Introduction

Aprire means “to open”, and this page covers exactly one thing: aprire in the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full passato prossimo table for aprire, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about aprire in the passato prossimo. It means to open a door, a window or a book, and it is regular in the present but irregular in the past participle: the participle is aperto, not a regular -ito form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. For example: “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door.” Everything on this page uses the forms of aprire exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Aprire in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io ho aperto
tu hai aperto
lui/lei ha aperto
noi abbiamo aperto
voi avete aperto
loro hanno aperto
Gerund: aprendo · Past participle: aperto
The gerund is aprendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Aprendo la porta, imparo molto.” — “While opening the door, I learn a lot.” The past participle is aperto, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho aperto is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passato prossimo is only one part of how aprire is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aprire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passato prossimo of aprire is formed

The passato prossimo of aprire is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle aperto: io ho aperto, tu hai aperto, lui ha aperto, noi abbiamo aperto, voi avete aperto, loro hanno aperto. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Two things about the passato prossimo of aprire are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that aprire takes avere, the rest is the present of avere plus one participle, and the same participle serves all four perfect tenses. Second, the passato prossimo is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ieri, questa settimana and l'anno scorso — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

Because the participle aperto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of aprire is cheap to learn once the auxiliary is fixed. Learn the six auxiliary forms, add the participle, and the whole tense is yours.

When to use the passato prossimo of aprire

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use aprire in the passato prossimo most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The passato prossimo describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Italian. When the action has a clear end, the passato prossimo is the natural choice. Example: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “I have opened the door.”

2. Recent events

Use the passato prossimo for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the passato prossimo. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Noi abbiamo aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “We have opened the door.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the passato prossimo for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu hai aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the passato prossimo carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Loro hanno aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “They have opened the door.”

Passato Prossimo vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passato prossimo is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passato prossimo describes one finished action, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passato prossimo sentences use words such as ieri or questa settimana, while the imperfect sentences use una volta or ogni giorno.

  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door”
  • Imperfect: “Lui apriva la porta una volta.” — “He used to open the door”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “I have opened the door”
  • Imperfect: “Io aprivo la porta una volta.” — “I used to open the door”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door”
  • Imperfect: “Tu aprivi la porta una volta.” — “You used to open the door”
  • The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: aprire in the passato prossimo

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “I have opened the door”
  2. “Tu hai aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door”
  3. “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door”
  4. “Noi abbiamo aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “We have opened the door”
  5. “Voi avete aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door”
  6. “Loro hanno aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “They have opened the door”
  7. “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “I have opened the door”
  8. “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io sono aperto la porta.” Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” Why: aprire takes avere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is ho aperto — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
  • Wrong: “Io apro la porta ieri.” Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho aperto for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io ho aprendo la porta.” Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle aperto, not the gerund aprendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
  • Wrong: “Io aprire la porta.” Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive aprire never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form ho aperto.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the io form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai aperto
    • B) ho aperto
    • C) ha aperto
    • D) abbiamo aperto

  2. What is the tu form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho aperto
    • B) ha aperto
    • C) hai aperto
    • D) abbiamo aperto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho aperto
    • B) hai aperto
    • C) abbiamo aperto
    • D) ha aperto

  4. What is the noi form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) abbiamo aperto
    • B) ho aperto
    • C) hai aperto
    • D) ha aperto

  5. What is the voi form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho aperto
    • B) avete aperto
    • C) hai aperto
    • D) ha aperto

  6. What is the loro form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ho aperto
    • B) hai aperto
    • C) hanno aperto
    • D) ha aperto

  7. What is the io form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai aperto
    • B) ha aperto
    • C) abbiamo aperto
    • D) ho aperto

  8. What is the tu form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai aperto
    • B) ho aperto
    • C) ha aperto
    • D) abbiamo aperto

Answer key

  1. B) ho aperto — the correct form is ho aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) hai aperto — the correct form is hai aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ha aperto — the correct form is ha aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) abbiamo aperto — the correct form is abbiamo aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) avete aperto — the correct form is avete aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) hanno aperto — the correct form is hanno aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ho aperto — the correct form is ho aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hai aperto — the correct form is hai aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does aprire mean in English?

aprire means “to open”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb.

How is the passato prossimo of aprire formed?

With the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle aperto: io ho aperto, tu hai aperto, lui ha aperto, noi abbiamo aperto, voi avete aperto, loro hanno aperto.

When do I use the passato prossimo instead of the imperfect?

Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.

What are the gerund and past participle of aprire?

The gerund is aprendo and the past participle is aperto. The perfect tenses use avere + aperto.

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