Introduction

Avere means “to have”, and this page covers exactly one thing: avere 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 avere, 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 avere in the passato prossimo. It expresses possession, and it is also the verb Italians use for age, hunger, thirst and many physical states, where English uses 'to be'. It is the auxiliary verb for the passato prossimo of most transitive verbs, so learning its forms pays off in every perfect tense. For example: “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book.” Everything on this page uses the forms of avere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Avere in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io ho avuto
tu hai avuto
lui/lei ha avuto
noi abbiamo avuto
voi avete avuto
loro hanno avuto
Gerund: avendo · Past participle: avuto
The gerund is avendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Avendo un libro, imparo molto.” — “While having a book, I learn a lot.” The past participle is avuto, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho avuto 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 avere is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for avere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passato prossimo of avere is formed

The passato prossimo of avere is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle avuto: io ho avuto, tu hai avuto, lui ha avuto, noi abbiamo avuto, voi avete avuto, loro hanno avuto. 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 avere are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that avere 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 avuto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of avere 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 avere

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use avere 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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book.”

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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book.”

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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “We have had a book.”

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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book.”

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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “They have had a book.”

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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”
  • Imperfect: “Lui aveva un libro una volta.” — “He used to have a book”
  • 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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book”
  • Imperfect: “Io avevo un libro una volta.” — “I used to have a book”
  • 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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book”
  • Imperfect: “Tu avevi un libro una volta.” — “You used to have a book”
  • 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: avere 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 avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book”
  2. “Tu hai avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book”
  3. “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”
  4. “Noi abbiamo avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “We have had a book”
  5. “Voi avete avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book”
  6. “Loro hanno avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “They have had a book”
  7. “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book”
  8. “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”

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

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 avere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does avere mean in English?

avere means “to have”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of avere formed?

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

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 avere?

The gerund is avendo and the past participle is avuto. The perfect tenses use avere + avuto.

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