🛠️ Bonus Episode 04 – Passato Prossimo: Your Practice Power-Up! 🏋️‍♀️

🎧 Bonus Episode 04 – Passato Prossimo: Your Practice Power-Up! 🏋️‍♀️ – To Reinforce Episodes 04 and 05

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and flex those Italian grammar muscles! In this bonus episode, we dive deep into the passato prossimo with a full practice session designed to help you recognize regular and irregular past participles, choose the right auxiliary verb, and build confidence one sentence at a time.

🌟 Highlights:
✔️ Quick reviews of auxiliary verbs, participle endings, and essential grammar tips
✔️ Spotlight on irregular verb families: the dramatic -tto, the slick -so, and the refined -rto
✔️ Full conjugations and examples with avere and essere as main verbs
✔️ Three rounds of practice: transitive (avere), intransitive (essere), and a final mixed challenge
✔️ Bonus sayings, humor, and a link to an interactive quiz to reinforce what you’ve learned

🎯 Practice with Purpose:
This is your palestra personale—your grammar gym! Listen, respond out loud, and test yourself with real-time recall and sentence formation. And don’t worry—mistakes aren’t just okay, they’re proof you’re growing.

📜 Want to follow along? Check out the full transcript and episode quiz in the show notes.

🎧 Let’s keep building your Italian skills—piano piano—as we prepare to tackle reflexive verbs and the verbs of movement and change in upcoming episodes!

⏳ CHAPTERS  
00:00 Intro  
01:08 Recap – Forming Passato Prossimo  
01:37 Quick Tip – “And” vs “Is” in Italian  
03:01 Mixed Practice – *Essere* & *Avere*  
06:37 Formation of Past Participles  
10:02 Irregular Past Participles  
13:26 Conjugate *Avere* in Passato Prossimo  
13:59 *Avere* – Sample Sentences  
14:36 Conjugate *Essere* in Passato Prossimo  
15:58 *Essere* – Example Sentences  
17:34 “TTO” Family of Irregular Verbs  
19:45 “SO” Family of Irregular Verbs  
21:16 “RTO” Family of Irregular Verbs  
23:31 Transitivity & *Avere* or *Essere*  
25:30 Mini Quiz – Round 1 (*Avere* Sentences)  
27:06 Mini Quiz – Round 2 (*Essere* Sentences)  
28:00 Mini Quiz – Round 3 (Mixed *Essere* & *Avere*)  
29:02 Wrap Up

All content © 2025 Impariamo l’italiano piano piano – Un impegno quotidiano

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:08 Recap forming Passato Prossimo
• 1:37 Quick Tip about and & is
• 3:01 Mixed Practice Essere & Avere
• 6:37 Formation of Past Participles
• 10:02 Irregular past participles
• 13:26 Conjugate avere in passato prossimo
• 13:59 Avere sample sentences
• 14:36 Conjugate essere in passato prossimo
• 15:58 Essere example sentences
• 17:34 TTO Family of irregular verbs
• 19:45 SO Family of irregular verbs
• 21:16 RTO Family of irregular verbs
• 23:31 Transitivity & Avere or Essere
• 25:30 Mini Quiz Round 1 - Avere Sentences
• 27:06 Round 2 - Essere Sentences
• 28:00 Round 3 - Mixed Sentences Essere & Avere
• 29:02 Wrap up

Transcript

🎙️ Bonus Episode 04 – Passato Prossimo: Your Practice Power-Up! 🏋️‍♀️

Welcome back to Impariamo l’italiano piano piano!  In Episodes 4 and 5, we started exploring the passato prossimo. But because there’s so much to cover, and so little time, I promised you a special practice session—and here we are!

This bonus episode is your practice gym—your palestra personale—where we build Italian muscle, one verb at a time.

Ready? How do we say, Let’s roll up our sleeves! -  Rimbocchiamoci le maniche! 

Quick Recap – How to Form Passato Prossimo

• Can you tell me the two ingredients?
   1) The auxiliary verb (avere or essere) in the present tense… and… 

            2) The past participle of the main verb

➔ It’s like building a bridge from the present into the past.

