Introduction

Vincere means “to win”, and this page covers exactly one thing: vincere 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 vincere, 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 vincere in the passato prossimo. It means to win a game, a prize or a race, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is vinto, while the present is regular. For example: “Lui ha vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “He has won the game.” Everything on this page uses the forms of vincere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.

Vincere in the Passato prossimo — full table

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

How the passato prossimo of vincere is formed

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

The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use vincere 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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “I have won the game.”

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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “He has won the game.”

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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “We have won the game.”

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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “You have won the game.”

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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “They have won the game.”

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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “He has won the game”
  • Imperfect: “Lui vinceva la partita una volta.” — “He used to win the game”
  • 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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “I have won the game”
  • Imperfect: “Io vincevo la partita una volta.” — “I used to win the game”
  • 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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “You have won the game”
  • Imperfect: “Tu vincevi la partita una volta.” — “You used to win the game”
  • 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: vincere 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 vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “I have won the game”
  2. “Tu hai vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “You have won the game”
  3. “Lui ha vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “He has won the game”
  4. “Noi abbiamo vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “We have won the game”
  5. “Voi avete vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “You have won the game”
  6. “Loro hanno vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “They have won the game”
  7. “Io ho vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “I have won the game”
  8. “Lui ha vinto la partita questa settimana.” — “He has won the game”

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

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 vincere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does vincere mean in English?

vincere means “to win”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the passato prossimo of vincere formed?

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

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 vincere?

The gerund is vincendo and the past participle is vinto. The perfect tenses use avere + vinto.

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