Introduction

Chiudere means “to close”, and this page covers exactly one thing: chiudere 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 chiudere, 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 chiudere in the passato prossimo. It means to close a door, a window or a book, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is chiuso, while the present is regular. For example: “Lui ha chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed the door.” Everything on this page uses the forms of chiudere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Chiudere in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of chiudere is formed

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use chiudere 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “I have closed 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “We have closed 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “They have closed 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed the door”
  • Imperfect: “Lui chiudeva la porta una volta.” — “He used to close 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “I have closed the door”
  • Imperfect: “Io chiudevo la porta una volta.” — “I used to close 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed the door”
  • Imperfect: “Tu chiudevi la porta una volta.” — “You used to close 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: chiudere 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 chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “I have closed the door”
  2. “Tu hai chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed the door”
  3. “Lui ha chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed the door”
  4. “Noi abbiamo chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “We have closed the door”
  5. “Voi avete chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed the door”
  6. “Loro hanno chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “They have closed the door”
  7. “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “I have closed the door”
  8. “Lui ha chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed 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 chiuso la porta.” Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” Why: chiudere takes avere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is ho chiuso — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
  • Wrong: “Io chiudo la porta ieri.” Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho chiuso for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io ho chiudendo la porta.” Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle chiuso, not the gerund chiudendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
  • Wrong: “Io chiudere la porta.” Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive chiudere never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form ho chiuso.

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 chiudere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does chiudere mean in English?

chiudere means “to close”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of chiudere formed?

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

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 chiudere?

The gerund is chiudendo and the past participle is chiuso. The perfect tenses use avere + chiuso.

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