How to Talk About the Past in Italian: A Guide to the Passato Remoto
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The passato remoto presents a past event as completed and detached from the present. It is common in historical and literary narrative. Its use in conversation varies by region; it is not restricted to events a particular number of years ago.
Despite having plenty of irregular verbs, the passato remoto is nothing to fear and has a musicality that is quintessentially Italian. You’ll like it.
Using the passato remoto
One of the five past tenses of the indicativo, the passato remoto is sometimes called the “past historic” in English. It is used to:
-
refer to an action that took place and was concluded a long time ago:
L’Italia vinse i mondiali nel 1982 – Italy won the World Cup in 1982
Giuseppe Garibaldi si rifugiò a San Marino nel 1849 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sought refuge in San Marino in 1849
- talk about an event that you feel as unrelated to the present time either chronologically or emotionally:
La amai tanto, ma ora non la amo più – I used to really love her, but now I don’t anymore
- describe events in the past that have no connection with the present:
Dante Alighieri nacque a Firenze nel 1265 – Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 (he is no longer alive)
- refer to the historical past:
La Prima Guerra Mondiale iniziò nel 1914 – World War I started in 1914
Translated in English as simple past, the passato remoto is widely used in formal and narrative registers. A common stylistic choice in the written language, it is mainly seen in literature, especially in novels, biographies, autobiographies, poetry, fairy tales and fictional writing.
Quando Cenerentola arrivò a palazzo, tutti rimasero a bocca aperta – When Cinderella arrived at the palace, everyone gasped in wonder
Constructing the passato remoto
To form the remote past tense of regular verbs, remove the infinitive ending -are, -ere or -ire and replace it with the personal endings as shown below:
- for verbs ending in -are, remove the infinitive ending and add -ai, -asti, -ò, -ammo, -aste, -arono:
| Cantare | (to sing) |
| Io cantai | I sang |
| Tu cantasti | You sang |
| Lui/lei cantò | He/She/It sang |
| Noi cantammo | We sang |
| Voi cantaste | You (plural) sang |
| Loro cantarono | They sang |
- For verbs ending in -ere, remove the infinitive ending and add -ei, -esti, -é, -emmo, -este, -erono. Many regular verbs ending in -ere, such as temere (to fear), battere (to beat), ricevere (to receive) and vendere (to sell), have an alternative form in the first person singular (-etti), third person singular (-ette), and third person plural (-ettero) forms.
| Vendere (to sell) |
| Io vendei or vendetti |
| Tu vendesti |
| Lui/lei vendé or vendette |
| Noi vendemmo |
| Voi vendeste |
| Loro venderono or vendettero |
So, both the following sentences are correct:
Rocco vendé la sua auto per pagare i debiti / Rocco vendette la sua auto per pagare i debiti – Rocco sold his car to pay his debts
- For verbs ending in -ire, remove the infinitive ending and add -ii, -isti, -ì, -immo, -iste, -irono:
| Sentire | (to hear) |
| Io sentii | I heard |
| Tu sentisti | You heard |
| Lui/lei sentì | He/She/It heard |
| Noi sentimmo | We heard |
| Voi sentiste | You (plural) heard |
| Loro sentirono | They heard |
They kind of roll off the tongue but are fun to say, don’t you think?
Irregular verbs in the passato remoto
There are plenty of irregular verbs in the passato remoto in Italian, which need to be learnt by heart. Just as in other verb tenses, avere (to have) and essere (to be) have irregular conjugations.
Let’s go over each:
| Essere | (to be) |
| Io fui | I was |
| Tu fosti | You were |
| Lui/lei fu | He/She/It was |
| Noi fummo | We were |
| Voi foste | You (plural) were |
| Loro furono | They were |
| Avere | (to have) |
| Io ebbi | I had |
| Tu avesti | You had |
| Lui/lei ebbe | He/She/It had |
| Noi avemmo | We had |
| Voi aveste | You (plural) had |
| Loro ebbero | They had |
There are a few tips and rules that can help you learn the irregular verbs in the passato remoto.
