ItalianA2Lesson 1.2
🇮🇹 Italian A2 · Lesson 1.2

Sono andato in vacanza — The past with essere

Narrate a trip using essere verbs and time markers in the past.

Listen first

Giulia tells a friend about her week in Sicily.

🔊 Real audio — spoken by your browser in Italian. Tap any word below to hear it.
New vocabulary — tap to hear
sono andato/aI went 🔊
sono partito/aI left / departed 🔊
la settimana scorsalast week 🔊
la vacanzathe holiday 🔊
siamo tornati/ewe came back 🔊
il marethe sea 🔊

Now say it

Tap the phrase to hear it, then press the mic and repeat — we score your pronunciation for real (Chrome/Edge).

« La settimana scorsa sono andata al mare con la mia famiglia. » 🔊
Last week I went to the seaside with my family.
—
Pronunciation

Live conversation lab

Practise this dialogue live with a native-trained tutor. Next session opens soon.

Read the dialogue

Tap any line to hear it. Grammar appears in context, never as a dry rule.

Giulia, dove sei andata la settimana scorsa? 🔊Giulia, where did you go last week?
Sono andata in Sicilia con mia sorella. Siamo partite lunedì. 🔊I went to Sicily with my sister. We left on Monday.
Che fortuna! Siete state al mare? 🔊How lucky! Were you at the seaside?
Sì, ogni giorno. Poi siamo tornate ieri sera, stanchissime ma felici. 🔊Yes, every day. Then we came back yesterday evening, exhausted but happy.
Grammar in focus · passato prossimo with essere

Verbs of movement and change of state use essere: andare, venire, partire, tornare, arrivare, uscire, nascere, essere, stare. With essere the participle agrees with the subject: Marco è andato, Giulia è andata, i ragazzi sono andati, le ragazze sono andate. Note the four endings -o/-a/-i/-e. Compare: ho mangiato (avere, no agreement) vs sono partita (essere, feminine agreement).

Write it yourself

Describe a recent short trip: where you went, when you left, and when you came back. Use at least two essere verbs.

Saved to your writing portfolio
Tip for this task
Ottimo! Remember the participle agrees with you, e.g. a woman writes « Sono partita sabato » with final -a.

Quick check

An adaptive quiz confirms you've got it and schedules the right words for review.

1. A woman says “I went”. Which is correct?
2. Which verb takes essere in the past?
3. “Le ragazze sono ___” (gone). Choose the ending.
Back to module