Introduction

Sorridere means “to smile”, and this page covers exactly one thing: sorridere 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 sorridere, 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 sorridere in the passato prossimo. It is the verb for smiling, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is sorriso and the remoto is sorrisi. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair. For example: “Lui ha sorriso questa settimana.” — “He has smiled.” Everything on this page uses the forms of sorridere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Sorridere in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of sorridere is formed

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

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use sorridere 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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “I have smiled.”

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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “He has smiled.”

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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “We have smiled.”

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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “You have smiled.”

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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “They have smiled.”

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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “He has smiled”
  • Imperfect: “Lui sorrideva una volta.” — “He used to smile”
  • 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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “I have smiled”
  • Imperfect: “Io sorridevo una volta.” — “I used to smile”
  • 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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “You have smiled”
  • Imperfect: “Tu sorridevi una volta.” — “You used to smile”
  • 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: sorridere 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 sorriso questa settimana.” — “I have smiled”
  2. “Tu hai sorriso questa settimana.” — “You have smiled”
  3. “Lui ha sorriso questa settimana.” — “He has smiled”
  4. “Noi abbiamo sorriso questa settimana.” — “We have smiled”
  5. “Voi avete sorriso questa settimana.” — “You have smiled”
  6. “Loro hanno sorriso questa settimana.” — “They have smiled”
  7. “Io ho sorriso questa settimana.” — “I have smiled”
  8. “Lui ha sorriso questa settimana.” — “He has smiled”

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

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 sorridere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does sorridere mean in English?

sorridere means “to smile”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of sorridere formed?

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

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 sorridere?

The gerund is sorridendo and the past participle is sorriso. The perfect tenses use avere + sorriso.

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