Che cosa hai fatto?
Chapter Overview and Objectives
Chapter 16 opens Unit IV by giving you your first real tool for talking about the past: the passato prossimo with avere. Until now you have described what is true or what usually happens. This chapter lets you say what already happened — what you did yesterday, last night, or last week. You will build this new system on vocabulary and sentence patterns you already control from earlier chapters. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Form the passato prossimo with avere for high-frequency regular and selected irregular verbs.
- Ask and answer what someone did using che cosa hai fatto? and related questions.
- Use common time markers to say when a completed action happened.
- Narrate two or three simple completed actions in sequence.
- Form a simple negative statement about the past.
- Read and write a short account of recent events.
Communication Scenario
Giulia sent her email and met Marta for coffee, as you read in Chapter 15. Now it is Monday morning, and Marta wants to know how Giulia's weekend went before they both start work.
- This chapter teaches you to talk about a weekend, a day, or a recent event using completed-action language.
- You will practice this through Marta and Giulia's Monday-morning conversation, then apply the same tools to your own recent experiences.
Where This Chapter Fits
Chapter 16 opens Unit IV, Esperienze e progetti. It builds directly on the present-tense verbs, time expressions, and daily-life vocabulary from Units I through III, and introduces the passato prossimo with avere for the first time.
Coming Into This Chapter
You can already describe routines, plans, and community situations in the present, and you can sequence ideas with words like prima and poi.
In This Chapter
You will learn to talk about what already happened, using avere plus a past participle, and common time markers for the recent past.
Looking Forward
Chapter 17, Viaggi e visite, adds the passato prossimo with essere for movement verbs like andare and partire.
Core Vocabulary
| Italian | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| guardare la TV | to watch TV | regular -are |
| studiare | to study | regular -are |
| lavorare | to work | regular -are |
| pulire | to clean | regular -ire |
| dormire | to sleep | regular -ire |
| ricevere | to receive | regular -ere |
| Infinitive | Past Participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| fare | fatto | to do / made, done |
| vedere | visto | to see / seen |
| leggere | letto | to read / read |
| scrivere | scritto | to write / written |
| prendere | preso | to take / taken |
| mettere | messo | to put / put |
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| ieri | yesterday |
| ieri sera | last night |
| la settimana scorsa | last week |
| stamattina | this morning |
| il fine settimana scorso | last weekend |
| due giorni fa | two days ago |
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Che bello! | How nice! |
| Davvero? | Really? |
| Che noia! | How boring! |
| poi, dopo, prima, alla fine | then, after, first, in the end |
Receptive only: additional irregular participles encountered in short narratives (for example detto, aperto) are for recognition. You are not expected to produce them independently yet.
Pronunciation Focus
The letter h is never pronounced in Italian. Ho sounds exactly like the vowel o, and hai sounds like ai. The h is a spelling device only — it distinguishes ho ("I have") from o ("or") in writing, even though the two words sound identical.
16.1 Auxiliary-plus-participle rhythm
In connected speech, avere and the participle form a single rhythmic unit, with stress falling on the participle: ho guarDAto, hai stuDIAto, ha FATto. Practice saying the auxiliary quickly and lightly, then landing more firmly on the stressed syllable of the participle.
16.2 Stress in past participles
Regular participles in -ato, -uto, and -ito are stressed on the syllable just before the ending: guar-DA-to, ri-ce-VU-to, pu-LI-to. Listen for this pattern as you build new participles from familiar infinitives.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
The passato prossimo describes a completed action. For most verbs, it is formed with the present tense of avere plus a past participle:
| Subject | avere | Participle | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | ho | guardato | I watched |
| tu | hai | studiato | you studied |
| lui / lei / Lei | ha | lavorato | he/she/you (formal) worked |
| noi | abbiamo | dormito | we slept |
Productive focus in this chapter remains on io, tu, and lui/lei/Lei. Noi appears for recognition and limited controlled use.
