The passato remoto in Italian is a tense full of tricks that seems to belong in a dusty history book rather than a modern conversation in Italy. Many find it intimidating or think it’s too old-fashioned to be worth learning. But once you crack its code, it’s an essential skill that will help you read Italian novels, catch those epic “once upon a time…” moments in storytelling, and even impress locals – yes, it’s still used in everyday speech in certain regions of Italy!
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Table to Contents
Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Click on any title to jump to each section.
- What is the Passato Remoto in Italian?
- How to conjugate verbs in the Passato Remoto
- How to use the Passato Remoto in Italian
- Do I need to learn the Passato Remoto?
What is the Passato Remoto in Italian?
The passato remoto (remote past) is a verb tense belonging to the indicative mood used to talk about events in the past in Italian. The word remoto means “distant,” reflecting the fact that this tense is used for actions that are completely finished. Not only did these events happen a long time ago, they are also psychologically distant from the present. That’s why it is often employed to narrate historical facts, for instance:
- Ugo Foscolo nacque a Zante nel 1778 e morì a Londra nel 1827 – Ugo Foscolo was born in Zante in 1778 and died in London in 1827.
In this sentence, the passato remoto (nacque – was born and morì – died) is used because Foscolo’s birth and death happened a long time ago and have no impact on our lives today (…except for the fact that Foscolo is one of the greatest Italian poets of all time!).
The influence on our present lives is a key element that distinguishes the passato remoto from the passato prossimo (present perfect), which, as its name suggests (prossimo means “near”), is used for actions that occurred in the past but still have relevance or an effect on the present.
Let’s look at this example:
- Nel 1990, Andrea iniziò a lavorare in falegnameria (In 1990, Andrea started working in carpentry). → Here, the use of the passato remoto (iniziò – he started) suggests that his time as a carpenter is fully in the past and it’s likely that he’s no longer working in this field today.
- Nel 1990, Andrea ha iniziato a lavorare in falegnameria (In 1990, Andrea started working in carpentry). → Here, the passato prossimo (ha iniziato – he started) makes it sound like he might still be working there or that this event has some relevance to his current life.
How to conjugate verbs in the Passato remoto
Many Italian verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern and once you learn the endings, il gioco è fatto! (problem solved). However, there are also quite a few irregular verbs, and for those, you’ll need to memorize their specific forms and practice as much as you can. And don’t worry – even native Italian speakers get these confused!
Regular verbs
Let’s start with the easy part! To conjugate regular verbs in the passato remoto, simply follow these three simple steps:
- Take the infinitive form of the verb
- Drop the ending (-are, -ere, -ire).
- Add the correct passato remoto ending, as shown in the following tables below:
-are verbs
| Passato remoto endings for regular -are verbs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronoun | Ending | Example (guardare – to watch) |
| Io (I) | – ai | guardai |
| Tu (You) | – asti | guardasti |
| Lui/Lei (He/She) | – ò | guardò |
| Noi (We) | – ammo | guardammo |
| Voi (You) | – aste | guardaste |
| Essi (They) | – arono | guardarono |
Examples:
- Quel giorno guardai la TV tutto il pomeriggio – That day I watched TV all afternoon.
- Il giorno del nostro matrimonio mangiammo in un posto stupendo – On the day of our wedding, we ate at an amazing place.
-ere verbs
| Passato remoto endings for regular -ere verbs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronoun | Ending | Example (ricevere – to receive) |
| Io (I) | – ei / – etti | ricevei / ricevetti |
| Tu (You) | – esti | ricevesti |
| Lui/Lei (He/She) | – é / – ette | ricevé / ricevette |
| Noi (We) | – emmo | ricevemmo |
| Voi (You) | – este | riceveste |
| Essi (They) | – erono / – ettero | riceverono / ricevettero |
As you can see, for verbs ending in -ere, the first person singular and the third person singular and plural can be conjugated in two ways. Italians use both forms – one may be more common in certain regions, or just easier to pronounce for some people compared to the other. So, no need to stress. Just use whichever version feels more natural for you!
Modal verbs like dovere (have to/must) and potere (can), follow the regular conjugation patterns for -ere verbs. Volere (want), however, has an irregular conjugation pattern which will be discussed later in this guide.
Examples:
- Il mio bisnonno ricevette molti premi per le sue opere – My great-grandfather received many awards for his works.
- Nel 1950, i vecchi proprietari dovettero vendere il castello al comune – In 1950, the old owners had to sell the castle to the town council.
-ire verbs
| Passato remoto endings for regular -ire verbs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronouns | Ending | Example (sentire – to hear/to feel) |
| Io (I) | – ii | sentii |
| Tu (You) | – isti | sentisti |
| Lui/Lei (He/She) | – ì | sentì |
| Noi (We) | – immo | sentimmo |
| Voi (You) | – iste | sentiste |
| Essi (They) | – irono | sentirono |
Examples:
- La notte della rapina sentimmo il cane abbaiare – The night of the robbery, we heard the dog barking.
