Introduction

Servire means “to serve”, and this page covers exactly one thing: servire 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 servire, 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 servire in the passato prossimo. It means to serve food and to serve someone, and it takes avere in the passato prossimo in the tables on this page — io ho servito — as in serving dinner. When servire means to be of use, as in 'it was useful for something', Italian uses essere instead, so the meaning decides the auxiliary. For example: “Lui ha servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner.” Everything on this page uses the forms of servire exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Servire in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of servire is formed

The passato prossimo of servire is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle servito: io ho servito, tu hai servito, lui ha servito, noi abbiamo servito, voi avete servito, loro hanno servito. 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 tables here use avere, the auxiliary for servire as a transitive verb, as in serving dinner — io ho servito la cena. When servire means to be of use, Italian uses essere instead.

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use servire 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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “I have served dinner.”

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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner.”

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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “We have served dinner.”

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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “You have served dinner.”

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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “They have served dinner.”

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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner”
  • Imperfect: “Lui serviva la cena una volta.” — “He used to serve dinner”
  • 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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “I have served dinner”
  • Imperfect: “Io servivo la cena una volta.” — “I used to serve dinner”
  • 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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “You have served dinner”
  • Imperfect: “Tu servivi la cena una volta.” — “You used to serve dinner”
  • 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: servire 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 servito la cena questa settimana.” — “I have served dinner”
  2. “Tu hai servito la cena questa settimana.” — “You have served dinner”
  3. “Lui ha servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner”
  4. “Noi abbiamo servito la cena questa settimana.” — “We have served dinner”
  5. “Voi avete servito la cena questa settimana.” — “You have served dinner”
  6. “Loro hanno servito la cena questa settimana.” — “They have served dinner”
  7. “Io ho servito la cena questa settimana.” — “I have served dinner”
  8. “Lui ha servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner”

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

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 servire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does servire mean in English?

servire means “to serve”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -ire verb.

How is the passato prossimo of servire formed?

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

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 servire?

The gerund is servendo and the past participle is servito. The perfect tenses use avere + servito.

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