Form regular participles by replacing the infinitive ending:
| Infinitive ending | Participle ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -are | -ato | guardare → guardato |
| -ere | -uto | ricevere → ricevuto |
| -ire | -ito | dormire → dormito |
A small number of high-frequency verbs have irregular participles, such as fatto, visto, letto, scritto, preso, and messo. Learn these as individual items rather than trying to predict them from a rule.
Use these controlled question patterns to ask what someone did:
- Che cosa hai fatto ieri? — What did you do yesterday?
- Hai studiato stamattina? — Did you study this morning?
- Quando hai visto Marco? — When did you see Marco?
Place non before the auxiliary, exactly as you already do in the present tense:
Non ho guardato la TV ieri sera. — I didn't watch TV last night.
Non abbiamo lavorato il fine settimana scorso. — We didn't work last weekend.
Prima, poi, dopo, and alla fine (Ch. 7, Ch. 11) now help you order completed actions: Prima ho lavorato, poi ho studiato, e alla fine ho dormito.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Monday morning. Marta and Giulia meet before work, continuing from the events of Chapter 15.
Domande di comprensione — Comprehension questions:
- What two things did Giulia do on Saturday?
- What did Marta do Sunday night?
- What did Marta do before sleeping in?
Guided Practice
Esercizio 1 — Give the past participle:
- studiare → ______
- ricevere → ______
- dormire → ______
- fare → ______
- scrivere → ______
Esercizio 2 — Complete with the correct form of avere plus the participle in parentheses:
- Io ______ (guardare) un film ieri sera.
- Tu ______ (leggere) il libro?
- Marta ______ (vedere) Giulia lunedì.
- Noi ______ (lavorare) sabato.
Esercizio 3 — Rewrite each sentence in the negative:
- Ho pulito la casa. → ______
- Hai studiato stamattina. → ______
Listening Practice
Ask an instructor, study partner, or fluent Italian speaker to read the passage below aloud, at a natural pace, twice.
If no speakers are available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use. Read it aloud yourself, slowly at first, then at a more natural pace. Any spoken model should be verified by a fluent Italian speaker before being treated as a pronunciation standard.
Il weekend di Marco — Marco's weekend:
"Venerdì sera ho lavorato fino a tardi. Sabato mattina ho pulito la casa, poi ho scritto due messaggi a un amico. Nel pomeriggio ho letto un libro e ho preso un caffè al bar. Domenica non ho fatto molto: ho dormito fino a tardi e ho guardato la TV."
Compito di ascolto — Listening task:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What did Marco do Friday night? | ______ |
| What did Marco do Saturday afternoon? | ______ |
| What did Marco NOT do on Sunday? | ______ |
Speaking Practice
Pratica controllata — Controlled practice: what did you do?
With a partner, take turns asking Che cosa hai fatto ieri? and answering with at least two completed actions.
Compito comunicativo — Communicative task: my weekend
In pairs or small groups, describe your weekend using at least three completed actions, one time marker, and one sequence word (prima, poi, dopo, alla fine). React to your partner's weekend with Che bello!, Davvero?, or Che noia!
Pratica da solo — Solo alternative
Record yourself narrating three things you did yesterday or last week, including at least one negative sentence.
Reading Practice
Read the short diary entry below aloud, sounding out each Italian word slowly.
Note: è stata is a receptive-only form you will study formally when the passato prossimo with essere is introduced in Chapter 17.
Domande di comprensione — Comprehension questions:
- What did the writer do right after work?
- Name two things the writer did after cleaning the house.
- What did the writer NOT do?
Writing Workshop
Write a short note describing a recent day.
Compito di scrittura — Writing task: Write five to seven sentences describing what you did yesterday or last weekend. Include at least three completed actions, one time marker, one sequence word, and one negative sentence.
- Say when. Open with a time marker such as ieri or il fine settimana scorso.
- Narrate the first action. Use ho or hai plus a participle.
- Sequence two more actions. Use poi and dopo.
- Add a negative sentence. Say one thing you did not do.
Lista di controllo — Editing checklist:
- The auxiliary avere agrees with the subject (ho, hai, ha).
- Regular participles use -ato, -uto, or -ito correctly.
- Irregular participles (fatto, visto, letto, scritto, preso, messo) are spelled correctly.
