Forms
The forms of the simple perfect (passato remoto) of the three regular conjugations
are shown in the verb tables (2.2).
Note in particular that the simple perfect of certain 2nd conjugation verbs has alternative forms for the first person singular and third person singular and plural:
credei/credetti I believed
credé/credette he/she believed
crederono/credettero they believed
The simple perfect is often irregular. The most common irregularity is the short -si
ending alternating with the longer form based on the stem of the infinitive, e.g.
chiesi/chiedesti, posi/ponesti:
chiedere ‘to ask’ dire ‘to say’ prendere ‘to take’ vivere ‘to live’
chie-si dis-si pre-si vis-si
chied-esti dic-esti prend-esti viv-esti
chie-se dis-se pre-se vis-se
chied-emmo dic-emmo prend-emmo viv-emmo
chied-este dic-este prend-este viv-este
chie-sero dis-sero pre-sero vis-sero
Most verbs with this irregular pattern are 2nd conjugation verbs, and in some cases
(for example mettere, muovere, sapere, vedere) the stem has a vowel change a