i bambini durante l'incendio.
(They had gone to save the children during the fire.)
7.
Chiamare:
Non ... l'ambulanza in tempo.
(We had not called the ambulance in time.)
8.
Chiamare:
Maria ... la polizia prima di scappare.
(Maria had called the police before running away.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct sentence that uses the past perfect, considering the correct auxiliary and verb form, in emergency situations.
1.
The second action should be in the past simple, not the past perfect, to respect the timeline.
Error in the use of the auxiliary 'be' with the transitive verb 'call'.
2.
Verb tense error: 'was calling' is imperfect; here the past simple is required.
Error: the verb 'arrive' requires auxiliary 'be', not 'have'.
3.
Error: with the past simple 'we arrived' is used, not past perfect 'we had arrived'.
Repetition of the correct sentence (check for different options).
4.
Error: the temporal subordinate clause requires the subjunctive, not the imperfect indicative.
Error: transitive verb requires auxiliary 'have', not 'be'.