Section 2: Quick Tip Break – è vs. e

Before we dive into our practice session, I have a little trick I’d like to share that might help you with the writing and pronunciation of one very small word.
 The word is the third person singular of the verb essere. Can you tell me whether this word, meaning ‘he or she is’ has an accent or not? If you’re not sure, I think this tip will help.

• The letter È – or e in Italian - (with an accent) means is.
• The letter E – or e in Italian - (without an accent) means and.

Think about the word is, in English. Notice the dot above the ‘i’. The word ‘is’ in Italian also has something above. That is the accent. The word ‘and’ in English has no dot above it. And  in Italian there is no accent. 

And you should probably get to know the difference between the sound of these two words. So the word ‘is’, with an accent on the è:

Antonio: è 

And the word ‘and’ without the accent:

Antonio: e

So I hope that can help you remember that there is an accent on the word è when it means ‘is’.

Mixed Practice – Conjugating Essere and Avere

• Let’s warm up with a mix of essere and avere conjugations, shuffled together.
• I’ll say the English, you say the Italian and Antonio will repeat it after you.

(Your list, lightly narrated for flow:)

 English                                            Italian

I am                                                    Io sono
 We have                                            Noi abbiamo
 She is                                                 Lei è
 They are                                            Loro sono
 You (singular) have                         Tu hai
 You all are                                        Voi siete
 He has                                               Lui ha
 I have                                                 Io ho
 We are                                               Noi siamo
 They have                                         Loro hanno
 You (singular) are                            Tu sei
 I am                                                   Io sono
 You all have                                     Voi avete
 She has                                             Lei ha
 They are                                            Loro sono

How about we mix it up one more time, questa volta senza i pronomi soggetto.
 (This time without the subject pronouns.)

Now that these building blocks are good and solid, we’re ready to talk about the past participles.

How Regular Past Participles Are Formed – Quick Review

• What were the regular past participles for the first, second and third verb conjugations, namely:

           -are → -ato 
            -ere → -uto 
            -ire → -ito

Here are some common examples from each group:

🟠 -ARE Verbs → -ATO

 Infinitive                          Past Participle 

mangiare                           mangiato

parlare                                parlato

guardare                            guardato

visitare                                visitato

ascoltare                           ascoltato

🔵 -ERE Verbs → -UTO

 Infinitive                          Past Participle 

Temere               temuto

credere              creduto

ricevere             ricevuto

vendere            venduto

(Note: rispondere looks regular but is irregular → risposto. Good chance to mention exceptions!)

🟢 -IRE Verbs → -ITO

Infinitive                       Past Participle 

finire                                 finito

partire                              partito

dormire                           dormito

pulire                                pulito

sentire                              sentito

Great and now, mixing these up a little:

Italian InfinitivePast                          Participle                 Group 

ricevere                                                      ricevuto                      🔵 -ere
 guardare                                                    guardato                   🟠 -are
 finire                                                            finito                          🟢 -ire
 credere                                                       creduto                     🔵 -ere
 parlare                                                        parlato                      🟠 -are
 dormire                                                      dormito                     🟢 -ire
 visitare                                                        visitato                      🟠 -are
 pulire                                                           pulito                         🟢 -ire
 temere                                                        temuto                      🔵 -ere
 ascoltare                                                    ascoltato                   🟠 -are
 mangiare                                                   mangiato                   🟠 -are
 sentire                                                        sentito                       🟢 -ire
 vendere                                                      venduto                     🔵 -ere
 partire                                                         partito                        🟢 -ire

What Makes a Past Participle Irregular?

Excellent. Now let’s talk about irregular past participles.
 Some verbs don’t follow the regular patterns like -ato, -uto, or -ito.
Antonio:
Ah… i miei preferiti. Quelli che non seguono le regole degli altri.
(Ah… my favorites. The ones that don’t follow everyone else’s rules.)

Myra:
Let me guess… you’re not just talking about verbs, are you?

