Passato Prossimo vs Imperfetto: Which One Should You Use?

Do you know how to talk about the past in Italian? Look at these two sentences:

Ieri sera ho visto un film bellissimo. — “Last night I watched a beautiful film.”
Da bambina andavo sempre in montagna d’estate. — “As a child, I always used to go to the mountains in summer.”

Both are about the past, but they use two different tenses: the first uses the passato prossimo, the second the imperfetto. If you’ve ever wondered why, you’re not alone — this is one of the most common points of confusion for Italian learners. Here’s how to tell them apart, once and for all.

What's the difference between Passato Prossimo and Imperfetto?

In short: use the passato prossimo for actions that are completed and happened at a specific moment. Use the imperfetto to describe the past — people, places, habits, or actions still in progress.

How to form the Passato Prossimo

The passato prossimo is formed with the present tense of essere or avere + the past participle of the verb.

Ho mangiato una pizza ieri sera. — “I ate a pizza last night.” (auxiliary avere)
Siamo andati al cinema sabato scorso. — “We went to the cinema last Saturday.” (auxiliary essere)

(Want a full breakdown of regular and irregular past participles, plus which verbs take essere vs. avere? That’s covered in our companion guide on forming the passato prossimo.)

When to use the Passato Prossimo

Use the passato prossimo when you’re talking about:

A precise moment in the past — ieri sera (“last night”), sabato scorso (“last Saturday”)
An action with a specific duration — Ieri ho studiato per 2 ore (“Yesterday I studied for 2 hours”)
A sequence of completed actions — Sono uscito di casa, ho preso il treno e sono arrivato in ufficio (“I left home, took the train, and arrived at the office”)
Something that happened once, or a specific number of times — Ho visitato Roma tre volte (“I’ve visited Rome three times”)

Common time expressions that pair with the passato prossimo: una volta, ieri, l’altro giorno, la settimana scorsa (“once, yesterday, the other day, last week”).

How to form the Imperfetto

The imperfetto has its own set of endings for each verb group:

-are verbs (e.g. mangiare): mangiavo, mangiavi, mangiava, mangiavamo, mangiavate, mangiavano

-ere verbs (e.g. leggere): leggevo, leggevi, leggeva, leggevamo, leggevate, leggevano

-ire verbs (e.g. finire): finivo, finivi, finiva, finivamo, finivate, finivano

When to use the Imperfetto

Use the imperfetto when you’re:

Describing a place or thing in the past — La casa era grande e aveva un bel giardino (“The house was big and had a beautiful garden”)
Describing a person in the past — Mia nonna era molto generosa (“My grandmother was very generous”)
Talking about a past habit — Da bambina andavo a scuola a piedi tutti i giorni (“As a child I used to walk to school every day”) — notice this action was repeated, not a one-off
Describing an action already in progress, usually after mentre (“while”) — Mentre guardavo la TV, è suonato il campanello (“While I was watching TV, the doorbell rang”)
Describing something in the past without saying when it started or ended — Ieri sera pioveva (“Last night it was raining”) — we don’t know when the rain started or stopped, just that it was happening

Common time expressions that pair with the imperfetto: di solito, sempre, ogni estate, quando ero piccolo (“usually, always, every summer, when I was little”).

Using them together in the same sentence

Passato prossimo and imperfetto often appear side by side. The imperfetto sets the scene (an action in progress); the passato prossimo marks the action that interrupts it:

Mentre guardavo la TV, è arrivato Marco. — “While I was watching TV, Marco arrived.”

Common mistakes to avoid

❌ Ieri sera guardavo un film e poi sono andato a dormire.
✅ Ieri sera ho guardato un film e poi sono andato a dormire.
(“Last night I watched a film and then went to bed.”) — These are two completed actions happening one after the other, so both need the passato prossimo.

❌ Quando ero piccolo ho giocato sempre con mio fratello.
✅ Quando ero piccolo giocavo sempre con mio fratello.
(“When I was little I always used to play with my brother.”) — The word sempre (“always”) signals a habit, so it needs the imperfetto.

Quick recap

Passato prossimo → completed actions, specific moments
Imperfetto → descriptions, habits, actions in progress

The best way to make this stick is to practice with real sentences — try writing a few of your own using both tenses.

Want to know your Italian level?

Take the free quiz and find out in 2 minutes.