Introduction

Uscire means “to go out”, and this page covers exactly one thing: uscire 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 uscire, 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 uscire in the passato prossimo. It means to go out and to leave a place, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. Its present has a stem change in the singular and third-person plural, and its forms are worth learning as a set. For example: “Lui è uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has gone out with Maria.” Everything on this page uses the forms of uscire exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Uscire in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of uscire is formed

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use uscire 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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “I have gone out with Maria.”

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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has gone out with Maria.”

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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “We have gone out with Maria.”

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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have gone out with Maria.”

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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “They have gone out with Maria.”

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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has gone out with Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Lui usciva con Maria una volta.” — “He used to go out with Maria”
  • 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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “I have gone out with Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Io uscivo con Maria una volta.” — “I used to go out with Maria”
  • 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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have gone out with Maria”
  • Imperfect: “Tu uscivi con Maria una volta.” — “You used to go out with Maria”
  • 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: uscire 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 uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “I have gone out with Maria”
  2. “Tu sei uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have gone out with Maria”
  3. “Lui è uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has gone out with Maria”
  4. “Noi siamo uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “We have gone out with Maria”
  5. “Voi siete uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have gone out with Maria”
  6. “Loro sono uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “They have gone out with Maria”
  7. “Io sono uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “I have gone out with Maria”
  8. “Lui è uscito con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has gone out with Maria”

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

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 uscire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does uscire mean in English?

uscire means “to go out”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb.

How is the passato prossimo of uscire formed?

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

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 uscire?

The gerund is uscendo and the past participle is uscito. The perfect tenses use essere + uscito.

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