- non comes before avere in negative sentences.
- ho, hai, ha, hanno are spelled with a silent h.
Culture and Communication
Asking about someone's weekend is common small talk in many workplaces and among friends, but the level of detail people share varies by relationship, workplace culture, and personal habit. A short, general answer is often just as appropriate as a detailed one.
Italian conversation often includes active listener reactions such as Davvero?, Che bello!, or Che noia!. These reactions keep a conversation feeling natural and engaged, and they are not tied to one region or age group.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing O guardato la TV instead of Ho guardato la TV.
Correction: Remember that ho ("I have") is spelled with a silent h to distinguish it from o ("or"), even though they sound the same.
Error: Saying ho fatto as ho facio, or ho visto as ho vedeuto.
Correction: High-frequency irregular participles such as fatto, visto, letto, scritto, preso, and messo must be memorized individually; the regular pattern does not apply to them.
Error: Saying Ho non guardato la TV.
Correction: Place non before the auxiliary: Non ho guardato la TV, just as you already do with present-tense verbs.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter you learned to talk about completed actions using the passato prossimo with avere. You built regular participles in -ato, -uto, and -ito, learned a set of high-frequency irregular participles, asked and answered questions about the past, formed negative past-tense sentences, and used sequence connectors to narrate more than one completed action.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Comprensione (Comprehension)
1. Return to the model dialogue and answer in English:
- What did Giulia do on Saturday?
- What did Marta do before sleeping in on Sunday?
Parte B — Grammatica (Grammar)
1. Complete: Io ______ (studiare) ieri sera.
2. Complete: Tu ______ (fare) i compiti?
3. Rewrite in the negative: Ho letto il libro.
Parte C — Lettura (Reading)
1. Return to the diary entry above and answer:
- What time did the writer work until?
- What did the writer do at the end of the day?
Parte D — Scrittura (Writing)
1. Write a short paragraph following the writing workshop steps above.
Parte E — Parlato (Speaking)
1. With a partner or recorded solo, narrate three things you did recently, including one negative sentence.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 16 Performance Task — Narrate a Recent Day
Talk and Write About What You Did
Complete the following four connected tasks in order.
- Listen to Marco's weekend passage above and complete the listening table.
- Read the diary entry above and answer the comprehension questions.
- Write a short paragraph narrating a recent day, using at least three completed actions, a time marker, a sequence word, and a negative sentence.
- Speak by exchanging weekend stories with a partner, or by recording a solo narration.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Passato prossimo formation | The learner correctly forms avere plus a past participle. |
| Participle accuracy | Regular and high-frequency irregular participles are spelled and used correctly. |
| Time markers and sequencing | The learner uses at least one time marker and one sequence connector. |
| Negation | The learner correctly forms at least one negative past-tense sentence. |
| Task completion | The narration includes at least three completed actions across speaking and writing. |
This task assesses only the passato prossimo with avere as introduced in this chapter. It does not require the essere auxiliary, the imperfect tense, or object pronouns.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Giulia cleaned the house and wrote two work emails, and read a book.
- Before sleeping in, Marta had a coffee with her sister.
Guided Practice
Esercizio 1: (1) studiato (2) ricevuto (3) dormito (4) fatto (5) scritto
Esercizio 2: (1) ho guardato (2) hai letto (3) ha visto (4) abbiamo lavorato
Esercizio 3: (1) Non ho pulito la casa. (2) Non hai studiato stamattina.
Listening
- Marco worked until late Friday night.
- Saturday afternoon Marco read a book and had a coffee at the bar.
- Marco did not do much on Sunday: he did not mention working or cleaning; he mainly slept in and watched TV.
Reading — Comprehension
- The writer worked until six.
- After cleaning the house, the writer wrote an email, then read a little and went to sleep early.
- The writer did not watch TV.
Chapter Review — Parte B
- ho studiato
- hai fatto
- Non ho letto il libro.
Looking Ahead
Cosa sai fare ora — What you can do now
You can narrate two or three completed actions using the passato prossimo with avere, ask what someone did, use time markers and sequence words, and form a simple negative statement about the past.