Antonio:
Ci sono persone, Myra… e poi ci sono personalità.
(*There are people, Myra… and then there are personalities.)

Myra:
So there are people and then there are personalities. Like irregular past participles… unpredictable, dramatic, and oddly charming?

Antonio:
Esattamente. In fondo… anche io sono un verbo irregolare!
(Exactly. Basically… I am an irregular verb too!)

Myra: You know, Antonio, I was kind of wondering if you might have had an irregular past…participle. 

Antonio:(mildly offended)
Come, scusa? Il mio passato è... grammaticalmente impeccabile!
(Excuse me? My past is... grammatically impeccable!)

Myra:
Yes, of course. Now, before we dive into our irregular participle families, let’s take a quick moment to shine the spotlight on two essential verbs—ones we use quite often, but haven’t officially conjugated yet in the passato prossimo.

Antonio:(in grand announcer voice)
Signore e signori... vi presento i due protagonisti indiscussi del passato prossimo: avere... e essere!
(*Ladies and gentlemen... I present to you the undisputed stars of the passato prossimo: avere... and essere!)

Myra:
Yes, our two grammatical VIPs. Their past participles? Avuto and stato.
And yes, both of them are irregular.

Myra: (playfully)
Like you, Antonio.

Antonio: Ma dai! Essere irregolare non è mica una colpa!
(Come on! Being irregular isn't a crime!)

In effetti, stato viene dal latino status—una radice nobile, se posso aggiungere.
(In fact, stato comes from the Latin status—a noble root, if I may add.)

Myra:
So stato comes from the Latin Status, a noble root. Of course. Nothing wrong with a little Latin in your past participle.

Antonio:
E avuto? Pratico. Essenziale. Uno che lavora dietro le quinte.
(And avuto? Practical. Essential. A behind-the-scenes kind of verb.)

Myra:
Exactly. And together, they carry the whole passato prossimo on their backs.

Antonio:
Sono loro i veri eroi del tempo passato. Sempre presenti… anche nel passato!
(They’re the true heroes of the past tense. Always present… even in the past!)

Myra: Always present… even in the past. I kind of like that one.

So what we’re talking about here are the two helper verbs, avere and essere—but not as helpers, as the main event.

→ avere → avuto
→ essere → stato

And yes, they are both quite irregular.

🧩Avere in the Passato Prossimo

Myra:
Let’s start with avere. Its past participle is avuto, and it uses avere as its auxiliary—so no agreement needed for gender or number.

Here’s the full conjugation:

• Io ho avuto
• Tu hai avuto
• Lui/Lei ha avuto
• Noi abbiamo avuto
• Voi avete avuto
• Loro hanno avuto

Example Sentences:

I had an interesting idea.
 Ho avuto un’idea interessante.

Did you have a good day?
Hai avuto una buona giornata?

We had a few issues.
Abbiamo avuto qualche problema.

🧩Essere in the Passato Prossimo

Myra:
Now let’s look at essere. This one’s a little more complex.
Its past participle is stato, and it uses essere as the auxiliary—
which means we need to match gender and number.

Here’s the full conjugation:

Myra: Antonio why don’t you do this one on your own, but don’t forget to leave a pause after the subject pronoun so that our ascoltatori can try to say the conjugated past participle before you do.

Antonio:
Con piacere, Maira.
Ascoltatori, questo è tutto per voi… preparatevi a rispondere prima che lo faccia io!
Essere al passato prossimo:

• Io sono stato / stata
• Tu sei stato / stata
• Lui è stato / Lei è stata
• Noi siamo stati / state
• Voi siete stati / state
• Loro sono stati / state

Example Sentences:

First with male subjects:

I was very lucky.
 Sono stato molto fortunato.

You were kind, thank you.
 Sei stato gentile, grazie.

We were in Italy last year.
Siamo stati in Italia l’anno scorso.

And now the female version:

We (feminine) were in Italy last year.
Siamo state in Italia l’anno scorso.

You all (feminine) were very lucky.
 Siete state molto fortunate.

