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How do you say what in Italian?

An important step to take when studying Italian is learning how to say what in italian.

Depending upon the context What in Italian can be translated into che, che cosa, cosa, quale, quali, qual, quello che, ciò che, la cosa che.

Let’s go over each use of what in Italian, so that you can be sure which one to say.

Question Words

First, we need to talk about question words, normally employed at the beginning of a question.

Among these ones, we find what, which can be translated in different ways, as you can see in the following examples.

Che cosa è successo? Non mi ha dato spiegazioni.
What happened? He didn’t give me any explanations. 

Cosa devo comprare? Latte, uova e poi?
What am I supposed to buy? Milk, eggs and then? 

Che ci hai messo in questa torta? Per caso la cannella?
What did you put in this cake? Cinnamon, I guess?  

Before proceeding, if you want to repeat Italian Grammar, here there are useful books I suggest you to read:

Che cosa

Che cosa is the longest form to say what in Italian. It is chiefly employed all over Italy and is more common in formal contexts.

Apparently, it seems to be a more emphatic expression since we are insisting on the thing in question by literally saying “what thing”.

It can only be followed by a verb, and not by a noun.

Examples:

Che cosa stanno aspettando?
What  are they waiting for?

Che cos’è tutta questa confusione? Smettetela, ragazzi!
What’s all this mess? Guys, stop it!

A che cosa stai lavorando in questo periodo? Posso saperlo?
What are you working on in this period? May I ask?      

Cosa

Together with che, cosa is the shortest version of che cosa and it literally means thing.

It’ used all over Italy, especially up North and in Sardinia, one of the wonderful Italian islands.

Moreover, it can be found in Italian world-famous novels and literary works, too.

Same as for che cosa, it can only be followed by a verb.

Examples:

Non mi hai detto cosa ti piacerebbe fare nel tuo giorno libero.
You haven’t told me what you would like to do on your day off.

Cosa vuoi mangiare a cena? Spaghetti o crocchette di pollo?
What do you want to eat for dinner? Spaghetti or chicken nuggets?

Cosa dovrei organizzare? Una festa o un pranzo tra amici?
What should I organise? A party or a lunch with close friends?     

Che

Che is the other shortened form of che cosa. It’s clearly more colloquial and widely spread in cities of central and southern Italy like Rome, Napoli and Palermo. Unlike cosa and che cosa, che can be followed by both verbs or nouns.

Examples:

Che ingredienti ti servono per preparare la pastiera napoletana?
What ingredients do you need to bake Neapolitan pastiera?  

Ma che sta dicendo? Non capisco mai niente quando parla!
What is she saying? I never understand anything when she talks!

Che stai cercando? Senti, qui non c’è niente!
What are you looking for? Look, there’s nothing here!

Quale

Quale basically stands for which in English, even if what is equally valid. You are required to use it in front of singular nouns.    

Examples:

Quale giacca indosserai stasera? Quella elegante o casual?
What / Which jacket are you going to wear this evening? The elegant or casual one? 

Di quale argomento ci vorrebbe parlare?
What / Which topic would you like to speak about? 

Non so quale reazione potrebbe avere se venisse a saperlo.
I don’t know what / which reaction she could have if she found it out!

Quali

On the contrary, quali must be employed when you are referring to plural nouns. 

Examples:

Quali attività sono previste oggi?
What / Which activities are planned today?

Quali maglioni potrei comprare a prezzo scontato?
What / which sweaters could I buy at a discounted price?

Allora quali sono i tuoi progetti per il futuro?
So, what / which are your plans for the future? 

Qual è

Quale loses the final ending –e and lacks of apostrophe when followed by the third person singular of essere in the present tense of indicative mood.

Examples:

Qual è il numero di cellulare di Jacob?
What’s Jacob’s mobile number?

Qual è l’indirizzo di casa di Chiara e Melinda?
What is Chiara and Melinda’s home address?

Qual è il tuo romanzo preferito?
What is your favourite novel?

Quello che / ciò che

While quello che is more common in the spoken language, ciò che is definitively more polished and largely employed in the written language.

Examples:

Prendete quello che volete! Non fate complimenti!
Take what you want! Don’t stand on ceremony!

Quello che mi sorprende è la sua totale mancanza di empatia.
What surprises me is her total lack of empathy.  

Fa’ ciò che ritieni più giusto per te. Non ti giudicherò.
Do what you think is best for you. I won’t judge you.  

La cosa che

Literally “the thing that”, la cosa che has the same meaning of quello che and ciò che. Also this statement is principally applied in everyday language.

Examples:

La cosa che odio di più nella vita è la slealtà.  
What I hate most in life is disloyalty.

Fare sport è la cosa che amo di più.
Playing sports is what I love the most.

La cosa che mi ha fatto innamorare di te è stato il tuo sguardo.
What made me fall in love with you was your smile. 

Come?

When you don’t understand what someone is saying, you can utilize Scusa? (Excuse me?) when talking to friends or relatives, while Scusi? (Excuse me?) or Come, scusi? (Sorry, what?) when referring to strangers. Come usually means how, but it’s employed in this situation as well.

Examples:

Vuoi che ce ne andiamo? – Scusa?
Do you want us to leave? – What?

Signore, a che ora parte il treno per Milano? – Scusi?
Sir, what time does the train to Milan leave? – Excuse me?

Signora Rossi, ha bisogno di una mano con la spesa? – Come, scusi?
Do you need any help with your groceries, Mrs Rossi? – Sorry, what?

What in Italian – Main uses

So, we introduced the main translations of what in Italian. Now, let’s take a closer look.

What in Italian can be applied both as an interrogative adjective and pronoun and in combination with prepositions.

The first option belongs to the category of the so-called interrogatives.  These ones, used in a sentence to introduce a question, can be adjectives in case they are followed by a noun, or pronouns when they replace a noun instead.    

What as an Interrogative Adjective

When it is followed by a noun, what in Italian acts as an interrogative adjective. In this case, you can just employ che or quale / quali. According to their use, che is mainly applied when making reference to

something general without specification, while quale relates to limited options.

Examples:

Che materie ti piacevano quando andavi a scuola?
What subjects did you like when you used to go to school?

Che libri leggi di solito quando sei in vacanza?
What books do you usually read when you are on holiday?

Secondo te, quali pantaloni devo comprare? Quelli blu o rossi?  
In your opinion, which pants should I buy? Blue or red ones?

As you may have noticed, in the first and second sentence reference wasn’t made to the type of books reading on holiday. On the contrary, in the third statement there has been mention of the features (specifically the colour) of pants to be bought.

What as an Interrogative Pronoun

In presence of a verb, what in Italian is classified as an interrogative pronoun. In this case, it translates all the expressions we have encountered so far.

Examples:

Che cosa vuoi da me? Non ho fatto niente!
What do you want from me? I haven’t done anything!

Ma che ti è venuto in mente? Sei davvero folle, lo sai?
What were you thinking? You are truly insane, you know that?  

Ecco delle arance e delle pere. Quali preferisci?
Here are some oranges and pears. Which ones do you prefer? 

What with prepositions

In case of sentences built with phrasal verbs, prepositions must be put before what in Italian, not at the end of the statement as in English.

Look at the following examples, focusing on the differences between Italian and English:

Italian English
Con cosa giocano bambini? What are the kids playing with?
A cosa ti riferisci? What are you referring to?
Di cosa vorresti parlare? What would you like to talk about?

What in Italian – Everyday expressions

Differently from the other solutions mentioned before, che occurs in lots of informal statements in Italian. Since these ones are widely used in the spoken language, they are considered as idioms.

Then let’s have a look at these everyday questions:

Italian English
Che succede? What’s going on?
Che vuoi fare? What do you want to do?
Che mi racconti? What’s up?
Che ci fai qui? What are you doing here?
Che ne pensi? What do you think about it?

If you want to learn even more effectively, do it through music, listening to songs like this:

Now that you have all the tools to use what in your daily conversations, first try to practice and then tell your Italian friends che cosa hai imparato!   

