IMPERFETTO vs PASSATO PROSSIMO: When are they used? What is the difference? Explanation + examp...
PASSATO PROSSIMO, INDICATIVO
The perfect past tense (or perfect compound) is a tense of the indicative that expresses an action that took place in a recent or distant past, which tends to have effects still perceived in the present by the speaker or writer. The closeness to the present is psychological and corresponds to an emotional involvement with respect to the event being told.
The present perfect is formed by combining the present indicative forms of the auxiliaries to have or to be with the past ➔participle of the verb to be conjugated
The other day I met Michele's daughter
Giulio introduced Chiara to me five years ago
IMPERFETTO, INDICATIVO
The indicative imperfect is a tense that indicates an action that took place in the past and considered in its development, in its duration, without reference to its beginning, its conclusion or its purpose.
The indicative imperfect performs several functions.
• Describes an action highlighting its development (imperfect descriptive)
I had been walking in the rain for hours
• Describes a repeated or habitual action (iterative imperfect)
He always ate breakfast with bread and butter