Essere or avere in the passato prossimo, explained
In the passato prossimo, Italian uses avere with transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) and with many intransitive verbs of activity, such as dormire and lavorare. It uses essere with most verbs of motion and change of state, with essere, stare and restare, and with every reflexive verb. With essere, the participle agrees with the subject: "Anna è partita". Some verbs take both: "Ho finito il libro" (I finished the book) but "Il film è finito" (the film ended).
Updated 24 October 2026
Essere and avere in one table
| Kind of verb | Auxiliary | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitive (has or can have a direct object) | avere | Ho letto il giornale. | I read the paper. |
| Intransitive verbs of activity | avere | Abbiamo dormito bene. | We slept well. |
| Motion to or from a place | essere | Siamo arrivati a Roma. | We arrived in Rome. |
| Change of state | essere | Luca è diventato papà. | Luca has become a dad. |
| Being, staying, remaining | essere | Sono rimasta a casa. | I stayed at home. |
| Reflexive and pronominal verbs | essere | Ci siamo divertiti. | We had a good time. |
| Impersonal si | essere | Si è mangiato bene. | The food was good. (One ate well.) |
| Weather verbs | either | È piovuto. / Ha piovuto. | It rained. |
| Modal + infinitive | the infinitive’s | Sono dovuto uscire. / Ho dovuto studiare. | I had to go out. / I had to study. |
Avere is the default: most Italian verbs take it. Essere belongs to a smaller, well-defined group, and that group is the part worth learning. With avere the participle never changes unless a direct-object pronoun stands in front of it; with essere, it always agrees with the subject.
Avere: transitive verbs and verbs of activity
A transitive verb is one that can take a direct object: comprare (to buy something), leggere, vedere, mangiare, fare, scrivere. These always take avere in the passato prossimo, and they keep it when the object is left unsaid: "Ho già mangiato" (I have already eaten) still takes avere, because mangiare is the kind of verb that eats something.
.
I bought bread this morning.
Select a word to see why it is there.
hoAuxiliary“have”
- Why this word
- Present of avere, first person singular
- Avere, because comprare is transitive: you always buy something. It also carries the person, so no "io" is needed.
- Dictionary
- avere · verb — to have
In this sentence
- ho · Auxiliary:
- Avere, because comprare is transitive: you always buy something. It also carries the person, so no "io" is needed.
- comprato · Verb:
- With avere the participle stays in the masculine singular -o. It does not agree with il pane, or with the speaker.
Avere is not only for transitive verbs. Many intransitive verbs take it too: dormire, lavorare, ridere, piangere, parlare, telefonare, viaggiare, camminare, nuotare, ballare. This is where the shortcut "verbs of motion take essere" goes wrong. Walking, swimming, dancing and travelling are movement, but they describe an activity, not getting from one place to another, so they take avere.
- Ieri ho lavorato fino alle otto.Yesterday I worked until eight.
- Abbiamo camminato per tre ore.We walked for three hours.
- Hai telefonato alla nonna?Did you phone grandma?
Essere: motion, change of state, being and staying
Essere goes with intransitive verbs whose subject moves to or from somewhere, or ends up in a new state. Motion: andare, venire, arrivare, partire, entrare, uscire, tornare, cadere. Change of state: nascere, morire, diventare, crescere, invecchiare. It also goes with the verbs of being and staying: essere itself, stare, restare and rimanere. Essere and stare share the participle stato: "sono stato a Parigi" (I have been to Paris), "è stata male" (she was ill).
.
My sister left for London.
Select a word to see why it is there.
èAuxiliary“has”
- Why this word
- Present of essere, third person singular
- Essere, because partire says the subject moved away from a place and it has no direct object. "Ha partito" is a mistake any Italian would notice.
- Dictionary
- essere · verb — to be
In this sentence
- è · Auxiliary:
- Essere, because partire says the subject moved away from a place and it has no direct object. "Ha partito" is a mistake any Italian would notice.
- partita · Verb:
- The participle agrees with the subject: partita for a sister, partito for a brother, partiti for two brothers or a brother and a sister.
A smaller group that surprises learners also takes essere: piacere, sembrare, succedere, bastare, costare, durare. In these the thing that pleases, happens or costs is the grammatical subject, and the participle agrees with it: "Mi è piaciuta la mostra" (I liked the exhibition), "Cos’è successo?" (What happened?).