- Dopo il divorzio, il conte finì in una casa di cura, dove morì qualche anno dopo – After the divorce, the count ended up in a nursing home, where he died a few years later.
Common verbs that use the regular conjugation in the passato remoto include:
| Common regular verbs in passato remoto | ||
|---|---|---|
| -are verbs | -ere verbs | -ire verbs |
| Amare (to love) | Credere (to believe) | Aprire (to open) |
| Andare (to go) | Ricevere (to receive) | Capire (to understand) |
| Comprare (to buy) | Temere (to fear) | Dormire (to sleep) |
| Guardare (to watch) | Finire (to finish) | |
| Incontrare (to meet) | Offrire (to offer) | |
| Lavorare (to work) | Partire (to leave) | |
| Mangiare (to eat) | Pulire (to clean) | |
| Odiare (to hate) | Sentire (to hear/to feel) | |
| Parlare (to speak) | Servire (to serve/be necessary) | |
| Sbagliare (to make a mistake) | Soffrire (to suffer) | |
As you can guess from this table, usually it’s the verbs ending in -ere that tend to be irregular in the passato remoto.
Irregular verbs
First, let’s look at two key auxiliary verbs, essere (to be) and avere (to have), both of which are irregular:
| Italian auxiliary verbs in passato remoto | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronoun | Essere (to be) | Avere (to have) |
| Io (I) | fui | ebbi |
| Tu (You) | fosti | avesti |
| Lui/Lei (He/She) | fu | ebbe |
| Noi (We) | fummo | avemmo |
| Voi (You) | foste | aveste |
| Essi (They) | furono | ebbero |
Now it’s time to tackle all other irregular verbs. But here’s the good news: most of them are only irregular in the first person singular, third person singular, and third person plural, when both the stem and the ending shift. The other forms tend to keep their original stem and follow the regular conjugation patterns. However, this isn’t a strict rule – there are always exceptions!
One of the best ways to handle irregular verbs is to group them by patterns, as many of them change in similar ways depending on their stem. Below, I’ve outlined the main groups for you.
1. Verbs whose stem ends in V, M, R, T, GG, RR change these consonants into SS at the first person singular, third person singular, and third person plural:
| v, m, r, t, gg, rr → ss | |
|---|---|
| Correggere (to correct) | Io corressi | tu correggesti | lui/lei corresse | noi correggemmo | voi correggeste | essi corressero |
| Dire (to say) | Io dissi | tu dicesti | lui/lei disse | noi dicemmo | voi diceste | essi dissero |
| Discutere (to discuss) | Io discussi | tu discutesti | lui/lei discusse | noi discutemmo | voi discuteste | essi discussero |
| Esprimere (to express) | Io espressi | tu esprimesti | lui/lei espresse | noi esprimemmo | voi esprimeste | essi espressero |
| Friggere (to fry) | Io frissi | tu friggesti | lui/lei frisse | noi friggemmo | voi friggeste | essi frissero |
| Leggere (to read) | Io lessi | tu leggesti | lui/lei lesse | noi leggemmo | voi leggeste | essi lessero |
| Protrarre (to hold up) | Io protrassi | tu protraesti | lui/lei protrasse | noi protraemmo | voi protraeste | essi protrassero |
| Reggere (to hold up) | Io ressi | tu reggesti | lui/lei resse | noi reggemmo | voi reggeste | essi ressero |
| Scrivere (to write) | Io scrissi | tu scrivesti | lui/lei scrisse | noi scrivemmo | voi scriveste | essi scrissero |
| Vivere (to live) | Io vissi | tu vivesti | lui/lei visse | noi vivemmo | voi viveste | essi vissero |
2. Verbs whose stem ends in C or SC change these consonants into CQU:
| c, sc → cqu | |
|---|---|
| Giacere (to lie) | Io giacqui | tu giacesti | lui/lei giacque | noi giacemmo | voi giaceste | essi giacquero |
| Nascere (to be born) | Io nacqui | tu nascesti | lui/lei nacque | noi nascemmo | voi nasceste | essi nacquero |
| Piacere (to like) | Io piacqui | tu piacesti | lui/lei piacque | noi piacemmo | voi piaceste | essi piacquero |
| Tacere (to be quiet) | Io tacqui | tu tacesti | lui/lei tacque | noi tacemmo | voi taceste | essi tacquero |
Exceptions in this category include the verbs conoscere (to know) and crescere (to grow), which, despite having ‘sc’ in their stems, do not take ‘ss’ and change to ‘bb’ instead:
| sc → bb | |
|---|---|
| Conoscere (to know) | Io conobbi | tu conoscesti | lui/lei conobbe | noi conoscemmo | voi conosceste | essi conobbero |
