Of the fourteen verb tenses in Italian, four are compound. A compound verb tense means that more than one verb is involved: You form them with a helping verb (essere, to be, or avere, to have), which is conjugated, and the past participle of another verb (mangiato, eaten; stato, was; dormito, slept).
You translate Italian compound tenses according to the tense of the helping verb.
Form the present perfect tense in Italian
To form the present perfect tense in Italian, conjugate essere or avere in the present indicative tense and add a past participle. Notice that when you use essere, the ending of the past participle changes to show number and gender (singular, plural, masculine, feminine) of the subject.
Essere (present tense) + past participle = present perfect
Tu sei + venuto = You came (venuto is masculine and singular)
Loro sono + venuti = They came (venuti is masculine and plural)
Avere (present tense) + past participle = present perfect
Riccardo ha + trovato = Riccardo found, has found
Form the pluperfect tense in Italian
To form the pluperfect tense in Italian, conjugate essere or avere in the imperfect indicative tense and add a past participle.
Essere (imperfect) + past participle = pluperfect
Laura era + arrivata = Laura had arrived
Avere (imperfect) + past participle = pluperfect
Voi avevate + mangiato = You all ate
Form the future past tense in Italian
To form what is called the future past tense in Italian: Conjugate essere or avere in the future indicative tense and add a past participle.
Essere (future) + past participle = future past
Noi saremo + partiti = We will have left
Avere (future) + past participle = future past
Gli studenti avranno + letto = The students will have read
Form the conditional past tense in Italian
To form the conditional past tense in Italian: Conjugate essere or avere in the conditional mood and add a past participle.
Essere (conditional) + past particple = conditional past
Io sarei + andato = I would have gone
Avere (conditional) + past participle = conditional past
Io avrei + cercato = I would have looked for