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

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Che in Italian – what does che mean?

After pizza and pasta, che in Italian is the most frequently used word. But unlike pasta and pizza, che has many different uses and meanings.

Che in Italian can be a relative pronoun, an interrogative adjective and pronoun, an indefinite adjective and pronoun, a conjunction, an adverb and more. You can translate it as that, who , and can be used as interrogative adjective and pronoun.

Let’s go over each use of che in Italian:

Che as a relative pronoun

The most common use of che in italian is as a relative pronoun. And for those who don’t know grammar like the back of their hand, I will explain simply what is a relative pronoun.

What is a relative pronoun?

Relative pronouns link two sentences, with a common element, together. Relative pronouns also refer to the nouns already mentioned in the sentence. In English these are that, which, who, whom and whose.

Example:

I like the dog that does tricks.

Che as that

Che in italian is the most used relative pronoun.

La ragazza che mi piace si chiama Anna.
The girl that I like is called Anna.

Il ragazzo che mi piace si chiama Marco.
The boy that I like is called Marco.

Be careful: in Italian you can’t omit che like you do in English.

Take a look at the following example:

Il libro che sto leggendo è interessante.
The book I’m reading is interesting

Che as who

che in Italian

I already mentioned that relative pronouns connect two sentences. Che in italian can be both subject and object in the sentences.

Let’s see:

Marco è un mio cugino che vive negli USA.
Marco is my cousin who lives in the USA.

In this sentence, che refers to the subject in the sentence which is Marco.

La ragazza che hai conosciuto ieri è mia sorella.
The girl who you met yesterday is my sister.
In this example, che refers to the object in the sentence which is la ragazza.

before moving on, if you want to learn more about Italian Grammar, here there are useful books I suggest you to read:

il che in italian

But what about il che ? You must have seen it many times in texts in italian.

Let’s take a look at this example:

Hai fatto un buon esame, il che è una conferma del tuo impegno.
You have done well on the exam, which is a confirmation of your commitment.

The relative pronoun che with the definite article il refers to the whole previous sentence.

Voglio smettere di bere, il che non è facile.
I want to stop drinking, which is not easy.

Il che doesn’t refer to the subject, which is io, neither to the object, which is smettere di bere. It refers to the whole sentence, to the fact that this person wants to stop drinking.

Che as an interrogative adjective and pronoun

Che in italian can also be used as an interrogative adjective and pronoun. Don’t let this complex term frighten you! Have you ever heard an Italian ask:

Che vuoi da me?
What do you want from me?

Or

Ma che cavolo dici?
What the heck are you talking about?

If you have, great! You already know what interrogative adjectives and pronouns are.

Let me clarify:

What is an interrogative adjective/pronoun?

The interrogatives are elements used in a sentence to introduce a question. They can be adjectives when they are followed by a noun. They can also be pronouns when they substitute a noun. Che can be both of them. 

Let’s see some examples:

Che as an interrogative adjective

che in Italian

When followed by a noun che in Italian asks for more information about that noun.

Che telefono hai?
What phone do you have?

Che musica preferisci?
What is your favorite music?

Che libro stai leggendo?
What book are you reading?

The interrogative che can be used with a preposition but in that case the preposition must be put before the interrogative.

In che città vivi?
What city do you live in?

Di che libro stai parlando?
What book are you talking about?

Con che programma posso modificare la foto?
What program can I use to edit a photo?

Che as interrogative pronoun

When che is used to replace a pronoun it’s used as an interrogative pronoun. It is also used to ask for information about something.

Che vuoi?
What do you want?

Che succede?
What’s going on?

Che aspetti?
What are you waiting for?

Also in this case a preposition can be used before the interrogative pronoun che.

Con che cosa scrivi?
What do you write with?

Di che parlate?
What are you talking about?

Che as an Indefinite adjective and pronoun

che in Italian

Che in italian can be used as an indefinite adjective and pronoun. It describes an undefined quantity or quality.

Let’s see some examples:

Questo biscotto ha un che di piccante.
This cookie has a bit of a spicy flavor to it.

Non riesco a vedere un gran che.
I can’t see much.

Diciamo che hai un certo non so che, quando sei nervosa.
Let’s say you have a certain level of something when you’re nervous.

Che as a Conjunction

As long as you progress in italian, your vocabulary will expand. With a big quantity of words in your head you will spontaneously start to use more complex structure. Then you’ll use words to link sentences together, called conjunctions, words like and, or, but, that . With them your conversation will sound more fluent.

Let’s see some examples:

Che can link an objective clause to an independent clause (or main clause):

Dice che hai ragione tu
He says that you are right.

Che can introduce a subjective clause and here we may use the indicative or the subjunctive depending on the level of certainty we have:

È ora che tu la smetta
It’s time for you to stop

Here below you will find more uses of che as a conjunction.

Comparative

che in Italian

Che in Italian can be used for comparative, when a comparison is made between two elements that refer to the same subject:

È meglio uscire che starsene in casa
It’s better to go out than stay inside

Che can also be used as a consecutive conjunction:

Sono così stanco che non posso seguirti
I’m so tired that I can’t follow you

Limitation

Che in Italian can introduce limitation and in italian che, in this case, is always followed by subjunctive:

Che io sappia, non esiste
As far as I know, it doesn’t exist.

Time

Che is used as a time conjunction, it can be replaced with quando or in cui:

Il giorno che siamo partiti pioveva
It was raining on the day when we left.

Wishes and commands

che in Italian

Che in Italian is used to introduce wishes and commands:

Spera che non dica niente
hope that she won’t say anything

Exception

Che can have a connotation of exception:

Non ci resta altro che piangere
Nothing left but to cry

Whether

Che in Italian can have a disjunctive connotation and can be translated in English as whether/or

Che lo faccia o meno, è irrelevante.
Whether it does or not is irrelevant.

Che as a Causal conjunction

che in Italian

Another very important use of che in italian is as a causal conjunction. Causal conjunctions are used to explain how things work or why things happen.

Take this as example:

I didn’t have breakfast today, so I am really hungry now! – In this example SO is a causal conjunction.

Che in Italian originates a list of causal conjunctions, meaning  “because/ since/ due to the fact that“:

poiché
giacché
dacché
visto che
dato che

Examples:

Dato che non avevamo più cibo, ho fatto la spesa.
Since we were out of food, I went to the grocery store.

Visto che ti comporti così negativamente, io agirò positivamente!
Since you are acting so negatively, I will act positively!

Scusa, avrei dovuto chiederti il permesso, poiché è casa tua.
Sorry, I should have asked your permission since it’s your house.

Che can also be used alone and still have causal connotation.

Look at these examples:

Scappiamo che crolla!
Let’s run away because it is crumbling!

Dobbiamo andare, che è tardi.
We must leave, because it’s late.

Devo mangiare, che ho fame.
I have to eat, because I’m hungry.

Che as an adverb

che in Italian

I’m sure you already know that Italians are very energetic people. They love to express their feelings, whether their emotions are negative or positive. Therefore in the Italian language, you can find a lot of exclamations.

Mamma mia! – You have heard it a thousand times.

Exclamations are a very important part of the Italian language. They’ll give emphasis to the message you want to convey. When you learn the right way to use exclamations you will sound more local and you’ll be able to express all the shades of your feelings.

Che in exclamations

If you’ve ever been in Italy, you must have heard Ma che bello! on the streets.

Che in italian is often used with a noun, or with an adjective and can be translated in English as What a … !

Let’s see some examples:

If you have a beautiful day, you are happy about it and you want to emphasize that you can say:

Che bella giornata!
What a beautiful day!

In the same way, if you were hoping it would be a nice day but the weather is bad, you could say:

Che brutto tempo!
What awful weather!

It can be followed only by noun:

Che peccato!
What a pity!

Che disordine!
What a mess!

Che avventura!
What an adventure!

Maybe the most common use of che as an exclamation is when is followed by an adjective:

Che bello!
How beautiful!