They (feminine) were kind.
 Sono state gentili.

Notice that the plural of gentile does not change depending on whether it is male or female. It is gentili for both.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Myra:
So even though these verbs might feel familiar, don’t forget—they’re both irregular in their participles, and especially in the case of essere, they still like to show off a bit of complexity.

Okay—ready to move on? It’s time to meet some of the other irregular verbs... grouped into families.

Myra:
Let’s take a look at a few more of these unpredictable characters, with irregular past participles.

I’ll provide the infinitive of the verb. Try to say the past participle before I do. Then I’ll give you a sentence in English using that past participle. And you try to say the sentence before Antonio does.
  

🎯 Spotlight on Irregular Verbs

The first family is verbs ending in  -tto

🧩 Group 1: 

The -tto Family

Myra:
Let’s start with the -tto family. These irregular participles all end in -tto.

Infinitive: dire
Past participle: detto
Example: I said the truth.
→ Ho detto la verità.

Infinitive:fare
Past participle: fatto
Example: We made a cake for the party.
→ Abbiamo fatto una torta per la festa.

Infinitive: leggere
Past participle: letto
Example: Have you read that famous book?
→ Hai letto quel libro famoso?

Infinitive:rompere
Past participle: rotto
Example: Who broke Grandma’s vase?
→ Chi ha rotto il vaso della nonna?

Infinitive: scrivere
Past participle: scritto
Example: He wrote a beautiful letter.
→ Ha scritto una lettera bellissima.

🧩 Group 2: The -so Family

Myra:
Now let’s look at the -so family. These verbs have past participles ending in -so, -uso, or -sso.

Infinitive: prendere
Past participle: preso
Example: I had a coffee at the café.
→ Ho preso un caffè al bar.

Infinitive: chiudere
Past participle: chiuso
Example: We closed the window before the storm.
→ Abbiamo chiuso la finestra prima della tempesta.

Infinitive: mettere
Past participle: messo
Example: They put the books on the table.
→ Hanno messo i libri sul tavolo.

Infinitive:vedere
Past participle: visto
Example: We saw a beautiful movie last night.
→ Abbiamo visto un film bellissimo ieri sera.

🧩 Group 3: The -rto / -to Family

Myra:
And finally, a smaller family with verbs whose past participles end in -rto or an irregular -to.

Infinitive: aprire
Past participle: aperto
Example: She opened the door slowly.
→ Ha aperto la porta lentamente.

Infinitive:nascere
Past participle: nato
Example: I was born in Florence.
→ Sono nato a Firenze.

Infinitive: essere
Past participle: stato
Example: It was an unforgettable trip.
→ È stato un viaggio indimenticabile.

Myra: So there you have it—three families of irregular past participles:
 the dramatic -tto, the slick -so, and the distinctive -rto.
 
They may not follow the rules, but with practice, they will start to feel like old friends.

And if some of them still feel a bit elusive—don’t worry. Mistakes are an essential part of the process.
 
 Every time you go back, review, and correct yourself, you're strengthening those neural pathways and building true confidence.

And honestly, I haven’t heard any snoring yet… so I think we’re doing pretty well!

Antonio (teasing):
Dai, Myra... Paolo oggi sta resistendo eroicamente!
(Come on, Myra… Paolo is heroically staying awake today!)

Paolo (half-asleep):
Mh? Cosa? No, no... sto solo... riflettendo.
(Huh? What? No, no... I'm just... reflecting.)

Myra (dryly):
Sure, Paolo. Reflecting. We get it.

Avere or Essere? Let’s Finish What We Started!

In Episode 5, we started working through a list of verbs to try to determine whether it they are transitive (taking avere) or intransitive (taking essere) — let’s complete it now.

I’ll say the word in English. Try to say the inifinitive in Italian, before I do, whether it is transitive or intransitive, and finally, the auxiliary verb. Pronti? Cominciamo!

