The Trapassato Remoto
The trapassato remoto (preterite perfect) is a literary tense used primarily in writing and historical narratives. It describes a past action that was completed immediately before another action in the passato remoto.
You will almost always see it introduced by conjunctions of time like appena (as soon as), dopo che (after), or quando (when).
Form it by combining the passato remoto of the auxiliary verb (avere or essere) with the past participle of the main verb.
Using Avere
Most verbs take the auxiliary avere. In the passato remoto, the third-person forms you will encounter most frequently are ebbe (he/she/it had) and ebbero (they had).
| After the archaeologist had discovered the tomb, he found an intact vase. | Dopo che l'archeologo ebbe scoperto la tomba, trovò un vaso intatto. |
| When they had studied the pottery, the experts understood the ancient civilization. | Quando ebbero studiato la ceramica, gli esperti capirono la civiltà antica. |
Using Essere
Verbs of motion, state, or change of state take the auxiliary essere. The third-person forms are fu (he/she/it had) and furono (they had).
Remember that whenever you use essere as an auxiliary, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.
| As soon as the archaeologist had arrived, the group examined the fragment. | Appena l'archeologo fu arrivato, il gruppo esaminò il frammento. |
Setting the Scene
Notice how the trapassato remoto sets the stage, acting as the immediate trigger for the main event (which is expressed in the standard passato remoto).
| As soon as the archaeologist had cleaned the artifact, he saw the gold. | Appena l'archeologo ebbe pulito il reperto, vide l'oro. |
| As soon as the expert had read the inscription, he translated the hieroglyph. | Appena l'esperto ebbe letto l'iscrizione, tradusse il geroglifico. |