Who knows whether it is because of our timeless nostalgia that we Italians have so many tenses when talking about the past, but the truth is that we experience it intensely. Indeed, when we have to recall past actions or events, we have many ways to do so. We use the Passato Prossimo (if you’re curious, I’ve dedicated a whole article to that - “Italian Passato Prossimo: When to use ‘ essere’ and ‘ avere’), Trapassato Prossimo, and Imperfetto (you may want to learn more about on my article: “Passato Prossimo or Imperfetto?”).
Quite a long list, as you can see.
But in this confusing sea of tenses, there’s another one that particularly stands out, and that is (*drum roll*) the Passato Remoto.
In this article, we will look at:
1. What is the Passato Remoto in Italian
2. How to conjugate it
3. When to use it
4. Examples
Are you ready? Let's dive in!
1. What is the Passato Remoto in Italian
Have you ever asked yourself why the Passato Remoto is called that?
It obviously refers to the past, but the adjective remoto tells us a little more about its meaning.
It is remote, distant, and far removed from us. But how far exactly?
What will surprise you is that we Italians don't only measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years. We feel it. In fact, our relationship with time is intense and deeply connected to our own perspective. What do I mean by that? Even if an event happened a long time ago, we may still feel emotionally close to it, and the opposite can also be true.
For instance, if an event does not feel personally connected to us anymore, we will feel distant from it, and that is when we would use the Passato Remoto to describe it.
Spoiler alert: for events that are perceived close, you can refer to the Passato Prossimo instead.
Now that we've learned what this tense is, let's see how its conjugation works!
2. How to conjugate it
You may already know that we have three main conjugations in Italian with verbs ending in:
-ARE (e.g. amare)
-ERE (e.g. leggere)
-IRE (e.g. dormire)
Regular -ARE verbs follow this pattern:
• io → -ai
• tu → -asti
• lui/lei → -ò
• noi → -ammo
• voi → -aste
• loro → -arono
For example, parlare becomes:
• io parlai
• tu parlasti
• lui/lei parlò
• noi parlammo
• voi parlaste
• loro parlarono
Regular -ERE verbs are a little more complicated because many of them have two accepted forms in the Passato Remoto.
The first pattern is:
• io → -ei
• tu → -esti
• lui/lei → -é
• noi → -emmo
• voi → -este
• loro → -erono
For example, crederebecomes:
• io credei
• tu credesti
• lui credé
• noi credemmo
• voi credeste
• loro crederono
However, many -ERE verbs also use a second, very common pattern: • io cred-etti
• tu cred-esti
• lui cred-ette
• noi cred-emmo
• voi cred-este
• loro cred-ettero
Both forms are correct, although some verbs naturally prefer one over the other.
Regular -IRE verbs follow a single pattern:
• io → -ii
• tu → -isti
• lui/lei → -ì
• noi → -immo
• voi → -iste
• loro → -irono
For example, dormire becomes:
• io dormii
• tu dormisti
• lui/lei dormì
• noi dormimmo
• voi dormiste
• loro dormirono
3. When to use it
The Passato Remoto is mainly used in literature, historical writing, fairy tales, biographies, and other narrative texts. It describes actions that were completed in the distant past and have no direct connection to the present.
In everyday spoken Italian, its use varies depending on the region. For many Italians from Northern and Central Italy, the Passato Remoto can sound rather formal or even old fashioned in conversation, as they usually prefer the Passato Prossimo to talk about past events.
In Southern Italy, however, the Passato Remoto is still widely used in everyday speech, even to describe events that happened relatively recently.
Most importantly for learners, you will encounter the Passato Remoto very frequently in novels, short stories, fairy tales, newspapers, historical accounts, and other written texts. Even if you don't plan on using it yourself, being able to recognize it is essential for improving your reading comprehension and enjoying Italian literature.
4. Examples
Let's look at a few examples. (I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about!)
• Ulisse partì da Troia. → Odysseus departed from Troy.
• Ulisse accecò Polifemo. → Odysseus blinded the Polyphemus.
• Circe trasformò i compagni di Ulisse in maiali. → Circe turned Odysseus' companions into pigs.
• Ulisse resistette al canto delle Sirene. → Odysseus resisted the Sirens' song. • Penelope attese Ulisse per vent'anni. → Penelope waited for Odysseus for twenty years.
• I Proci occuparono il palazzo di Ulisse. → The Suitors occupied Odysseus' palace. • Atena aiutò Ulisse durante il suo viaggio. → Athena helped Odysseus during his journey.
That is all for today’s lesson!
I really hope this article helped you find out more about the Passato Remoto in Italian. Of course, if you have any questions or other topics you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for reading this article!
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Germana