Che carino!
How nice!

Che brutto!
How awful!

Che buono!
How delicious!

The list goes on and on. It’s very common in Italian to use che this way. Start using it right away and your italian would sound more natural. If you like to learn through music, listen to this song:

As you can see che has a lot of uses! With this information in your mind, you will start to recognize and use che in the right way. Che bella lingua, isn’t it?

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

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Venire Conjugation – use venire in Italian

Venire Conjugation is surely one of the first one you should know if you want to learn Italian verbs (and verbs that express movement)

Together with fare and andare conjugations, Venire Conjugation is one of the most important in Italian language. Venire is an irregular verb of the third conjugation. Being a verb of movement, we generally apply it in the meaning of heading to, hailing from, descending from, occurring and arising. Venire principally translates the English verb to come.

Examples:

Vieni o no? Il treno sta per partire.
Are you coming or not? The train is about to leave.

Joseph non ci sarà oggi. Gli è venuta la febbre.
Joseph won’t be here today. He got sick.

As you can notice, different ways to translate venire exist in English, mostly looking at the context where it is used.  

Venire Conjugation – Presente

Firstly, it is important to say that the verb venire has an irregular conjugation, hence you need to learn it by heart.

Let’s find out how to conjugate it in the Presente, tense employed to talk about habits or actions that are happening right now:    

Io vengo
Tu vieni
Lui / Lei viene
Noi veniamo
Voi venite
Loro vengono 

Examples:

Viene anche tua figlia a cena?
Is your daughter coming for dinner, too?  

Non venite? Vi stanno aspettando tutti!
Don’t you come? They’re all waiting for you!

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Io sono venuto/a
Tu sei venuto/a
Lui / Lei è venuto/a
Noi siamo venuti/e
Voi siete venuti/e
Loro sono venuti/e

You build sentences in the Passato Prossimo, when you make reference to actions that happened in the recent past. Considered as a verb of movement, venire always requires the auxiliary to be. Moreover, the past participle venuto must agree in gender and number.

Examples:

È venuta da sola perché suo marito è a lavoro.
She came alone because her husband is at work.

Non sono venuti in vacanza con noi quest’anno perché abbiamo litigato. 

They didn’t come with us on holiday because we had an argument.

Venire Conjugation – Imperfetto

Io venivo
Tu venivi
Lui / Lei veniva
Noi venivamo
Voi venivate
Loro venivano

You resort to Italian Imperfetto when your intention is to speak about past habits or actions in progress in the past.

Examples:

Quando ero piccolo, zio Gerry veniva sempre a trovarci a Houston.
When I was a child, uncle Gerry always used to come to visit us in Houston.

Mentre venivo qui, ho sentito che Joe ha perso il lavoro.
While I was coming here, I heard Joe lost his job.

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Io ero venuto/a
Tu eri venuto/a
Lui / Lei era venuto/a
Noi eravamo venuti/e
Voi eravate venuti/e
Loro erano venuti/e

Trapassato Prossimo is primarily required in case you want to report an action that occured before another one in the past. To form it, you need the simple past of essere, along with the past participle of venire.

Examples:

Ma non eri venuto per darci una mano? Non stai facendo nulla!
Hadn’t you come to help us? You’re not doing anything!

Erano venute per dirci che non avrebbero partecipato alla raccolta fondi.
They had come to tell us they wouldn’t participate in the fundraising. 

Venire Conjugation – Passato Remoto

One of the less used tenses in Italian is Passato Remoto. Despite the fact that its formation is quite tricky, it is generally employed when referring to events that happened a long time ago. 

Io venni
Tu venisti
Lui / Lei venne
Noi venimmo
Voi veniste
Loro vennero

Examples:

Dopo aver mangiato tanto, mi venne un forte mal di pancia.
After eating a lot, I got a strong stomach ache. 

Mi vennero dei dubbi in merito a quello che Elena mi raccontò. 
I had some doubts about what Elena told me. 

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Io fui venuto/a
Tu fosti venuto/a
Lui / Lei fu venuto/a
Noi fummo venuti/e
Voi foste venuti/e
Loro furono venuti/e

Italian Trapassato Remoto has almost disappeared in the spoken language, while in the written language it basically occurs in documentaries, literature and novels. Being a compound tense, it is formed by the auxiliary conjugated in the Passato Remoto and the past participle of venire.   

Examples:

Dopo che furono venuti a casa mia, decisero di rimanere a pranzo.
After they had come to my place, they decided to stay for lunch.

Dopo che fu venuta al locale, ci disse che se ne sarebbe andata dopo un pò.
After she had come to the club, she told us that she would leave after a while.   

Venire Conjugation – Futuro Semplice

You are suggested to apply Italian Futuro in case you want to talk about facts that have yet to happen (Futuro Semplice) or an event that will be finished before another one takes place (Futuro Anteriore). 

Io verrò
Tu verrai
Lui / Lei verrà
Noi verremo
Voi verrete
Loro verranno

Examples:

A che ora verranno Jasmine e le sue figlie questa sera?
What time are Jasmine and her daughters coming this evening? 

Verrà il giorno in cui mi ringrazierai per quello che ho fatto per te.
There will come a day when you thank me for what I’ve done for you. 

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Io sarò venuto/a
Tu sarai venuto/a
Lui / Lei sarà venuto/a
Noi saremo venuti/e
Voi sarete venuti/e
Loro saranno venuti/e

Examples:

Saranno già venuti? Non siamo ancora pronti!
Will they have come? We are not ready yet!

Sarà venuto qui per chiedergli altri soldi? Mi auguro di no.  
Will he have come here to ask him for other money? I hope not.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Unfortunately, Italian Congiuntivo is considered as a vanishing mood because its use is less and less frequent in everyday language.

Anyway, its main feature is the conjunction che preceding the conjugated verb. Furthermore, the simple and compound tenses of Congiuntivo can be translated with the tenses of present and past simple.      

Che io venga
Che tu venga
Che lui / lei venga
Che noi veniamo
Che voi veniate
Che loro vengano

Examples:

La mamma vuole che veniamo anche noi in gita.
Mum wants us to go on the trip, too.

Temo che vengano solo per perdere tempo e non lavorare.
I fear that they just come to waste their time so as not to work.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io sia venuto/a
Che tu sia venuto/a
Che lui / lei sia venuto/a
Che noi siamo venuti/e
Che voi siate venuti/e
Che loro siano venuti/e

Examples:

Spero che sia venuta per porre rimedio ai suoi problemi.
I hope she came to find a solution to her problems. 

Nonostante siano venuti per aiutarla, non li ha ancora perdonati.
Although they came to help her, she still hasn’t forgiven them.

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io venissi
Che tu venissi
Che lui / lei venisse
Che noi venissimo
Che voi veniste
Che loro venissero

Examples:

Mi farebbe molto piacere se venissi anche tu con me in Inghilterra.
I would be very pleased if you came with me to England, too.

Credevo che Michael venisse dal Canada. Invece viene dagli Stati Uniti.
I thought Michael came from Canada. On the contrary, he comes from USA.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io fossi venuto/a
Che tu fossi venuto/a
Che lui / lei fosse venuto/a
Che noi fossimo venuti/e
Che voi foste venuti/e
Che loro fossero venuti/e

Examples:

Pensavo che Rachel fosse venuta per scusarsi.
I thought Rachel had come to apologize.

Vorrei che fossero venute al cinema con noi.
I wish they had come with us to the cinema.

Venire Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

You make use of Italian Condizionale in case you need to express wishes, intentions, hypotheses and polite requests.

Io verrei
Tu verresti
Lui / Lei verrebbe
Noi verremmo
Voi verreste
Loro verrebbero

Examples:

Verresti al concerto dei Maroon 5 insieme a me?
Would you come with me to the Maroon 5 show?

Se avessero tempo verrebbero con noi in montagna. 
If they had time, they would come with us to the mountains.

