On purpose, I've passed the tense, Passato Remoto. It would be ok?
As I mentioned above, I haven't studied Passato Remoto on purpose. First of all, as I started learning Italian, I was overwhelmed by the forms of verbs, felt like passing some tenses if those might not be used often. I haven't tried to memorize the form of passato remoto, but the tense shows up in dictionaries more often than I expected. Is it used often in conversation, as well? Mi andrebbe bene se continuassi a passarlo? Ho bisogno del Suo consiglio. Grazie!

Question

On purpose, I've passed the tense, Passato Remoto. It would be ok?
As I mentioned above, I haven't studied Passato Remoto on purpose. First of all, as I started learning Italian, I was overwhelmed by the forms of verbs, felt like passing some tenses if those might not be used often. I haven't tried to memorize the form of passato remoto, but the tense shows up in dictionaries more often than I expected. Is it used often in conversation, as well?  Mi andrebbe bene se continuassi a passarlo?  Ho bisogno del Suo consiglio. Grazie!

Answer

Well, Passato Remoto is mainly used in writing; in conversation, we usually use (word corner!) Passato Prossimo, that is, conjugued verb "avere" or "essere" + past participe of the main verb:
io ho bevuto
tu hai bevuto... (verb "bere", to drink)

io sono andato
tu sei andato... (verb "andare", to go)

We use "avere" with transitive verbs and "essere" with intransitive.

It may look very similar to English Present Perfect (same structure) but actually it has a completely different usage - it's used like English Past Simple, wich translates both Italian Passato Prossimo and Passato Remoto in most cases.
:)

Answers · 1

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!