1358 Past Tense...Essere o Avere

Is there any hard and fast rule as to which verbs are conjugated with Essere in the past tense.
I am constantly making mistakes on this one !!
If not....does anyone know where there is list ...I'll have to learn it parrot fashion ! Really want to get my head round this one !

Category
Che significa? - Italian Language Queries

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/18/2005 - 15:00

Hi

I think you'll find that verbs indicating 'motion' take essere. For example, you would say: sono venuto (I have come, I came); sono andato (I have gone, I went), sono stato (I've been), sono arrivato (I've arrived), sono nato (I was born; although you'll find nacque is also used).

Also all reflexive verbs (ie those ending -si, plus verbs like piacere) take essere, not avere: for example, non mi sono piaciuti i giardini della Villa xxx.

Remember also that with essere gender and number apply. So the past participle can be andato, andata, andati or andate.

Alex went to the cinema = Alex è andatO al cinema
Lyn went to the cinema = Lyn è andatA al cinema
The boys went to the cinema = I ragazzi sono andatI al cinema
The girls went to the cinema = Le ragazze sono andatE al cinema
Alex and Lyn went to the cinema = Alex e Lyn sono andatI al cinema

Any good Italian grammar boook should help you with this.

I hope this helps for starters!

Regards

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/18/2005 - 23:18

thanks Peter,

Yes, I knew about the motion thingy and the gender ...just seemed to be constantly surprised with others that kept popping up.....gonna re-do all the grammer books see if they can sort me out !,,it's been a while since I hit the books !!! :rolleyes:

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/22/2005 - 08:39

Hi Alex and Lyn

You may find this link helpful. It has a wealth of information, including many verbs which take essere.

[font=Arial][url="http://tangsweb.o-f.com/languages/italian/grammar.html"][color=#800080]http://tangsweb.o-f.com/languages/italian/grammar.html[/color][/url][/font]
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[font=Arial][size=2]Hope it helps.[/size][/font]
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[font=Arial][size=2]Peter[/size][/font]