Introduction

Sentire means “to hear, to feel”, and this page covers exactly one thing: sentire 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 sentire, 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 sentire in the passato prossimo. It means to hear, to feel and to listen, and one verb covers all three senses in Italian, where English splits them. Its present participle is senziente, but every conjugated form in the tables follows the regular -ire pattern. For example: “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music.” Everything on this page uses the forms of sentire exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Sentire in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of sentire is formed

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use sentire 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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music.”

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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music.”

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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “We have heard the music.”

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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music.”

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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “They have heard the music.”

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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”
  • Imperfect: “Lui sentiva la musica una volta.” — “He used to hear the music”
  • 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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music”
  • Imperfect: “Io sentivo la musica una volta.” — “I used to hear the music”
  • 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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music”
  • Imperfect: “Tu sentivi la musica una volta.” — “You used to hear the music”
  • 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: sentire 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 sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music”
  2. “Tu hai sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music”
  3. “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”
  4. “Noi abbiamo sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “We have heard the music”
  5. “Voi avete sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music”
  6. “Loro hanno sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “They have heard the music”
  7. “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music”
  8. “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”

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

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 sentire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does sentire mean in English?

sentire means “to hear, to feel”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb.

How is the passato prossimo of sentire formed?

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

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 sentire?

The gerund is sentendo and the past participle is sentito. The perfect tenses use avere + sentito.

Related pages