English                             Infinitive                  Transitivity                Auxiliary Verb

To stay/remain            Restare                   Intransitive              Essere 

To watch/look at       Guardare                Transitive                 Avere 

To buy                          Comprare               Transitive                Avere 

To leave/depart          Partire                      Intransitive             Essere

Antonio: Con quella grinta, Maira, potresti motivare anche chi odia la grammatica!
(With that spirit, Myra, you could motivate even someone who hates grammar!) 

Myra: Grazie Antonio, Speriamo sia vero!
(Let’s hope it’s true!)

Now that we’ve had a little more practice with which verbs are transitive and which are intransitive—and which auxiliary each one takes—
 è il momento di mettere tutto in pratica! (It’s time to put it all into practice!)
 
 Let’s do a quick review with a mini quiz. 

Mini Quiz – Passato Prossimo Practice

Remember to keep in mind: 

Transitive? ➔ Avere.
Intransitive? ➔ Essere.

🎯 Practice Round 1 – Avere Sentences (Transitive)

Myra:
Let’s begin with verbs that clearly take avere—because they have a direct object.
Come al solito, (as usual), vi do l'inglese e voi provate a formare la frase in italiano al passato prossimo. (I give you the English, you form the Italian sentence in passato prossimo.) Antonio, are you up for this?

Antonio: Mettimi alla prova, Myra—non vedo l’ora di brillare!
(Put me to the test, Myra—I can’t wait to shine!)

1. I ate an apple.
    → Ho mangiato una mela.
2. We bought a gift.
    → Abbiamo comprato un regalo.
3. He read the letter.
    → Ha letto la lettera.
4. You all watched a movie.
    → Avete guardato un film.
5. They heard a noise.
    → Hanno sentito un rumore.

🚶 Practice Round 2 – Essere Sentences (Intransitive)

Myra:
Now let’s move on to some clearly intransitive verbs—these take essere in the passato prossimo. 
Ascoltate bene…

1. I went to the market.
    → Sono andato/a al mercato.
2. She stayed at home.
    → È rimasta a casa.
3. We arrived late.
    → Siamo arrivati/e in ritardo.
4. He entered the room.
    → È entrato nella stanza.
5. They left early.
    → Sono partiti/e presto.

(Note: for plural subjects like they, gender can be flexible in spoken practice.)

🌀 Practice Round 3 – Mixed Sentences (Challenge Time)

Myra:
Here comes the real test: we’re mixing avere and essere.
Try to choose the correct auxiliary and form the full sentence.

1. She bought a coffee.
    → Ha comprato un caffè.
2. They went to Rome.
    → Sono andati a Roma.
3. We watched the show.
    → Abbiamo guardato lo spettacolo.
4. I arrived on time.
    → Sono arrivato/a in orario.
5. You (plural) read the message.
    → Avete letto il messaggio. 

Myra: And there you have it!
In this bonus session, we reviewed how to form the passato prossimo, looked at regular and irregular past participles, we visited our helper verbs avere and essere, and practiced choosing the right auxiliary with transitive and intransitive verbs.
You flexed your grammar muscles with three rounds of practice—and if you made mistakes along the way, even better. That means you’re learning.

Antonio:
Sbagliando s’impara, no?
Anche i grandi maestri hanno iniziato così.
(By making mistakes, you learn, right? Even great masters started that way.)

Myra:
Did you catch that? Sbagliando s’impara is a classic Italian saying.
Literally: By making mistakes, one learns.
The s’ is short for si, which means people in general.
It’s like saying: You learn by messing up.
And apparently… even Antonio agrees.

Coming up next:
 We’ll take a closer look at reflexive verbs and how they behave in the passato prossimo.
And then… it’s time to meet the verbs of movement and change—those lively characters who love to travel con essere.

Grazie di cuore for supporting the show and being part of this journey.
It’s thanks to you that we can go deeper, practice more, and keep learning piano piano.

And don’t worry—new story content is just around the corner!

You’ll find a link to the interactive quiz that goes with this episode in the show notes—perfect for reviewing on your own or challenging a friend.

Ci sentiamo presto! 💫