Passato remoto
Place completed events on a historical timeline.
Form and narrative function
Passato remoto presents completed events in a historical or literary narrative. It is also used in everyday speech in some Italian regions, so passato prossimo is not a universal spoken replacement. Regular third-person singular forms include annotò, avvertì, and credette; frequent irregular forms include fu, ebbe, fece, disse, prese, and venne. Learn irregular forms as part of a verb, not as a universal ending. In the fictional Valdombra case, notò, avvertì, and ordinò carry the sequence forward.
- Marta annotò l’ora sul taccuino.· Marta noted the time in her notebook.
- Il sindaco prese una decisione.· The mayor made a decision.
- La piena danneggiò il ponte all’alba.· The flood damaged the bridge at dawn.
- Il consiglio fece un’ispezione tre giorni dopo.· The council carried out an inspection three days later.
Foreground and background
Passato remoto marks the bounded event; imperfetto often describes an ongoing state or repeated condition around it. Passato prossimo can report the same completed fact in many contemporary conversations; choice also depends on region, genre, and speaker. Do not change an event’s date when you change its narrative tense. In one written passage, keep the chosen narrative frame stable unless you deliberately shift viewpoint.
- La corrente cresceva quando Marta vide la crepa.· The current was rising when Marta saw the crack.
- Nel racconto: «Il sindaco ordinò la chiusura».· In the account: “The mayor ordered the closure.”
- In molte conversazioni: «Il sindaco ha ordinato la chiusura».· In many conversations: “The mayor ordered the closure.”
- Il ponte era vecchio, ma l’ispezione avvenne solo il 16 maggio.· The bridge was old, but the inspection took place only on 16 May.