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Io sarei venuto/a
Tu saresti venuto/a
Lui / Lei sarebbe venuto/a 
Noi saremmo venuti/e
Voi sareste venuti/e
Loro sarebbero venuti/e

Examples:

I miei genitori mi hanno detto che sarebbero venuti a trovarmi presto.
My parents told me they would come to visit me soon.

Nessuno ci ha avvisato che sareste venuti con i vostri amici.
No one told me you were coming with your friends. 

Venire Conjugation – Imperativo

Imperativo is the tense of orders, instructions, suggestions and advice. Being an irregular verb, venire has its own forms, too. 

Vieni (tu)
Venga (lui/lei)
Veniamo (noi)
Venite (voi)
Vengano (loro)

Examples:

Vieni qui subito! Devo parlarti.
Come here immediately! I need to talk to you.

Venite con me! Vi faccio fare un giro della casa.
Come with me! I’ll show you around.

Venire Conjugation – Infinito

Present tense Past tense
venire essere venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Venire a patti con uomo del genere potrebbe essere rischioso.
Reaching an agreement with a man like that might be risky. 

Sono davvero contento di essere venuto con voi in Francia.
I’m really glad to have come with you to France.     

Venire Conjugation

Venire Conjugation – Participio

Present tense Past tense
veniente venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Sono rimasti svegli tutta la notte per vedere l’alba del giorno veniente.
They stayed up all night to see the dawn of the coming day.  

Tutti stavano aspettando la sua venuta.
Everybody was awaiting her coming. 

Note that the present and the past tense of Italian Participio can be mainly found as nouns or adjectives in literary texts, therefore their use is relatively restricted to specific circumstances.    

Venire Conjugation – Gerundio

As for the Congiuntivo, Gerundio is another tense Italians don’t really apply very often, too. Anyway, you can find it in sentences in the present progressive.  

Present tense Past tense
venendo essendo venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Venendo dalla campagna è abituato a stare a contatto con la natura.
Coming from the countryside, he is used to being in contact with nature.

Essendo venuti in ritardo, non hanno trovato un posto dove sedersi. 
Having come late, they didn’t find a place to sit. 

At the end of this article, you should be able to conjugate and use venire properly. 

Allora, quando vieni in Italia?

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

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Fare in italian – 50 Common Uses

At the very beginning of your learning journey you will surely use the verb fare in Italian.

Fare in Italian is an irregular verb of the first conjugation. It translates to do, to make and a lot of other English verbs and expressions according to the context: you can use fare to talk about work, hobbies, weather, math calculations, and so on. Some common expressions with fare are fare un giro, fare la doccia, fare sport or fare pace. Other Common Sayings with fare are “chi la fa l’aspetti”, “chi fa per sè fa per tre” or “tutto fa brodo”, and so on.

As you will see in this article, fare in Italian is so versatile that you could have a full conversation just by using this one verb!

Let’s review its conjugation and discover more than 50 ways you can use fare in Italian.

Conjugation of fare in Italian

First of all, you better see the conjugation of fare in Italian, which is irregular, therefore you need to learn it by heart.

Let’s see how to conjugate it in the present tense:

Io faccio
Tu fai
Lui / Lei fa
Noi facciamo
Voi fate
Loro fanno

You can take a look at the full conjugation here.

If you need to repeat Italian Verbs, here there are some useful books for you:

Most common uses of fare in Italian

Here below you find the most common uses of fare in Italian with some examples.

1. Work

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

You can use fare in Italian to talk about your job.

Example:

Cosa fai nella vita? Faccio la cameriera.
What is your job? I’m a waitress.

2. Hobbies

Fare in Italian can also be employed to talk about your hobbies and interests.

Example:

Cosa fai nel tempo libero? Di solito faccio lunghe passeggiate.
What do you do in your free time? I usually go for long walks.

3. Weather

You can apply the third person of fare in Italian, “fa”,  followed by an adjective to describe the weather.

Examples:

Oggi fa caldo!
Today is hot!

Il meteo dice che domani fa freddo.
The weather forecast says that tomorrow will be cold.

4. Math calculations

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

To convey the result of a math calculation you need to use fare in Italian.

Example:

Tutti sanno che due più due fa quattro.
Everybody knows that two plus two is four.

5. To make

Very often you can resort to fare in Italian the same way as make in English.

Examples:

Ho fatto un tavolo di legno.
I made a wooden table.

Queste scarpe sono state fatte in Italia.
These shoes were made in Italy.

6. To bake

When you “create something with your hands” you need to use fare in Italian.

Example:

La mamma fa i biscotti e io faccio il pane.
Mom bakes cookies and I bake bread.

7. To act as …

Followed by the preposition “da”,  fare in Italian means “to act as” or “serve as”.

Examples:

L’ombrellone fa da riparo per il sole.
The sun umbrella acts as a shelter from the sun.

Alfonso ci farà da cicerone.
Alfonso will act as a guide / he will be our guide.

Everyday Expressions with fare in Italian

Moreover, a really important thing to remember is that the verb fare in Italian occurs in lots of idiomatic expressions and sayings.

You can apply some of the following idiomatic expressions in your everyday life.

8. Fare colazione – to have breakfast

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

You make reference to the verb fare in Italian instead of to have in this statement.

Example:

Faccio colazione alle 8:00.
I have breakfast at 8:00.

9. Fare la doccia – to take a shower

In many expressions the verb to take is translated into fare in Italian.

Example:

Fai la doccia la sera o la mattina?
Do you take a shower in the evening or in the morning?

10. Fare un bagno – to take a bath/ bathe, to swim

Examples:

Stasera faccio un  bagno rilassante.
Tonight I’ll take a relaxing bath.

Andiamo a fare un bagno al mare.
Let’s go for a swim in the sea.

11. Fare una passeggiata – To take a walk

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

You can also use fare due passi with the same meaning, literally to make two steps.

Examples:

Facciamo due passi.
Let’s take a walk.

Non voglio fare una passeggiata.
I don’t want to take a walk.

12. Fare un giro – To go for a stroll / a ride

Examples:

Joe va a fare un giro in macchina.
Joe goes for a ride.

I ragazzi fanno un giro in piazza.
The guys go for a stroll in the piazza.

13. Fare un pisolino – to take a nap

For this statement you can either use schiacciare or fare in Italian.

Example:

Molti italiani fanno / schiacciano un pisolino dopo pranzo.
Many Italians take a nap after lunch.

Note that schiacciare is less popular than fare in everyday conversations.

14. Fare due chiacchiere – to have a chat

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

You can say parlare or chiacchierare also with this statement using the verb fare in Italian. 

Example:

Vieni qua e facciamo due chiacchiere.
Come here and let’s have a chat.

15. Fare una pausa – to take a break

Example:

Gli impiegati fanno una pausa solo per il pranzo.
Employees take a break only for lunch.

16. Fare un viaggio – to travel / take a trip

Example:

Non vedo l’ora di fare un viaggio.
I can’t wait to take a trip.

17. Fare una foto – to take a photo

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Fare in Italian is also employed for taking pictures.

Example:

La ragazza fa tante foto.
The girl takes many pictures.

18. Fare il biglietto – to buy a ticket

Exactly, in this expression Italians prefer to apply fare instead of comprare (to buy).

Example:

Hai fatto il biglietto per il treno?
Did you buy the train ticket?

19. Fare una domanda – to ask a question

Verbs like domandare or chiedere (to ask) are not required if there is the word domanda (question) after. Also in this case you need fare in Italian. 

Example:

Posso farti una domanda?
Can I ask you a question?

20. Fare la fila/ la coda – to wait in line

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Non mi piace fare la fila.
I don’t like to wait in line.

21. Fare sport / ginnastica – to do sports / to exercise

Examples:

Mio figlio non fa sport.
My son doesn’t do sports.

Fate ginnastica tutti i giorni?
Do you exercise every day?

22. Fare un brindisi – to make a toast

You can either look at this expression with fare in Italian or brindare.

