Introduction

Rimanere means “to stay”, and this page covers exactly one thing: rimanere 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 rimanere, 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 rimanere in the passato prossimo. It means to stay and to remain somewhere, and it is different from stare, which is the verb for staying in a place for a while and for the progressive. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and it is irregular in the present, the future and the passato remoto. For example: “Lui è rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home.” Everything on this page uses the forms of rimanere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Rimanere in the Passato prossimo — full table

Person Form
io sono rimasto
tu sei rimasto
lui/lei è rimasto
noi siamo rimasto
voi siete rimasto
loro sono rimasto
Gerund: rimanendo · Past participle: rimasto
The gerund is rimanendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Rimanendo a casa, imparo molto.” — “While staying at home, I learn a lot.” The past participle is rimasto, which you use with essere in the perfect tenses: sono rimasto 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 rimanere is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for rimanere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passato prossimo of rimanere is formed

The passato prossimo of rimanere is formed with the auxiliary essere in the present plus the past participle rimasto: io sono rimasto, tu sei rimasto, lui è rimasto, noi siamo rimasto, voi siete rimasto, loro sono rimasto. 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 rimanere are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that rimanere takes essere, the rest is the present of essere 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 rimasto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of rimanere 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 rimanere

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use rimanere 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 sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have stayed at home.”

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 è rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home.”

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 siamo rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “We have stayed at home.”

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 sei rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home.”

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 sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “They have stayed at home.”

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 è rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home”
  • Imperfect: “Lui rimaneva a casa una volta.” — “He used to stay at home”
  • 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 sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have stayed at home”
  • Imperfect: “Io rimanevo a casa una volta.” — “I used to stay at home”
  • 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 sei rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home”
  • Imperfect: “Tu rimanevi a casa una volta.” — “You used to stay at home”
  • 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: rimanere 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 sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have stayed at home”
  2. “Tu sei rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home”
  3. “Lui è rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home”
  4. “Noi siamo rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “We have stayed at home”
  5. “Voi siete rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home”
  6. “Loro sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “They have stayed at home”
  7. “Io sono rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “I have stayed at home”
  8. “Lui è rimasto a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home”

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

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 rimanere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei rimasto
    • B) sono rimasto
    • C) è rimasto
    • D) siamo rimasto

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

    • A) sono rimasto
    • B) è rimasto
    • C) sei rimasto
    • D) siamo rimasto

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

    • A) sono rimasto
    • B) sei rimasto
    • C) siamo rimasto
    • D) è rimasto

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

    • A) siamo rimasto
    • B) sono rimasto
    • C) sei rimasto
    • D) è rimasto

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

    • A) sono rimasto
    • B) siete rimasto
    • C) sei rimasto
    • D) è rimasto

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

    • A) sei rimasto
    • B) è rimasto
    • C) sono rimasto
    • D) siamo rimasto

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

    • A) sei rimasto
    • B) è rimasto
    • C) siamo rimasto
    • D) sono rimasto

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

    • A) sei rimasto
    • B) sono rimasto
    • C) è rimasto
    • D) siamo rimasto

Answer key

  1. B) sono rimasto — the correct form is sono rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sei rimasto — the correct form is sei rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) è rimasto — the correct form is è rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) siamo rimasto — the correct form is siamo rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) siete rimasto — the correct form is siete rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sono rimasto — the correct form is sono rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sono rimasto — the correct form is sono rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sei rimasto — the correct form is sei rimasto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does rimanere mean in English?

rimanere means “to stay”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of rimanere formed?

With the auxiliary essere in the present plus the past participle rimasto: io sono rimasto, tu sei rimasto, lui è rimasto, noi siamo rimasto, voi siete rimasto, loro sono rimasto.

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 rimanere?

The gerund is rimanendo and the past participle is rimasto. The perfect tenses use essere + rimasto.

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