partecipi

Partecipi is the Italian term for participles, a set of non-finite verb forms that can function as adjectives or nouns and, with auxiliary forms, participate in verb tenses. The word partecipi covers two main forms commonly found in Italian grammar: the participio presente (present participle) and the participio passato (past participle).

The participio presente is formed from the verb stem with endings that vary by conjugation: typically -ante for -are verbs and -ente for -ere and -ire verbs (for example, amare → amante; dormire → dormente; capire → capente, though some forms are rare in everyday use). It is mainly used as an adjective or noun, as in una persona parlante (a speaking person) or il ragazzo parlante. It is less commonly used to indicate ongoing action in Italian, a role more typically filled by the gerundio.

The participio passato is the more widely used form in forming compound tenses. With avere, it forms tenses such as ho visto, hai scritto, abbiamo mangiato; with essere, it agrees in gender and number with the subject (è arrivato, sono andata). It also serves as an adjective, as in la porta chiusa or una lettera scritta. Many verbs have irregular participi passati, such as essere (stato), fare (fatto), dire (detto), venire (venuto), vedere (visto).

Etymology traces the term to Latin participium. In grammar, i partecipi are distinguished from the gerundio, which expresses progressive action and uses the non-finite -ando, -endo endings (parlando, dormendo). See also participio, gerundio, Italian grammar.