| Crescere (to grow) | Io crebbi | tu crescesti | lui/lei crebbe | noi crescemmo | voi cresceste | essi crebbero |
3. Verbs whose stem ends in NG or GN change these consonants into NS:
| ng, gn → ns | |
|---|---|
| Dipingere (to paint) | Io dipinsi | tu dipingesti | lui/lei dipinse | noi dipingemmo | voi dipingeste | essi dipinsero |
| Fingere (to pretend) | Io finsi | tu fingesti | lui/lei finse | noi fingemmo | voi fingeste | essi finsero |
| Giungere (to arrive) | Io giunsi | tu giungesti | lui/lei giunse | noi giungemmo | voi giungeste | essi giunsero |
| Piangere (to cry) | Io piansi | tu piangesti | lui/lei pianse | noi piangemmo | voi piangeste | essi piansero |
| Spingere (to push) | Io spinsi | tu spingesti | lui/lei spinse | noi spingemmo | voi spingeste | essi spinsero |
| Spegnere (to switch off) | Io spensi | tu spegnesti | lui/lei spense | noi spegnemmo | voi spegneste | essi spensero |
| Tingere (to dye) | Io tinsi | tu tingesti | lui/lei tinse | noi tingemmo | voi tingeste | essi tinsero |
4. Verbs whose stem ends in D or ND change these consonants into S:
| d, nd→ s | |
|---|---|
| Accendere (to switch on) | Io accesi | tu accendesti | lui/lei accese | noi accendemmo | voi accendeste | essi accesero |
| Attendere (to wait) | Io attesi | tu attendesti | lui/lei attese | noi attendemmo | voi attendeste | essi attesero |
| Chiedere (to ask) | Io chiesi | tu chiedesti | lui/lei chiese | noi chiedemmo | voi chiedeste | essi chiesero |
| Chiudere (to close) | Io chiusi | tu chiudesti | lui/lei chiuse | noi chiudemmo | voi chiudeste | essi chiusero |
| Decidere (to decide) | Io decisi | tu decidesti | lui/lei decise | noi decidemmo | voi decideste | essi decisero |
| Difendere (to defend) | Io difesi | tu difendesti | lui/lei difese | noi difendemmo | voi difendeste | essi difesero |
| Nascondere (to hide) | Io nascosi | tu nascondesti | lui/lei nascose | noi nascondemmo | voi nascondeste | essi nascosero |
| Offendere (to offend) | Io offesi | tu offendesti | lui/lei offese | noi offendemmo | voi offendeste | essi offesero |
| Prendere (to take) | Io presi | tu prendesti | lui/lei prese | noi prendemmo | voi prendeste | essi presero |
| Rendere (to make, to return) | Io resi | tu rendesti | lui/lei rese | noi rendemmo | voi rendeste | essi resero |
| Ridere (to laugh) | Io risi | tu ridesti | lui/lei rise | noi ridemmo | voi rideste | essi risero |
| Rispondere (to answer) | Io risposi | tu rispondesti | lui/lei rispose | noi rispondemmo | voi rispondeste | essi risposero |
| Scendere (to go down) | Io scesi | tu scendesti | lui/lei scese | noi scendemmo | voi scendeste | essi scesero |
5. Verbs whose stem ends in GL change these consonants into LS:
| gl → ls | |
|---|---|
| Cogliere (to pick) | Io colsi | tu cogliesti | lui/lei colse | noi cogliemmo | voi coglieste | essi colsero |
| Raccogliere (to gather) | Io raccolsi | tu raccogliesti | lui/lei raccolse | noi raccogliemmo | voi raccoglieste | essi raccolsero |
| Scegliere (to choose) | Io scelsi | tu scegliesti | lui/lei scelse | noi scegliemmo | voi sceglieste | essi scelsero |
| Sciogliere (to melt) | Io sciolsi | tu sciogliesti | lui/lei sciolse | noi sciogliemmo | voi scioglieste | essi sciolsero |
| Togliere (to remove) | Io tolsi | tu togliesti | lui/lei tolse | noi togliemmo | voi toglieste | essi tolsero |
6. Verbs whose stem ends in RG or RR change these consonants into RS:
| rg, rr → rs | |
|---|---|
| Correre (to run) | Io corsi | tu corresti | lui/lei corse | noi corremmo | voi correste | essi corsero |
| Immergere (to immerse) | Io immersi | tu immergesti | lui/lei immerse | noi immergemmo | voi immergeste | essi immersero |
| Porgere (to hand out) | Io porsi | tu porgesti | lui/lei porse | noi porgemmo | voi porgeste | essi porsero |
| Sorgere (to rise) | Io sorsi | tu sorgesti | lui/lei sorse | noi sorgemmo | voi sorgeste | essi sorsero |
| Spargere (to spread) | Io sparsi | tu spargesti | lui/lei sparse | noi spargemmo | voi spargeste | essi sparsero |
7. Some verbs double the consonant at the end of their stem:
| Doubling of the final consonant of the stem | |
|---|---|
| Cadere (to fall) | Io caddi | tu cadesti | lui/lei cadde | noi cademmo | voi cadeste | essi caddero |
| Tenere (to hold) | Io tenni | tu tenesti | lui/lei tenne | noi tenemmo | voi teneste | essi tennero |
