Past with Essere

Talking About the Past with 'Essere'

In Italian, most past tense (Passato Prossimo) sentences use avere, but verbs expressing movement, direction, or change of state use essere instead!

When you use essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Look at these endings:

• -o (masculine singular): Lui è andato (He went)
• -a (feminine singular): Lei è andata (She went)
• -i (masculine plural): Loro sono andati (They went)
• -e (feminine plural): Loro sono andate (They went)

Common Essere Verbs:

• andare (to go) -> andato/a
• venire (to come) -> venuto/a
• • partire (to leave) -> partito/a
  • arrivare (to arrive) -> arrivato/a

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Don't forget to change the ending! Saying 'Maria è arrivato' is incorrect because Maria is feminine; it must be Maria è arrivata.