Past Tenses Review

Congratulations on reaching the final lesson! Over the course of this module, you have learned the two essential Italian past tenses — the passato prossimo and the imperfetto — and how to use them together for natural, expressive Italian. This lesson brings everything together with a comprehensive review, common mistakes to avoid, and practice exercises.

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The Two Past Tenses at a Glance

Feature	Passato Prossimo	Imperfetto
Structure	Auxiliary (avere/essere) + past participle	Single conjugated verb
Describes	Completed actions	Ongoing / habitual / background
Focus	The event itself	The context around the event
Narrative role	Moves the plot forward	Sets the scene
English equivalent	"I ate" / "I have eaten"	"I was eating" / "I used to eat"

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Passato Prossimo Formation Review

With Avere

Subject + present of avere + past participle