Breakdown of Ho appena finito il lavoro.
avere
to have
il lavoro
the work / the job
finire
to finish
appena
just
Questions & Answers about Ho appena finito il lavoro.
Why is appena placed between ho and finito?
How is the past participle finito formed?
To make the past participle for regular -ire verbs like finire (to finish), you drop the -ire ending and add -ito. This makes finito.
Why isn't there a word for 'I' in this sentence?
Italian often drops subject pronouns like io (I) because the verb already tells us who is doing the action. The helping verb ho (I have) can only be used for the 'I' form.
I usually say 'I finished work' in English. Why does Italian use il (the) here?
In Italian, you generally need to use definite articles like il before nouns, even in everyday phrases where English might leave them out. So, you say il lavoro (the work) instead of just lavoro.
Learn Ho appena finito il lavoro and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free