Italian grammar · Advanced
Passato Remoto
The passato remoto is the Italian past tense for completed events in the distant past, with no link to the present. It is the tense of history books, biographies, fairy tales, and novels. In most of Italy it is rare in conversation, where the passato prossimo has replaced it, but you need to recognise it to read Italian.
Leonardo da Vinci nacque nel 1452.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452.
What it is
The passato remoto is a one-word past tense, like English I spoke or she wrote. It presents an event as finished and closed, far from the moment of speaking. Its regular endings depend on the verb group, and many common -ERE verbs are irregular, but almost all irregular verbs follow one pattern that makes them easier to learn.
Dante scrisse la Divina Commedia nel Trecento. (Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in the fourteenth century.)
How to spot it
Look for the endings -ai, -asti, -ò (parlai, parlasti, parlò), -ei, -é, -ette (credei, credé, credette), and -ii, -ì (dormii, dormì), or the plural -arono, -erono, -irono. In books, the third person forms (parlò, disse, fu, ebbe) are by far the most common.
- Il re parlò al popolo. (The king spoke to the people.)
- Ricevette una lettera dal fratello. (She received a letter from her brother.)
- Quella notte nessuno dormì. (That night nobody slept.)
- Fu un anno difficile. (It was a difficult year. (essere: fu))
The written accent matters. Parlò (he spoke) is the passato remoto; parlo (I speak) is the present.
Passato Remoto Quick Reference
Regular passato remoto endings for -ARE, -ERE, and -IRE verbs
| Subject | parlare (-ARE) | credere (-ERE) | dormire (-IRE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlai | credei / credetti | dormii |
| tu | parlasti | credesti | dormisti |
| lui / lei / Lei | parlò | credé / credette | dormì |
| noi | parlammo | credemmo | dormimmo |
| voi | parlaste | credeste | dormiste |
| loro | parlarono | crederono / credettero | dormirono |
Common Passato Remoto Examples in Italian
The passato remoto in real sentences:
History
- Colombo arrivò in America nel 1492.
- Columbus reached America in 1492.
- Garibaldi partì da Quarto nel 1860.
- Garibaldi set off from Quarto in 1860.
- L'Impero romano d'Occidente cadde nel 476.
- The Western Roman Empire fell in 476.
History books and encyclopedias use the passato remoto almost without exception.
Stories and Novels
- Il principe aprì la porta ed entrò nella stanza.
- The prince opened the door and went into the room.
- Lei lo guardò e sorrise.
- She looked at him and smiled.
In a narrative, the passato remoto moves the plot forward, while the imperfetto describes the scene.
Family History
- I miei nonni si sposarono nel 1960.
- My grandparents got married in 1960.
- Mio padre nacque in un piccolo paese vicino a Napoli.
- My father was born in a small town near Naples.
Many Italians use the passato remoto for family events from long ago, especially in writing and in the south.
How the Passato Remoto Is Built
Regular endings for each group, a stressed final vowel in the third person, and one pattern for most irregular verbs.
Regular Endings by Verb Group
Remove -are, -ere, or -ire and add the endings for that group. The vowel of the infinitive appears in almost every ending: -ai, -asti, -ammo for -ARE; -ei, -esti, -emmo for -ERE; -ii, -isti, -immo for -IRE.
Parlò per due ore.
He spoke for two hours.
parl- + ò = parlò.
The Third Person Singular Is Stressed
The lui / lei form of regular verbs ends in a stressed vowel with a written accent: parlò, credé, dormì. Without the accent, these would be different words.
Il treno partì in orario.
The train left on time.
-ò, -é, -ì.
-ERE Verbs Have Two Forms
Regular -ERE verbs have two equally correct forms in the io, lui / lei, and loro persons: credei or credetti, credé or credette, crederono or credettero. The -etti forms are more common in modern writing.
Ricevette un premio importante.
He received an important prize.
ricevé or ricevette.
The 1-3-3 Pattern for Irregular Verbs
Most irregular verbs are irregular in only three persons: io, lui / lei, and loro (the first singular and the third singular and plural). The tu, noi, and voi forms are regular and built on the infinitive. Scrivere gives scrissi, scrisse, scrissero, but scrivesti, scrivemmo, scriveste.
Scrisse una lettera e la mise nella borsa.
She wrote a letter and put it in her bag.
Learn io; lui and loro follow it.
Use: Finished, Distant, and Closed
The passato remoto is for events with no connection to the present: historical facts, the lives of people from the past, and the plot of a story. The passato prossimo is for events that still feel connected to now.
Dante scrisse la Divina Commedia nel Trecento.
Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in the fourteenth century.