| Venire (to come) | Io venni | tu veniste | lui/lei venne | noi venimmo | voi veniste | essi vennero |
| Volere (to want) | Io volli | tu volesti | lui/lei volle | noi volemmo | voi voleste | essi vollero |
8. Lastly, some verbs completely change their stem in the passato remoto:
| Other irregular verbs | |
|---|---|
| Bere (to drink) | Io bevvi | tu bevesti | lui/lei bevve | noi bevemmo | voi beveste | essi bevvero |
| Dare (to give) | Io diedi | tu desti | lui/lei diede | noi demmo | voi deste | essi diedero |
| Fare (to do, to make) | Io feci | tu facesti | lui/lei fece | noi facemmo | voi faceste | essi fecero |
| Mettere (to put) | Io misi | tu mettesti | lui/lei mise | noi mettemmo | voi metteste | essi misero |
| Rompere (to break) | Io ruppi | tu rompesti | lui/lei ruppe | noi rompemmo | voi rompeste | essi ruppero |
| Sapere (to know) | Io seppi | tu sapesti | lui/lei seppe | noi sapemmo | voi sapeste | essi seppero |
| Stare (to stay) | Io stetti | tu stesti | lui/lei stette | noi stemmo | voi steste | essi stettero |
| Vedere (to see) | Io vidi | tu vedesti | lui/lei vide | noi vedemmo | voi vedeste | essi videro |
How to use the Passato Remoto in Italian
The passato remoto is used to describe events that feel distant in time, both from a chronological and emotional perspective:
- L’assedio di Novara durò tre giorni – The siege of Novara lasted three days → This refers to a historical event from 1500, which has no relevance on the present.
- Dopo la crisi del 1993, la proprietà decise di chiudere la fabbrica – After the crisis of 1993, the management decided to close the factory →This feels distant with no ongoing effects.
When constructing sentences in Italian, the passato remoto is often used in combination with the imperfect tense (imperfetto) for storytelling or narration. The imperfetto describes background actions or ongoing situations, while the passato remoto expresses actions that interrupt or happen within that background:
- Lo interruppi mentre parlava con Marco – I interrupted him while he was talking to Marco.
- Mio padre studiava ancora quando sposò mia madre – My father was still studying when he married my mother.
Conversely, passato remoto and passato prossimo typically cannot be mixed in the same sentence. Sure, they are both used to talk about past actions, but they come from different perspectives: the passato remoto refers to events in the distant past, with no current relevance, while the passato prossimo refers to recent past events that still affect the present.
Because of this difference, you must choose one or the other based on how “far away” the events feel, both in time and emotionally. You cannot say Ho aperto la porta e uscii (I opened the door and left). Instead:
- If the actions feel recent, opt for the passato prossimo: Ho aperto la porta e sono uscito (I opened the door and left).
- If the actions feel distant, turn to the passato remoto: Aprii la porta e uscii (I opened the door and left).
Do I need to learn the Passato Remoto?
You might be wondering? Is it really worth the effort to learn the passato remoto in Italian? Let’s start by saying that this verb tense isn’t common in everyday conversation across most of Italy. Italians generally prefer to use the passato prossimo instead, especially in the northern and central regions.
However, there are exceptions! In some areas, like southern Italy and Tuscany, the passato remoto is still very much alive, even in casual chats! In Sicilian language, for example, you might hear sentences like:
- Mi manciai nu pumu ora ora (standard Italian: Mi mangiai una mela ora ora – I just ate an apple).
Or in Tuscany, people might say things like:
- Ieri venne la Francesca (Yesterday Francesca came)
Whereas in other parts of Italy, they would use the passato prossimo and say:
- Ieri è venuta la Francesca (Yesterday Francesca came).
So, while you don’t need to rush to learn the passato remoto to communicate in everyday Italian, knowing it will definitely deepen your understanding of the language.
You’ll encounter it frequently in written Italian – especially in literature, journalism, fairy tales, and formal texts. Plus, if you plan to visit regions where it’s still used, or work as an au pair in Italy and tell stories to kids, it could be quite handy!
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