Many irregular verbs share an irregular stem in io, lui/lei and loro, while tu, noi and voi follow another stem. Compare bevvi / bevesti and tenni / tenesti. The tables below show the complete forms.
| Bere (to drink) |
| Io bevvi |
| Tu bevesti |
| Lui/lei bevve |
| Noi bevemmo |
| Voi beveste |
| Loro bevvero |
| Tenere (to keep) |
| Io tenni |
| Loro tennero |
| Lui/lei tenne |
| Noi tenemmo |
| Tu tenesti |
| Voi teneste |
Several verbs have an irregular first-person form in -si: leggere → lessi, spargere → sparsi, togliere → tolsi, scendere → scesi. These involve changes to the stem, not simply adding -si to the infinitive. Other verbs with similar endings follow different patterns: fondere → fusi, but rispondere → risposi. Learn each paradigm rather than treating the ending as a universal rule.
| Leggere (to read) |
| Io lessi |
| Tu leggesti |
| Lui/lei lesse |
| Noi leggemmo |
| Voi leggeste |
| Loro lessero |
| Spargere (to spread) |
| Io sparsi |
| Tu spargesti |
| Lui/lei sparse |
| Noi spargemmo |
| Voi spargeste |
| Loro sparsero |
| Togliere (to remove, to take off) |
| Io tolsi |
| Tu togliesti |
| Lui/lei tolse |
| Noi togliemmo |
| Voi toglieste |
| Loro tolsero |
| Scendere (to get off, to descend) |
| Io scesi |
| Tu scendesti |
| Lui/lei scese |
| Noi scendemmo |
| Voi scendeste |
| Loro scesero |
| Chiudere (to close) |
| Io chiusi |
| Tu chiudesti |
| Lui/lei chiuse |
| Noi chiudemmo |
| Voi chiudeste |
| Loro chiusero |
| Decidere (to decide) |
| Io decisi |
| Tu decidesti |
| Lui/lei decise |
| Noi decidemmo |
| Voi decideste |
| Loro decisero |
| Prendere (to take) |
| Io presi |
| Tu prendesti |
| Lui/lei prese |
| Noi prendemmo |
| Voi prendeste |
| Loro presero |
Here are some other common irregular verbs in the passato remoto.
| Fare (to do, to make) |
| Io feci |
| Tu facesti |
| Lui/lei fece |
| Noi facemmo |
| Voi faceste |
| Loro fecero |
| Dare (to give) |
| Io diedi |
| Tu desti |
| Lui/lei diede |
| Noi demmo |
| Voi deste |
| Loro diedero |
| Andare (to go) |
| Io andai |
| Tu andasti |
| Lui/lei andò |
| Noi andammo |
| Voi andaste |
| Loro andarono |
| Stare (to stay, to be) |
| Io stetti |
| Tu stesti |
| Lui/lei stette |
| Noi stemmo |
| Voi steste |
| Loro stettero |
| Vedere (to see) |
| Io vidi |
| Tu vedesti |
| Lui/lei vide |
| Noi vedemmo |
| Voi vedeste |
| Loro videro |
| Volere (to want) |
| Io volli |
| Tu volesti |
| Lui/lei volle |
| Noi volemmo |
| Voi voleste |
| Loro vollero |
| Chiedere (to ask) |
| Io chiesi |
| Tu chiedesti |
| Lui/lei chiese |
| Noi chiedemmo |
| Voi chiedeste |
| Loro chiesero |
| Venire (to come) |
| Io venni |
| Tu venisti |
| Lui/lei venne |
| Noi venimmo |
| Voi veniste |
| Loro vennero |
| Dire (to say) |
| Io dissi |
| Tu dicesti |
| Lui/lei disse |
| Noi dicemmo |
| Voi diceste |
| Loro dissero |
It is easy to see why so many people from all over the world have such deep love for Italian when you hear the sweet sound of this past tense.
Which phrases are typically used with the passato remoto?
These time expressions can accompany passato remoto. They can also accompany other past tenses: the expression alone does not choose the tense.
