PASSATO PROSSIMO = completed actions in the past
It tells what happened, how many times, or when something started or ended.

In English it often corresponds to the simple past (“I went”, “I did”).


Use the passato prossimo when:

• The action is finished:

"Ieri ho mangiato la pizza" → Yesterday I ate pizza

• The action happened once or a specific number of times:

"Ho visto quel film due volte" → I saw that movie twice

• The action marks a change or a new event:

"È cominciato a piovere" → It started to rain




IMPERFETTO = ongoing, repeated, or descriptive actions in the past
It describes what things were like or what people used to do.
Think of it as the “background” or “setting” of a story.

In English it often corresponds to used to, was / were + -ing, or would (in the sense of habit)


Use the imperfetto when:

• The action was ongoing (no clear start or end):

"Pioveva quando sono uscita" → It was raining when I went out

• The action was repeated or habitual:

"Da bambina andavo al mare ogni estate" → As a child, I used to go to the beach every summer

• You describe a situation, a person, or emotions:

"Era felice e aveva molti amici" → He / She was happy and had many friends




USING PASSATO PROSSIMO AND IMPERFETTO TOGETHER
They often appear together — one sets the scene (imperfetto), and the other shows what happened suddenly (passato prossimo):
"Mentre guardavo la TV, è suonato il telefono" → While I was watching TV, the phone rang

• guardavo: background action (imperfetto)
• è suonato: main event (completed action, passato prossimo)

Combined pronouns are created when an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi) and a direct object pronoun (lo, la, li, le) appear together in the same sentence. They replace both objects to avoid repetition.

For example:
"Mi dai il libro?" "Certo, te lo do subito".→ Do you give the book to me? Sure, I give it to you right away.
"Chi vi ha dato i biglietti?" "Ce li ha dati Marco" → Who gave you the tickets? Marco gave them to us.
"La macchina è mia e non voglio prestartela" → The car is mine and I don't want to lend it to you

As it happens with direct object pronouns, the participio passato of the verbs agree with the combined pronoun (-o, -a, -i, -e):
"Roberta mi ha chiesto dei libri e glieli ho prestati".


In case of a modal or phrasal verb (volere, potere, dovere, sapere, cominciare a, stare per, finire di) followed by an infinitive, the combined pronoun can either be used before the verb or after the infinitive:
"La bicicletta mi serve, non te la posso prestare"
"La bicicletta mi serve, non posso prestartela"

When a reflexive pronoun and a direct object pronoun are in the same sentence, they join up to form a double object pronoun. When this happens, the -i of the reflexive pronoun changes to -e.

For example:
"Devo farmi una doccia"→ "Me la devo fare"
"Vi ricordate le sorelle Bianchi?" → "Ve le ricordate?"
"Devi lavarti i capelli" → "Devo lavarteli"