Introduction

Scegliere means “to choose”, and this page covers exactly one thing: scegliere 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 scegliere, 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 scegliere in the passato prossimo. It means to choose and to pick, and it belongs to the -gliere family: the passato remoto and the past participle are irregular, with the participle scelto, while the present is regular apart from the stem-final i dropping before i-initial endings. For example: “Lui ha scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has chosen a book.” Everything on this page uses the forms of scegliere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Scegliere in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of scegliere is formed

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

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

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 scegliere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does scegliere mean in English?

scegliere means “to choose”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of scegliere formed?

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

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 scegliere?

The gerund is scegliendo and the past participle is scelto. The perfect tenses use avere + scelto.

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