- L’anno scorso – Last year
L’anno scorso Giorgia si mise a dieta e perse 10 chili – Last year Giorgia went on a diet and lost 10 kilos (about 22 pounds)
- Cinque/dieci/venti anni fa – Five/ten/twenty years ago
Vent’anni fa decisi di lasciare Milano e di trasferirmi in Sicilia – Twenty years ago I decided to leave Milan and move to Sicily
- Molto tempo fa – A long time ago:
Eugenio morì molto tempo fa – Eugenio died a long time ago
- Nel … secolo – In the … century
La cattedrale fu costruita nel XVIII secolo – The cathedral was built in the 18th century
What’s the difference between the passato remoto and the passato prossimo?
Italian distinguishes passato remoto and passato prossimo. English often translates both with the simple past; the Italian choice depends on narrative perspective, register and regional usage as well as connection to the present.
The passato remoto is common for historical narration, for example:
| Il Brasile vinse i mondiali nel 1970 | Brazil won the World Cup in 1970 (far-off past) |
The passato prossimo often describes recent events, but can describe distant ones too:
| Sono andato in palestra ieri pomeriggio | I went to the gym yesterday afternoon (near past) |
English also has different past forms, but it does not have a separate “remote past” tense corresponding exactly to Italian passato remoto.
When does passato prossimo become passato remoto?
That’s a complex question. There is actually not a specific time limit at which the passato remoto kicks in. The distinction depends on the meaning you want to convey.
A writer can present a completed event as detached from the present with passato remoto:
| Luigi Pirandello nacque nel 1867 | Luigi Pirandello was born in 1867 (the action is far and detached from the present) |
A speaker can connect a past event to the present with passato prossimo. In many varieties of spoken Italian, it is also the usual tense for completed events generally:
| Nel 2002 sono entrate in circolazione le banconote e le monete in euro | Euro banknotes and coins entered circulation in 2002 (it is still with us) |
However, the choice of tense is not always dictated by how long ago an event happened. Most of the time, it is the speaker that chooses how to describe an action. The choice of tense is a choice of the speaker.
The passato remoto emphasizes that the action is finished and far from the present. Using it might mean you intend to convey a sense of distance between the fact you are referring to and the present.
On the contrary, if you use the passato prossimo you express a certain degree of involvement in what you are talking about.
For example:
| Mauro e Patrizia si sono sposati quindici anni fa | Mauro and Patrizia got married fifteen years ago |
The passato prossimo presents the marriage as a completed event with a possible connection to the present. It does not, on its own, prove that the couple is still married.
| Mauro e Patrizia si sposarono quindici anni fa | Mauro and Patrizia got married fifteen years ago |
The passato remoto places the wedding in a detached narrative. It does not, on its own, mean that the couple divorced or that their marriage ended.
Passato remoto in spoken Italian
In much everyday speech, especially in northern Italy, passato prossimo is the usual choice even for distant events. The following regional notes describe tendencies, not rules for every speaker.
The passato remoto is less frequent in northern everyday conversation, but remains part of standard Italian and occurs in historical and literary narration throughout Italy.
In Tuscany and parts of southern Italy, passato remoto remains more common in conversation. It is not an obsolete tense.
Regional usage varies: southern speakers may use passato remoto for a recent completed event. This is an established regional preference, not an error simply because the event was recent.
| Ieri andai dal dentista | Yesterday I went to the dentist |
This sentence is natural in some southern varieties. A northern speaker would more often say Ieri sono andato dal dentista. Individual preferences and context vary.
Because of its difficulty and limited utility in speaking, many English speakers who decide to learn Italian skip the passato remoto entirely. Don’t do it, please. The remote past tense is still well worth learning, at least to recognize it in case it comes up, especially if you enjoy reading and writing in Italian.
To sum up…
- The Italian passato remoto presents completed past events in a detached narrative. Distance in time is common, but is not a fixed requirement.
| Giuseppe Garibaldi si stabilì a Caprera nel 1856 | Giuseppe Garibaldi settled in Caprera in 1856 |
- You will come across the passato remoto mostly in written Italian, as it is used for narrative purposes.
- The passato remoto is equivalent to the English simple past.
Calò il silenzio quando Virginia entrò nella stanza – There was a sudden silence when Virginia came into the room
- Conversational frequency varies by region. Learn to recognize its common forms for reading, and notice how speakers around you choose between passato remoto and passato prossimo.
Practice as much as you can until you get the hang of this lovely Italian tense.