- Mio padre è nato a Torino.My father was born in Turin.
- Le ragazze sono tornate tardi.The girls came back late.
- Il viaggio è durato dieci ore.The journey lasted ten hours.
Reflexive verbs and impersonal si
Every verb used with a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi) takes essere, with no exceptions. That covers true reflexives (lavarsi, alzarsi, vestirsi), reciprocals ("ci siamo visti ieri", we saw each other yesterday) and pronominal verbs that only exist with the pronoun (accorgersi, pentirsi, arrabbiarsi). The same verb without the pronoun goes back to avere: "ho lavato la macchina" (I washed the car) but "mi sono lavato" (I washed myself).
.
On Sunday I got up late.
Select a word to see why it is there.
miObject“myself”
- Why this word
- Reflexive pronoun, first person singular
- Alzarsi is "to raise oneself", so the pronoun refers back to the subject. Its presence alone decides the auxiliary: essere.
- Dictionary
- mi · pronoun — me, myself
In this sentence
- mi · Object:
- Alzarsi is "to raise oneself", so the pronoun refers back to the subject. Its presence alone decides the auxiliary: essere.
- sono · Auxiliary:
- Essere, as with every reflexive verb. "Mi ho alzata" is a classic learner error.
- alzata · Verb:
- With essere the participle agrees with the subject, here the speaker. A man would say "mi sono alzato".
Impersonal si ("one", "people", "we" in general) also takes essere, whatever the verb takes on its own. With a verb that normally takes avere, the participle stays in -o: "si è dormito poco" (we didn’t get much sleep). With a verb that normally takes essere, it goes into the plural: "si è partiti all’alba" (we set off at dawn).
- Ti sei ricordato del compleanno di Sara?Did you remember Sara’s birthday?
- Ci siamo conosciuti all’università.We met at university.
- Quella sera si è parlato solo di calcio.That evening all anyone talked about was football.
When the participle agrees
With essere, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number, like an adjective: andato, andata, andati, andate. A mixed group takes the masculine plural: "Marco e Giulia sono arrivati".
With avere, the participle stays in -o, whatever the subject and whatever the object: "Maria ha comprato le scarpe", not "comprate". There is one case where it must agree: when a third-person direct-object pronoun (lo, la, li, le) stands before the verb. Then the participle agrees with the pronoun. Lo and la shorten to l’ before ho, hai and ha, so the ending is often the only sign of what the pronoun was: "l’ho vista" (I saw her), "l’ho visto" (I saw him, or it).
.
I left them in the car.
Select a word to see why it is there.
LeObject“them”
- Why this word
- Direct object pronoun, feminine plural
- Stands for something feminine and plural already mentioned, such as le borse (the bags). Because it comes before the verb, the participle has to agree with it.
- Dictionary
- la · pronoun — her, it; plural le: them (feminine)
- Alternatives
- Li (masculine plural: li ho lasciati)
In this sentence
- Le · Object:
- Stands for something feminine and plural already mentioned, such as le borse (the bags). Because it comes before the verb, the participle has to agree with it.
- lasciate · Verb:
- This is the one place an avere participle must agree: -e to match le. With the noun after the verb it would be "ho lasciato le borse", with no agreement.
With ne the participle usually agrees with what ne stands for: "Quante pere hai comprato? Ne ho comprate tre." With mi, ti, ci and vi agreement is optional: "ci hanno visto" and "ci hanno visti" are both correct.
Verbs that take both: finire, salire, passare
A handful of common verbs can be used transitively or intransitively, and the auxiliary follows the use. When the verb has a direct object, it takes avere. When it has none and the subject is the thing that starts, ends, goes up or changes, it takes essere. The verbs to know: cominciare, iniziare, finire, salire, scendere, passare, correre, cambiare, crescere.
.
We started the meeting at nine. (We opened it.)
Select a word to see why it is there.
AbbiamoAuxiliary“we have”
- Why this word
- Present of avere, first person plural
- Avere, because the sentence says who started what: we started the meeting. The participle stays cominciato.
- Dictionary
- avere · verb — to have
In this sentence
- Abbiamo · Auxiliary:
- Avere, because the sentence says who started what: we started the meeting. The participle stays cominciato.
