4 In Italian, as in most languages, many verbs have an irregular past parti-
ciple, which is best learned by heart and with use. Here is a list of the most
frequently used:
*Stato is also the past participle of stare.
** The regular forms perduto and veduto are rarely used.
The present perfect
5 The present perfect in Italian is formed with the present indicative of avere
or essere (auxiliary verbs) followed by the past participle of the verb. Here are
two examples, one using avere and the other essere:
Infinitive
accendere
aprire
bere
chiedere
chiudere
decidere
dire
essere
fare
leggere
mettere
perdere
prendere
rendere
rimanere
rispondere
rompere
scendere
scrivere
spegnere
spendere
succedere
togliere
vedere
venire
vincere
viverePast participle
acceso
aperto
bevuto
chiesto
chiuso
deciso
detto
stato*
fatto
letto
messo
perso/perduto**
preso
reso
rimasto
risposto
rotto
sceso
scritto
spento
speso
successo
tolto
visto/veduto**
venuto
vinto
vissuto(to turn on/switch on) turned on/switched on
(to open) opened
(to drink) drunk
(to ask) asked
(to close) closed
(to decide) decided
(to say/tell) said/told
(to be) been
(to do/make) done/made
(to read) read
(to put/put on) put/put on
(to lose) lost
(to take) taken
(to return/give back) returned/given back
(to remain/stay) remained/stayed
(to answer) answered
(to break) broken
(to go down/descend) gone down/descended
(to write) written
(to turn off/switch off) turned off/switched off
(to spend) spent
(to happen) happened
(to take away/off) taken away/off
(to see) seen
(to come) come
(to win) won
(to live) lived