Italian features a set of compound tenses, based either on avere (to have) or essere (to be). The three compound tenses are:
| English tense | Italian Tense | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recent Past | Passato Prossimo | Have done | Ho fatto |
| Recent Pluperfect | Trapassato Prossimo | Had done(*) | Avevo fatto |
| Remote Pluperfect | Trapassato Remoto | Had done | Ebbi fatto |
| Future perfect | Futuro Anteriore | will have done | Avrò fatto |
The choice of whether to use avere or essere depends on the type of verb:
| Non-reflexive transitive verbs (i.e. verbs that take a direct object) use avere |
| Intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take a direct object), verbs of motion, and reflexive verbs (even if those verbs are based on transitive verbs) take essere |
(*) The Trapassato Prossimo (Recent Pluperfect) and the Trapassato Remoto (Remote Pluperfect) are separate tenses in Italian though not in English.
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