Introduction

Decidere means “to decide”, and this page covers exactly one thing: decidere 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 decidere, 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 decidere in the passato prossimo. It is the verb for making a decision, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is deciso and the remoto is decisi. It is often followed by di plus an infinitive, as in deciding to stay. For example: “Lui ha deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay.” Everything on this page uses the forms of decidere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Decidere in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of decidere is formed

The passato prossimo of decidere is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle deciso: io ho deciso, tu hai deciso, lui ha deciso, noi abbiamo deciso, voi avete deciso, loro hanno deciso. 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. The participle is deciso — not a regular -uto form — and the auxiliary is avere: io ho deciso. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair.

Two things about the passato prossimo of decidere are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that decidere 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 deciso never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of decidere 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 decidere

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use decidere 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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “I have decided to stay.”

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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay.”

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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “We have decided to stay.”

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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay.”

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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “They have decided to stay.”

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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay”
  • Imperfect: “Lui decideva di restare una volta.” — “He used to decide to stay”
  • 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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “I have decided to stay”
  • Imperfect: “Io decidevo di restare una volta.” — “I used to decide to stay”
  • 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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay”
  • Imperfect: “Tu decidevi di restare una volta.” — “You used to decide to stay”
  • 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: decidere 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 deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “I have decided to stay”
  2. “Tu hai deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay”
  3. “Lui ha deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay”
  4. “Noi abbiamo deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “We have decided to stay”
  5. “Voi avete deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay”
  6. “Loro hanno deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “They have decided to stay”
  7. “Io ho deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “I have decided to stay”
  8. “Lui ha deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay”

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

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 decidere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does decidere mean in English?

decidere means “to decide”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of decidere formed?

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

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 decidere?

The gerund is decidendo and the past participle is deciso. The perfect tenses use avere + deciso.

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