- riunione · Object:
- The direct object. Its presence is what makes cominciare take avere here.
.
The meeting started at nine. (It got under way.)
Select a word to see why it is there.
èAuxiliary“has”
- Why this word
- Present of essere, third person singular
- Essere, because cominciare is used intransitively: the subject is what begins. "La riunione ha cominciato" is not standard Italian.
- Dictionary
- essere · verb — to be
In this sentence
- è · Auxiliary:
- Essere, because cominciare is used intransitively: the subject is what begins. "La riunione ha cominciato" is not standard Italian.
- cominciata · Verb:
- With essere the participle agrees with the subject, so the -o of cominciato becomes -a for la riunione.
The same split runs through the other verbs. Salire and scendere take avere with the stairs or the hill as an object, and essere when you get on, off, up or down. Passare takes avere for spending time and essere for passing by. Correre takes avere for the activity and essere when there is a destination.
- Ho finito il libro.I finished the book.
- Il film è finito.The film has ended.
- Ho salito le scale a piedi.I walked up the stairs.
- Sono salito sul treno.I got on the train.
- Abbiamo passato l’estate in Sicilia.We spent the summer in Sicily.
- Sono passata da Marta.I dropped in on Marta.
- Ho corso per un’ora.I ran for an hour.
- Sono corso a casa.I ran home.
Weather verbs and modal verbs
Weather verbs (piovere, nevicare, grandinare) take either auxiliary, and both are standard Italian: "è piovuto" and "ha piovuto" both mean it rained. Grammars traditionally give essere; avere is just as common in speech, especially when the sentence says how long it went on.
The modal verbs dovere, potere and volere usually borrow the auxiliary of the infinitive that follows them. Andare takes essere, so "sono dovuto andare"; mangiare takes avere, so "ho dovuto mangiare". With an essere verb, avere is also accepted and very common: "ho dovuto andare" is correct. With a reflexive verb, the position of the pronoun decides: "mi sono dovuto alzare" but "ho dovuto alzarmi". A modal on its own, or followed by essere, takes avere: "non ho potuto", "ho voluto essere sincero".
- Ha nevicato tutta la notte.It snowed all night.
- Siamo voluti restare fino alla fine.We wanted to stay until the end.
- Non ho potuto aiutarti.I couldn’t help you.
Common mistakes
NotHo andato al cinema.
ButSono andato al cinema.
Andare is a verb of motion towards a place and takes essere. English "have" makes avere feel natural, but it is wrong here.
NotMi ho lavato le mani.
ButMi sono lavato le mani.
Any verb with a reflexive pronoun takes essere, even when it also has a direct object such as le mani.
NotMaria è andato a scuola.
ButMaria è andata a scuola.
With essere the participle agrees with the subject. Maria is feminine singular, so andata.
NotSono finito il lavoro.
ButHo finito il lavoro.
With a direct object, finire is transitive and takes avere. "Il lavoro è finito" is fine, but there the work is the subject.
NotHo viste le tue foto.
ButHo visto le tue foto.
An avere participle agrees only with a direct-object pronoun placed before it, never with a noun that follows.
NotLe ho visto ieri.
ButLe ho viste ieri.
Lo, la, li and le before avere make the participle agree: le is feminine plural, so viste.
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Check yourself
1 / 10
Chiara went to the seaside yesterday. Fill the gap.
Ieri Chiara ___ al mare.
Answer
ha andato: Andare never takes avere. This is the commonest auxiliary error English speakers make.
è andata ✓: Andare is motion to a place, so essere, and the participle agrees with Chiara: feminine singular.
è andato: The auxiliary is right, but andato is masculine. It would fit Paolo, not Chiara.
2 / 10
Which sentence says "I have finished my homework"?
Answer
Ho finiti i compiti.: An avere participle does not agree with a noun that comes after it. Only a pronoun in front would make it agree: "li ho finiti".
Ho finito i compiti. ✓: I compiti is a direct object, so finire is transitive and takes avere, with the participle in -o.
Sono finito i compiti.: Essere would make the subject the thing that ends. With an object you need avere.
3 / 10
Giulia washed her hair this morning. Fill the gap.
Giulia ___ lavata i capelli stamattina.
