The Historic Past Tense
When reading Italian literature, fairy tales, or history books, you will encounter a past tense called the passato remoto (historic past). Unlike the passato prossimo, which is used in everyday conversation for recent events, the passato remoto describes events that happened in the distant past and are completely finished.
In this lesson, we will look at regular -are verbs, starting with the third-person singular ("he/she/it"). To form it, drop the infinitive ending and add -ò.
Pay close attention to the written accent mark, which tells you to stress the final vowel.
| The emperor founded a huge empire. | L'imperatore fondò un grandissimo impero. |
| The senate governed the people of Rome. | Il senato governò il popolo di Roma. |
| Rome dominated the ancient world. | Roma dominò il mondo antico. |
The Plural Form
When recounting the actions of groups—like armies or the citizens of an empire—you will need the third-person plural ("they") form.
To create the "they" form for regular -are verbs in the historic past, drop the infinitive ending and add -arono.
| The soldiers conquered the city. | I soldati conquistarono la città. |
| The soldiers crossed the bridge and conquered the city. | I soldati attraversarono il ponte e conquistarono la città. |
| The soldiers saved the emperor. | I soldati salvarono l'imperatore. |