Example: 

A Capodanno si fa un brindisi.
On New Year’s Eve people make a toast.

23. Fare una telefonata/ una chiamata – to make a call

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Vorrei fare una telefonata / chiamata a Ciro.
I would like to call Ciro.

In addition to this statement with fare in Italian, we also have the verb chiamare with a direct object or telefonare with an indirect object.

Example:

Chiama Jay / Telefona a Jay e digli di venire qui.
Call Jay and tell him to come here. 

24. Fare pace – to make up

Actually, this idiom with fare in Italian literally means to make peace.

Example:

Mi dispiace tanto, facciamo pace?
I am so sorry, can we make up?

25. Fare la spesa – to go grocery shopping

Example:

Io e mio marito facciamo la spesa la domenica.
My husband and I go grocery shopping on Sundays.

26. Fare le spese / shopping – to go shopping

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Unlike the previous idiom, when Italians go shopping for clothes or other items, they usually say fare le spese or fare shopping.

Example:

Le mie amiche fanno shopping al centro commerciale.
My friends go shopping at the mall.

27. Fare presto / tardi – to be quick / late

In these two statements, instead of the verb essere (to be) you must apply fare in Italian

Examples:

Faccio presto, non ti preoccupare!
I’ll be quick, don’t worry!

Sbrigati o farai tardi!
Hurry up or you will be late!

28. Fare finta – to pretend

Example:

Non fare finta che non ti interessi.
Don’t pretend you don’t care.

29. Fare un regalo – to give a present

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Fare in Italian can also replace regalare (to gift or to give as a gift) when followed bythe statement un regalo.

Example:

Gli hai fatto un regalo per il compleanno?
Did you give him a present for his birthday?

30. fare il possibile/di tutto – to do everything possible

Example:

Ho fatto di tutto per convincerlo, ma non ci sono riuscito.
I did everything possible to convince him, but I failed.

31. fare amicizia – to make friends

Example:

Non è molto brava a fare amicizia, vero?
She is not very good at making friends, is she?

32. fare casino / confusione – to make noise / create confusion

Examples:

Chi è che sta facendo casino? I bambini?
Who is making noise? Kids?

La smettete di fare confusione, per favore?
Would you stop creating confusion, please?

Remember that fare casino is generally used in colloquial language, while fare confusione in more formal contexts.

33. fare il pieno – to fill up the gas tank

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Domani mi serve la macchina. Hai fatto il pieno?
Tomorrow I need the car. Did you fill up the gas tank?

34. fare attenzione – to pay attention

If you want to tell someone to be careful, you must employ fare in Italian, not pagare (to pay).

Example:

Certe volte dovresti fare attenzione a quello che dici!
Sometimes you should pay attention to what you say!

An alternative to fare attenzione is prestare attenzione, more formal but also effective. 

Example:

Potrebbe cortesemente prestare attenzione quando parlo?
Could you please pay attention when I’m talking?

35. fare festa – to take a day off / to celebrate

According to the context, you employ this expression with fare in Italian when you want to say you are going to take a day off from work / school or you are going to celebrate.

Examples:

Non sei andato a scuola? Ho fatto festa.
Haven’t you gone to school? I’ve taken a day off.

Che dici? Facciamo festa il Primo Maggio?
What do you think? Shall we celebrate on May 1st?

36. Fare una festa – to throw a party

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Facciamo una festa questa sera. Sarai dei nostri?
We are throwing a party this evening. Will you join us?

37.  fare del proprio meglio – to do one’s best

Example:

Ha fatta davvero del suo meglio per superare tutti gli esami.
He truly did his best to pass all his exams.

38. fare alla romana – to split the check

This expression is very interesting because it refers to the local custom of people living in Rome to split the check equally according to the number of dining companions.

Example:

Ecco il conto. Facciamo alla romana?
Here is the check. Shall we split it? 

39. fare da sé – to do something on your own

This statement has the same meaning of the expression fare da solo. However, this last one is much more common than the first one.

Example:

Non chiede mai aiuto. Fa sempre tutto da sé.
She never asks for help. She always does everything on her own. 

40. fare il bravo/ la brava – be nice

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

This other statement including fare in Italian is mostly used when talking to children.

Example:

Fai il bravo / la brava quando mamma non c’è, ok?
Be nice when mom isn’t here, ok? 

41. fare fatica – to struggle

Example:

Faccio fatica a credergli.
I struggle believing him

42. fare male / fare bene – act wrongly or rightly

Examples:

Vuole lasciare la scuola? Fa male.
Is he going to quit school? He’s acting wrongly.

Continueranno con lo sciopero. Fanno bene.
They’re going to keep striking. They’re acting rightly.

Remember not to confuse fare male in the meaning of act wrongly with fare male in the meaning of to hurt.

Example:

Come va la gamba oggi? Fa male.
How’s your leg today? It hurts.  

43. fare schifo / senso – to be gross

Examples:

Mi fai schifo!
You disgust me!

Quest’ananas sulla pizza fa senso.
This pineapple on the pizza is gross.

Remember to apply these two statements with fare in Italian sparingly in order not to appear rude and impolite.

44. fare in tempo – to do something on time

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Non so se farò in tempo per la festa.
I don’t know if I will make it on time for the party.

45. fare piacere – to please / make someone glad

Example:

Mi fa piacere se vieni.
I’ll be glad if you come.

46. fare colpo – to impress

Example:

Mi sa che hai fatto colpo.
I think you impressed them.

47. fare a meno – to do without something

Example:

Non posso fare a meno del caffè.
I can’t do without coffee

48. fare bella / brutta figura – to make a good / bad impression

Examples:

Lo studente fa una brutta figura se non sa niente.
The student looks bad if he doesn’t know anything.

Voglio comprare dei fiori per fare bella figura.
I want to buy some flowers to make a good impression

Note that you can replace the noun figura with the word impressione, always using fare in Italian.

Example:

Mi ha fatto davvero una buona impressione la tua nuova fidanzata.
Your new girlfriend really made a good impression on me.  

49. Fare impressione – to shock

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Example:

Luca mi fa impressione quando mi guarda fisso negli occhi.
Luca shocks / scares me when he stares at me.

50. Fare + infinito – Let / Make / Get + infinitive

Finally, fare in Italian,followed by an infinitive, translates the English expressions to make, to get and to let + infinitive.

Examples:

Riescono sempre a farla sorridere.
They always manage to make her smile.

Ieri mattina John ha fatto riparare la macchina.
Yesterday morning John got the car fixed.

Fammi sapere se hai bisogno di un passaggio fino all’aeroporto.
Let me know if you need a lift to the airport.

Common sayings with fare in Italian

Fare in italian - 50 Common Uses

Now let’s see some sayings with the verb fare in Italian:

Italian English
Chi la fa l’aspetti. What comes around goes around.
Chi fa per sé fa per tre. If you want something done well, do it yourself.
Tutto fa brodo. Every little bit helps.
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare. It is easier said than done.
Non fare agli altri ciò che non vorresti fosse fatto a te. Treat others as you want to be treated.
Fare di ogni erba un fascio. To tar everyone with the same brush.
Fare buon viso a cattivo gioco To play along with someone’s bad intent.

Expressions with the verb Farsi

Fare in italian can be reflexive as well. Here are some expressions with the reflexive form farsi:

Italian English
farsi la barba to shave
farsi coraggio to hearten oneself / to give oneself courage
farsi in quattro to bend over backwards
farsi vivo to get in touch
farsi bello to primp
farsi valere to assert oneself
farsi capire to make oneself understood
farsi gli affari propri to mind one’s business
farsi male to hurt oneself

Examples:

Mi sono fatto coraggio e alla fine gliel’ho detto.
I gave myself courage and finally I told it to him.

Quando si subisce un’ingiustizia, bisogna sempre farsi valere.
When you suffer injustice, you always need to assert yourself.

Penso che di tanto in tanto dovresti farti gli affari tuoi.
I think you should mind your business from time to time.