Answer
si ha: The direct object i capelli does not bring back avere: the reflexive pronoun decides, and it wants essere.
si è ✓: Lavarsi i capelli is reflexive (she washed her own hair), so si plus essere.
è: Without si the verb is no longer reflexive, and "Giulia è lavata i capelli" is not Italian. The pronoun is what makes her the one doing the washing on herself.
4 / 10
"Have you seen my keys?" "Yes, I saw them in the kitchen." Fill the gap.
Hai visto le mie chiavi? Sì, ___ in cucina.
Answer
le ho visto: With lo, la, li or le before the verb, the avere participle has to agree. Leaving it in -o is a common written error.
le sono viste: Vedere is transitive and takes avere. The pronoun in front changes the ending, not the auxiliary.
li ho visti: Li and visti are masculine plural. They would fit gli occhiali (the glasses), not le chiavi.
le ho viste ✓: Le stands for le chiavi, feminine plural, and comes before avere, so the participle agrees: viste.
5 / 10
Which sentence means "The concert ended at eleven"?
Answer
Il concerto ha finito alle undici.: Avere needs a direct object: someone finishes something. With the concert as subject and no object, it sounds wrong.
Il concerto è finito alle undici. ✓: The concert is the subject and the thing that ends, so finire is intransitive and takes essere.
Ho finito il concerto alle undici.: This is transitive: I finished the concert, as a performer might say after the last piece.
6 / 10
Sofia couldn’t come because she had to work. Fill the gap.
Sofia non è venuta perché ___ lavorare.
Answer
ha dovuta: With avere and no object pronoun in front, the participle never agrees with the subject.
ha dovuto ✓: Lavorare takes avere, and the modal borrows its auxiliary, with the participle in -o.
è dovuta: Essere with a modal is only possible when the infinitive itself takes essere, as in "è dovuta partire".
7 / 10
Build the sentence.
“The children went out early.”
Answer
I bambini sono usciti presto
Subject, auxiliary, participle, adverb. Essere makes the participle agree with the subject.
8 / 10
Build the sentence in the passato prossimo.
“We saw a good film.”
Answer
Abbiamo visto un bel film
Auxiliary, participle, object. With avere and a noun object, nothing agrees.
9 / 10
Put nascere in the passato prossimo.
Mio nonno ___ a Napoli nel 1950.
Answer
è nato
Nascere is a change of state and takes essere; the participle nato is irregular and agrees with mio nonno.
10 / 10
Put piovere in the passato prossimo.
Ieri ___ tutto il giorno.
Answer
è piovuto / ha piovuto
Weather verbs take either auxiliary, so both are correct. Avere is especially common with a duration such as tutto il giorno.
Essere and avere in Epsylo
Italian has a hand-written profile in Epsylo, so every Italian sentence comes back with the auxiliary and the participle as separate words. Open the auxiliary to see why the sentence takes essere or avere, and open the participle to see what its ending agrees with.
Questions
- How do I know if an Italian verb takes essere or avere?
- Ask whether it has a direct object. If it does, or could, it takes avere. If it has none, check whether the subject moves to or from a place, changes state, stays where it is, or acts on itself with a reflexive pronoun: those take essere. Most other intransitive verbs, such as dormire or lavorare, take avere. A good dictionary marks each verb with its auxiliary.
- Is there a list of verbs that take essere?
- The core list is short: andare, venire, arrivare, partire, entrare, uscire, tornare, cadere, nascere, morire, diventare, crescere, essere, stare, restare, rimanere, piacere, sembrare, succedere, costare, durare, plus every reflexive verb. Learn those and treat everything else as avere until a dictionary says otherwise.
- Why is it "sono stato" and not "ho stato"?
- Essere takes itself as its auxiliary. Stato is the participle of both essere and stare, so "sono stato a Roma" can mean I have been to Rome or I stayed in Rome, and context decides.
- Does the participle agree with the subject when I use avere?
- No. "Maria ha mangiato" stays in -o. With avere the participle agrees only with a direct-object pronoun before the verb: "La torta? L’ha mangiata Maria."
- Is "ho dovuto andare" wrong?
- No. With a modal and an infinitive that takes essere, both "sono dovuto andare" and "ho dovuto andare" are correct. Essere is the traditional choice in careful writing; avere is widely used and accepted.
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