History and books: passato remoto.
Common Mistakes with Passato Remoto
Incorrect: Il professore parlo per un'ora. (The professor spoke for an hour.)
Correct: Il professore parlò per un'ora. (The professor spoke for an hour.)
The third person singular needs the accent. Without it, parlo is the present tense, I speak.
Incorrect: Lui avette paura. (He got scared.)
Correct: Lui ebbe paura. (He got scared.)
Avere is irregular in the io, lui / lei, and loro forms: ebbi, ebbe, ebbero. Only tu, noi, and voi are regular (avesti, avemmo, aveste).
Incorrect: Facerono una grande festa. (They threw a big party.)
Correct: Fecero una grande festa. (They threw a big party.)
The loro form of fare follows the io form feci, so it is fecero. The regular-looking stem face- appears only in tu, noi, and voi.
Incorrect: Stamattina mi svegliai alle sette. (This morning I woke up at seven.)
Correct: Stamattina mi sono svegliato alle sette. (This morning I woke up at seven.)
Stamattina is still part of today, so the event is connected to the present. The passato remoto is for the distant past and sounds wrong for something that happened a few hours ago.
Irregular Passato Remoto Verbs
Essere is completely irregular. Avere, fare, and dire follow the 1-3-3 pattern, as do the verbs in the second table, which are among the most common in written Italian.
Essere, Avere, Fare, Dire
Fu, ebbe, fece, and disse are some of the most frequent words in any Italian novel.
| Pronoun | essere | avere | fare | dire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | fui | ebbi | feci | dissi |
| tu | fosti | avesti | facesti | dicesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | fu | ebbe | fece | disse |
| noi | fummo | avemmo | facemmo | dicemmo |
| voi | foste | aveste | faceste | diceste |
| loro | furono | ebbero | fecero | dissero |
Fare and dire build their regular persons on the old stems face- and dice-, as in the imperfetto.
The 1-3-3 Pattern
Prendere, vedere, venire, and scrivere: irregular in io, lui / lei, and loro, regular everywhere else.
| Pronoun | prendere | vedere | venire | scrivere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | presi | vidi | venni | scrissi |
| tu | prendesti | vedesti | venisti | scrivesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | prese | vide | venne | scrisse |
| noi | prendemmo | vedemmo | venimmo | scrivemmo |
| voi | prendeste | vedeste | veniste | scriveste |
| loro | presero | videro | vennero | scrissero |
Other common verbs with this pattern: nascere (nacqui), volere (volli), sapere (seppi), leggere (lessi), mettere (misi), conoscere (conobbi), vivere (vissi).
Quick Check: Passato Remoto
Put the verb in brackets into the passato remoto.
1. Michelangelo (nascere) ___ nel 1475.
Answer: nacque
irregular: nacqui, nacque, nacquero
2. I soldati (arrivare) ___ di notte.
Answer: arrivarono
regular -ARE, loro form
3. La regina (essere) ___ molto amata.
Answer: fu
essere is fully irregular
4. Lo scrittore (vivere) ___ a Parigi per molti anni.
Answer: visse
1-3-3 pattern: vissi, visse
5. (Tu / capire) ___ subito la situazione.
Answer: Capisti
regular -IRE, tu form; no -isc-
Passato Remoto FAQs
- When is the passato remoto used in Italian?
- It is used for completed events in the distant past that have no connection to the present: historical events, biographies, fairy tales, and the narrative of novels. In most of Italy it is rare in everyday speech, where the passato prossimo is used instead.
- Do Italians speak in the passato remoto?
- It depends on the region. In much of southern Italy, including Sicily and Calabria, many speakers use it in conversation for finished events, even recent ones. In northern Italy it is almost absent from speech. In central Italy, including Tuscany, it is used for events that feel distant.
- How do you form the passato remoto?
- Remove the infinitive ending and add the endings for the group: -ai, -asti, -ò, -ammo, -aste, -arono for -ARE; -ei (or -etti), -esti, -é (or -ette), -emmo, -este, -erono (or -ettero) for -ERE; -ii, -isti, -ì, -immo, -iste, -irono for -IRE.
- What is the 1-3-3 rule in the passato remoto?
- Most irregular verbs are irregular only in the first person singular and in the third persons singular and plural: io, lui / lei, and loro. If you know the io form, you can build the other two: presi gives prese and presero. The tu, noi, and voi forms are regular.
- Should I learn the passato remoto as a beginner?
- Not first. Learn the passato prossimo and the imperfetto, which you need for conversation. Learn to recognise the passato remoto when you start reading books or history, focusing on the third person forms, which are the ones you will see most.