As you can see, there are many and many ways to use fare in Italian. Make sure you remember the most common uses of fare and start using these expressions and sayings with Italians!

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

/by
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Dovere Conjugation – use Dovere in Italian

Together with the verb potere and volere, Dovere Conjugation is one of the most important ones of the Italian language.

The verb dovere is an helping verbs and it is generally accompanied by a verb in the infinitive tense. As a servile verb, dovere can be translated as have to / must and it means to be obliged to do something, (even due to a law or moral norm or due to mandatory circumstances). As a transitive verb, dovere means To be required to give or return something. Dovere can be also used as noun and it means duty or obligation.

Examples:

Sta piovendo? Devo prendere l’ombrello?
Is it raining? Do I need to take my umbrella?

A scuola tutti gli studenti devono indossare l’uniforme. 
Students must wear the uniform at school.  

As you can see, different verbs to translate dovere exist in English, whose use is primarily linked to the context.    

Dovere Conjugation – Presente

First of all, you should know that dovere follows the conjugation of Italian irregular verbs, hence you need to learn it by heart.

Here is its conjugation In the Presente:  

Io devo / debbo
Tu devi
Lui/Lei deve
Noi dobbiamo
Voi dovete
Loro devono / debbono

Note that you can find two different forms in the first person singular and in the third person plural. The second one is quite unusual and less used. 

Examples:

Devi fare attenzione quando attraversi la strada, capito?
You must pay attention when you cross the street, understand?

Sapete dov’è Michelle? Dobbiamo parlare urgentemente con lei!
Do you know where Michelle is? We need to talk to her urgently!

If you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

Dovere Conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Dovere Conjugation
Io ho dovuto Io sono dovuto/a
Tu hai dovuto Tu sei dovuto/a
Lui/Lei ha dovuto Lui/Lei è dovuto/a
Noi abbiamo dovuto Noi siamo dovuti/e
Voi avete dovuto Voi siete dovuti/e
Loro hanno dovuto Loro sono dovuti/e

In the Passato Prossimo the verb dovere usually takes the auxiliary avere, especially with transitive verbs requiring direct object pronouns.

On the contrary essere is used in presence of reflexive verbs and verbs of motion.

Remember that this general rule must be applied to all compound tenses of Italian grammar (Trapassato Remoto, Congiuntivo Trapassato, Condizionale Passato and so on.)

Examples:

Ha dovuto zittirlo per poter parlare. Ti rendi conto?
She had to silence him to talk. Can you believe it?

Purtroppo sono dovuti andar via prima del previsto.
Unfortunately, they had to leave earlier than expected. 

Dovere Conjugation – Imperfetto

Io dovevo
Tu dovevi
Lui/Lei doveva
Noi dovevamo
Voi dovevate
Loro dovevano

Italian Imperfetto is commonly employed to speak about actions or habits in progress in the past.

Examples:

Non dovevate dirgli nulla. Non erano questi i patti!
You weren’t supposed to tell him anything. That wasn’t the deal!

Marc doveva scoprire cosa stava succedendo a tutti i costi.
Marc needed to find out what was happening at any cost.

Dovere Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Dovere Conjugation
Io avevo dovuto Io ero dovuto/a
Tu avevi dovuto Tu eri dovuto/a
Lui/Lei aveva dovuto Lui/Lei era dovuto/a
Noi avevamo dovuto Noi eravamo dovuti/e
Voi avevate dovuto Voi eravate dovuti/e
Loro avevano dovuto Loro erano dovuti/e

Trapassato Prossimo refers to an action that occurred before another event in the past. To form it, you have to look at the simple past of avere or essere and the past participle of dovere. 

Examples:

Avevano dovuto accostare perché la macchina era in panne.
They were forced to pull over because their car broke down.

Mi ero dovuto fermare a causa della pioggia intensa.
I was obliged to stop due to heavy rain.

Dovere Conjugation – Passato Remoto

Dovere Conjugation

Italian Passato Remoto basically occurs in literature, novels and history books. On the contrary, it is considered quite obsolete in everyday conversations. Beyond that, you apply it when you want to mention facts that happened a long time ago.

Io dovetti / dovei
Tu dovesti
Lui/Lei dovette /dové
Noi dovemmo
Voi doveste
Loro dovettero / doverono

As you may have noticed, the alternatives dovei, dové and doverono are present respectively in the first and third person singular and in the third person plural. These forms are relatively old-fashioned and less frequent.  

Examples:

Dovette insistere molto per ottenere ciò che desiderava.
She had to insist a lot in order to get what she wanted.

A malincuore dovettero rinunciare al viaggio in Islanda.
Unfortunately, they had to give up travelling to Iceland.

Dovere Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Dovere Conjugation
Io ebbi dovuto Io fui dovuto/a 
Tu avesti dovuto Tu fosti dovuto/a
Lui/Lei ebbe dovuto Lui/Lei fu dovuto/a
Noi avemmo dovuto Noi fummo dovuti/e
Voi aveste dovuto Voi foste dovuti/e
Loro ebbero dovuto Loro furono dovuti/e

As for the Trapassato Prossimo, you are able to create sentences with Trapassato Remoto by referring to the past tense of auxiliary verbs and the past participle of dovere.

Examples:

Dopo che ebbe dovuto dimostrare la sua innocenza, venne assolto.
After he had needed to prove his innocence, he was acquitted.

Dopo che foste dovuti andare a prenderlo, lo accompagnaste anche a casa.
After you had been compelled to go get him, you also drove him home.

Dovere Conjugation – Futuro Semplice

Italian Futuro is required when your intention is to talk about events that have yet to happen (Futuro semplice) or a situation that will be finished before another one takes place (Futuro Anteriore).    

Io dovrò
Tu dovrai
Lui/Lei dovrà
Noi dovremo
Voi dovrete
Loro dovranno

Examples:

Se vuole il mio aiuto, dovrà impegnarsi seriamente.
If she wants my help, she will have to make a serious commitment.  

Dovrai dimostrare che non c’entri nulla con quello che è successo.
You will need to prove you had nothing to do with what happened.   

Dovere Conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Dovere Conjugation
Io avrò dovuto Io sarò dovuto/a
Tu avrai dovuto Tu sarai dovuto/a
Lui/Lei avrà dovuto Lui/Lei sarà dovuto/a
Noi avremo dovuto Noi saremo dovuti/e
Voi avrete dovuto Voi sarete dovuti/e
Loro avranno dovuto Loro saranno dovuti/e

Examples:

Se Carla non ha soldi, avrà dovuto pagare il suo fidanzato.
If Carla has no money, her boyfriend must have paid for everything.

Avranno dovuto aspettare ore prima di essere visitati.
They must have waited for hours before seeing a doctor.

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Probably, Congiuntivo is one of the less appreciated tenses in Italian grammar. Despite that, it is widespread in the written language while usually replaced with some tenses of the indicative mood in the spoken language. Anyway, its main feature is the conjunction che coming first the conjugated verb. In order to form the compound tenses of Congiuntivo, you need to refer to the tenses of the present and past simple.    

Che io debba
Che tu debba
Che lui/lei debba
Che noi dobbiamo
Che voi dobbiate
Che loro debbano

Examples:

Credo che tu debba riflettere su quello che hai fatto.
I believe you better think about what you have done.

Pensa davvero che dobbiate chiedergli scusa?
Does he really think you should apologize to him?   

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io abbia dovuto Che io sia dovuto/a
Che tu abbia dovuto Che tu sia dovuto/a
Che lui/lei abbia dovuto Che lui/lei sia dovuto/a
Che noi abbiamo dovuto Che noi siamo dovuti/e
Che voi abbiate dovuto Che voi siate dovuti/e
Che loro abbiano dovuto Che loro siano dovuti/e

Examples:

Sono contento che Lucy non abbia dovuto pagare la multa.
I’m glad Lucy didn’t have to pay the fine.

Suppongo che siano dovuti partire molto presto stamattina.
I presume they had to leave very early this morning.

