Trapassato Prossimo (Pluperfect or Past Perfect)

The Trapassato Prossimo is used to describe actions that had been completed before another action or point in the past. It is often used to indicate the sequence of events in the past.

Mood:

The Trapassato Prossimo is used with the indicative mood, which expresses facts and certainty about actions that occurred prior to another past action.

• Mood: Indicative (expresses completed actions that happened before another past event)

Usage:

• To describe actions that were completed before another action: Avevo finito il lavoro prima di uscire. (I had finished the work before leaving.)
• To show the sequence of events in the past: Quando arrivai, loro erano già partiti. (When I arrived, they had already left.)
• Common in storytelling to indicate what happened earlier in the past.

Formation:

The Trapassato Prossimo is a compound tense formed by using the auxiliary verbs avere (to have) or essere (to be) in the Imperfetto tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

1. Using Avere:

   • Most verbs use avere as the auxiliary.

2. Using Essere:

   • Verbs of motion or change of state, as well as reflexive verbs, use essere as the auxiliary.
   • The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject when using essere.

Conjugation:

Person	Avere (to have)	Essere (to be)
Io	avevo parlato	ero andato/a
Tu	avevi parlato	eri andato/a
Lui/Lei	aveva parlato	era andato/a
Noi	avevamo parlato	eravamo andati/e
Voi	avevate parlato	eravate andati/e
Loro	avevano parlato	erano andati/e

Irregular Past Participles:

Some verbs have irregular past participles, similar to those used in the Passato Prossimo. Examples include:

• Essere (to be): stato
• Fare (to do/make): fatto
• Dire (to say): detto
• Vedere (to see): visto
• Leggere (to read): letto

Common Time Expressions:

• Prima (before)
• Già (already)
• Dopo che (after)

Examples:

• Avevo letto il libro prima di guardare il film. (I had read the book before watching the movie.)
• Eravamo già usciti quando ha iniziato a piovere. (We had already left when it started to rain.)
• Loro erano partiti prima che arrivassi. (They had left before I arrived.)