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Dovere Conjugation
Che io dovessi
Che tu dovessi
Che lui/lei dovesse
Che noi dovessimo
Che voi doveste
Che loro dovessero

Examples:

Se dovesse passare in ufficio, ditegli che non ci sono!
If he had to come by the office, tell him I’m not here!

Credevo che dovessimo incontrarci con i nostri amici oggi.
I thought we were supposed to meet our friends today.    

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io avessi dovuto Che io fossi dovuto/a
Che tu avessi dovuto Che tu fossi dovuto/a
Che lui/lei avesse dovuto Che lui/lei fosse dovuto/a
Che noi avessimo dovuto Che noi fossimo dovuti/e
Che voi aveste dovuto Che voi foste dovuti/e
Che loro avessero dovuto Che loro fossero dovuti/e

Examples:

Se avessi dovuto prendere una decisione, chi avresti scelto?
If you had needed to make a decision, who would you have chosen?

Vorrei non foste dovute intervenire per risolvere la situazione.
I wish you hadn’t been compelled to intervene to sort it out.      

Dovere Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

You resort to Italian Condizionale when you want to express polite requests, intentions, wishes or hypotheses. Its equivalent form can be both should and ought to in English.    

Io dovrei
Tu dovresti
Lui/lei dovrebbe
Noi dovremmo
Voi dovreste
Loro dovrebbero

Examples:

Dovresti studiare di più, se vuoi superare tutti gli esami.
You ought to study more, if you want to pass all your exams.

Dovrebbe essere più gentile con chi gli vuole bene.
He should be kinder to those who care about him.   

Dovere Conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Dovere Conjugation
Io avrei dovuto Io sarei dovuto/a
Tu avresti dovuto Tu saresti dovuto/a
Lui/Lei avrebbe dovuto Lui/Lei sarebbe dovuto/a
Noi avremmo dovuto Noi saremmo dovuti/e
Voi avreste dovuto Voi sareste dovuti/e
Loro avrebbero dovuto Loro sarebbero dovuti/e

Examples:

Tutti sbagliano! Avresti dovuto darle una seconda possibilità.
Everyone makes mistakes! You should have given her a second chance!

Sareste dovuti tornare prima delle 23. È mezzanotte!
You were supposed to come back before 11 pm. It’s midnight!    

Dovere Conjugation – Infinito

Present tense Past tense
dovere aver dovuto esser dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Solitamente si dice che il dovere viene prima del piacere.
They usually say that duty comes before pleasure.

Dopo essersi dovuto licenziare, ha deciso di trasferirsi a Parigi.
After he was obliged to quit, he decided to move to Paris.

A thing to remember is that the present tense of Italian Infinito translates the noun duty in English.  

Dovere Conjugation – Participio

Present tense Past tense
– dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Senza la dovuta documentazione, non è possibile ottenere il rimborso.
Without the proper paperwork, you cannot get a refund.

Potresti citarlo in giudizio e farti pagare il dovuto.
You could sue him and make him pay what he should. 

As you can notice, the present tense of Italian Participio does not exist while the past tense is normally employed as an adjective or a noun.

Dovere Conjugation – Gerundio

Dovere Conjugation

Much more common in the written language, Italian Gerundio principally occurs in sentences built in the present progressive.    

Present tense Past tense
dovendo avendo dovuto essendo dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Dovendo lavorare da casa oggi, ti lascio la macchina se ti serve.
Having to work from home today, I’ll leave you the car if you need.

Essendosi dovuto alzare presto, ha dormito solo per poche ore.
Having been forced to get up early, he just slept for a few hours.    

Different meanings of Dovere in Italian

To Owe

In case dovere means “to be in debt to”, “need to give” or “to be thankful to”, it is followed by a noun and translated with the verb “owe” in English.

Examples:

Grazie per l’aiuto! Ti devo un favore!
Thanks for helping! I owe you a favor!

Dì a tua sorella che mi deve ancora 200 dollari.
Tell your sister she still owes me 200 dollars.   

Avere bisogno

You are suggested to utilize dovere meaning avere bisogno, when you make reference to an interior need rather than an obligation.

Examples:

Sono davvero stanco! Devo stendermi un po’!
I’m truly tired! I need to lie down!

Prima di metterci in viaggio, dobbiamo riposare qualche ora.
Before we hit the road, we need to rest for a few hours.   

After receiving all the necessary information about the verb dovere, you should be able to use it properly and conjugate it in all tenses.

Now it’s your time to say what you must or must not do in Italian!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

/by
,

How to say yes in Italian

No and yes in Italian are likely to be the first expressions you will learn. Here you can also learn how to say no in Italian, but in this article we will see how to say yes in Italian:

How to say yes in Italian?

As a general rule, to say yes in Italian we use the word sì, often accompanied by grazie (thanks) to answer a question positively. It is really important to put an accent on the “i” of sì in order to write it properly. Also, this helps distinguish it from other words, like the reflexive pronoun si.  Beyond sì, several alternatives to yes in Italian exist, depending on the context, on the person you are talking to or just on a personal choice. We can translate yes with certo or certamente (surely), assolutamente (absolutely), senz’altro (of course), senza dubbio (without a doubt ), and a lot of other expressions that are very common in Italy.

Let’s give a look at all ways we can say yes in Italian!

Certo / Certamente

yes in italian

Certo and certamente are the most common alternatives to say yes in Italian. You can apply one of them to affirm you are going to help someone do something for sure. 

Example:

Mamma, potresti aiutarmi con i compiti di francese più tardi? – Certo! / Certamente!
Mum, could you help me please with my French homework later? – Sure! / Surely!

Here there are some useful books for you:

Assolutamente

In case you wish to express certainty or totally agree with what people are telling you, you may want to use the term “assolutamente” , which is more than yes in Italian.

Example:

Che ne pensi della proposta di James? Sei d’accordo, Lisa? – Assolutamente!
What do you think about James’ proposal? Do you agree, Lisa? – Absolutely!

Senz’altro / Ma certo

yes in italian

These two statements to say yes in Italian are largely employed in formal contexts, especially in public places (restaurants, pubs, clubs) when you receive a polite answer after asking for something.  

Example:

Scusi, posso avere anche io un calice di vino? – Senz’altro! / Ma certo!
Excuse me, may I have a glass of wine, too? – Of course!

Senza dubbio / Senza ombra di dubbio

When you are convinced that something will happen, you better utilize “senza dubbio” or “senza ombra di dubbio”.  Literally “without a doubt” and “without any shadow of doubt”.     

Example:

Secondo me, tante persone parteciperanno alla manifestazione. – Senza dubbio! / Senza ombra di dubbio! 
In my opinion, a lot of people will participate in the demonstration. – No doubt!  / No question!

Sicuro / Sicuramente

yes in italian

Other valid alternatives to say yes in Italian are “sicuro” or “sicuramente”, mainly employed when there is no doubt about the fact that you will achieve what they asked you to do.  

Example:

Kate, passerai a trovarmi dopo cena? – Sicuro! / Sicuramente!
Kate, will you come over after dinner? – Sure! / Surely!

Per forza

You can use this statement when you reply to a question you take for granted, referring to something you actually need or necessarily have to do.    

Example:

Mary, ti serve la macchina ora? – Per forza! Sto facendo tardi!
Mary, do you need the car right now? – Of course! I’m late! 

Note that this alternative to yes in Italian can be also perceived in a negative way. It’s almost like saying “Obviously, what for a question is this?” . For this reason, it is better to apply it exclusively when speaking to someone close to you.

Ovvio / Ovviamente

yes in italian

These two expressions to say yes in Italian are very useful in case you have to confirm something evident and widely clear you are completely sure of.   

Example:

Prima di andare in discoteca, mangiamo qualcosa? – Ovvio! / Ovviamente!
Before going to the disco, can we have something to eat? – Obviously! 

Chiaramente

You are suggested to apply “chiaramente” in case you are convinced someone is telling you something seemingly obvious. Despite that, you also think you should give more information when answering in order to be more precise.

Example:

Se non mangio pane e pasta fino a domenica, potrei perdere abbastanza peso in soli dieci giorni. – Chiaramente! Ricorda però di non bere alcolici!
If I don’t eat bread and pasta until Sunday, I’ll be able to lose enough weight within ten days. – Clearly! Just remember not to drink alcohol!    

Naturalmente

In case of absolute and unquestionable truths leading to predictable consequences, the most suitable way to reply is by using “naturalmente” as an answer.  

Example:

Se mangi troppi cioccolatini, rischi un bel mal di pancia. – Naturalmente! 
If you eat too many chocolates, you might have a stomach ache. – Naturally!

GIUSTO / VERO

yes in italian

“Giusto” and “vero” are mostly used in place of yes in Italian when you realise someone is reminding you of something important like a deadline, a scheduled activity or a particular occurence. 

Example:

Ricorda che entro sabato bisogna pagare la bolletta della luce. – Giusto! / Vero!
emember that the electricity bill must be paid by Saturday. – Right!

Esatto / Esattamente  

These two statements convey the idea that you essentially agree with what has been said to you. In order to prove it, you need to resort to one of these terms.     

Example:

Ti devo ancora 5 dollari, giusto? – Esatto! / Esattamente!
Do I still owe you 5 dollars, right? – Exactly!    

Precisamente

yes in italian

“Precisamente” is the appropriate answer to give when you realize the person you are talking to shares your same opinions or has perfectly understood what you meant.

Example:

Dunque, se studio quattro ore al giorno per le prossime due settimane, riuscirò sicuramente a superare gli esami a fine mese. – Precisamente!
So, if I study four hours a day for the next couple weeks, I’ll manage to pass my exams at the end of the month. – Precisely!   

Proprio così

Another expression to say yes in Italian is “proprio così”, basically employed when you want to verify you easily understood what they told you.   

Example:

Ha detto davvero che si sarebbe licenziato la prossima settimana? – Proprio così!
Did he really say he would quit next week? – That’s right!

Ok

yes in italian

Nowadays, “ok” is one of the most well-known and used words in Italian. Primarily belonging to English lexicon, this term can be found in everyday conversations, TV shows and even in speeches by politicians.         

Example:

Ti va una birra dopo il lavoro? – Ok
How about a beer after work? – Ok

Remember that it is quite unusual to apply “ok” when talking to a stranger or a professor. For this reason, its use is principally restricted to informal situations.       

D’accordo / Va bene

When your intention is to accept what they are offering you or simply do what they asked you, “d’accordo” or “va bene” are the best alternatives to yes in Italian. 

Example:

Passo a prenderti prima di andare da Jane? – D’accordo! / Va bene!
Will I pick you up before going to Jane’s? – All right!  

Also in this case, the use of these two expressions is mostly recommended in informal situations. Anyway, you are free to employ them in formal contexts, too. 

When yes in Italian has other meanings

On some peculiar occasions, the word sì can replace other words or even express feelings and sensations. Let’s go see when this happens!

Pronto

yes in italian

When Italians answer the intercom or the telephone, they sometimes say “sì?” instead of “pronto?”.

Example:

(squilla il telefono) Sì? – Buongiorno, sono Antonio. Posso parlare con Carlo, per favore?
(telephone rings) – Hello? – Good morning! This is Antonio! Can I speak to Carlo, please?    

Evvai / Evviva

The word sì followed by an exclamation mark can express joy, excitement and satisfaction for something that happened to you. It is mainly used in place of some interjections like Evvai! or Evviva! (Hurray!).

Example:

Sì!! Ho appena vinto 50 dollari!
Yeees! I just won 50 dollars!

Conclusion

yes in italian

By now you should be able to use and recognize the different ways to say yes in Italian. 

According to the person you are chatting with, some expressions occur in formal circumstances (such as senz’altro, ma certo), while others basically exist in informal situations (such as ok, va bene, d’accordo).

Also in this case, you are supposed to pay attention when applying one of these expressions because they may sometimes be perceived negatively or even as a sign of bad manners. An example is the statement per forza: if improperly used, it might spark unpleasantness and rudeness.

For this reason you better see when and how to use them in advance!   

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

/by
,

How to say no in Italian?

Sometimes, it’s quite hard to say no, even in italian. After studying how to say yes in Italian, you can learn how to say no:

How to say no in Italian?

Generally, to say no in Italian you just need to say “no” followed by the word “grazie” (thank you) to answer a question negatively, but politely. Anyway, there are several alternatives to no in Italian, whose use is mainly related to the person you are talking to. You can for example use expressions like non credo / non penso, ne dubito, non è possibile, magari, macché or neanche per sogno! No can also be used to say yes in expressions like come no (for sure) or used in question tags.

Let’s go see them!

formal and informal Ways to say no in Italian  

Non credo / Non penso

These two statements to say no in Italian are chiefly used to express doubts, hesitation about a certain situation or what is going to happen.

Example:

Sai per caso se la ferramenta è ancora aperta a quest’ora? – Non credo / Non penso.
Do you know if the hardware store is still open this late? –  I don’t believe so / I don’t think so.

Ne dubito / Ne dubito proprio

Instead of resorting to no in Italian, you can employ one of these expressions when you want to convey uncertainty or you have the feeling that something is to happen or did not happen.

Example:

Pensi che verrà dopo quello che è successo? – Ne dubito! / Ne dubito proprio! 
Do you think she’ll come after what happened? – I doubt it! / I really doubt it!  

Mi sa di no

no in italian

When you are not sure of something and fear the answer could be negative, you should utilize “mi sa di no”.

Example:

Sai se Luca è già andato a fare la spesa? – Mi sa di no!
Do you know if Luca went grocery shopping? – I don’t think so!

Temo di no

When using this statement to say no Italian, you are communicating to be sorry for something done you are not to blame for. 

Example:

Hai ricevuto l’e-mail che ti ho inviato domenica? – Temo di no!
Did you receive the email I sent you on Saturday? – I’m afraid not!

Non è possibile

no in italian

In this case you are conveying surprise, anger or disappointment for something that happened to you or others.

Example:

Sapevi che Steven si è sposato con Carol la scorsa settimana? – Non è possibile! Mi stai prendendo in giro?
Did you know Steven got married to Carol last week? – No way! Are you kidding me?   

Magari

This term is generally employed in place of no in Italian when you want to express hope, wish for something that will or did not happen.

Example:

Hai comprato delle scarpe nuove? – Magari! Non ho un euro in tasca!
Have you bought any new shoes? – I wish! I don’t even have a euro to spend!

No in Italian – Formal expressions

no in italian

Vorrei, ma non posso

In this case, your intention is to accept what they are offering you but you politely decline because you don’t want to “take advantage” of the current situation.

Example:

Vorresti rimanere a cena con noi? – Vorrei, ma non posso!
Would you like to stay for dinner with us? – I would like to, but I cannot.  

Sarà per la prossima volta

In order not to appear rude, you make use of polite manners to refuse something they are offering you, postponing it the next time you will see each other again.

Example:

Che ne dici di andare al cinema stasera? – Non riesco. Sarà per la prossima volta!
What about going to the cinema tonight? – I can’t. Maybe some other time! 

La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare

no in italian

Extremely polite, this expression can be addressed to a person you don’t know very well, probably older than you. In this case you are saying to be grateful for what they are offering you but you are “forced” to decline the offer on this occasion due to specific reasons.   

Example:

Le andrebbe una partita a carte? – La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare. Mi aspettano a casa.
Would you like to play cards? – I thank you, but I must say no. I’m expected at home.

Grazie, è come se avessi accettato

It is an extremely polite alternative to say no in Italian used when you kindly say no in Italian to something that has been offered to you from a person you barely know.

Example:

Vuoi una tazza di caffè? – Grazie, è come se avessi accettato!
Would you like a cup of coffee? – Thanks, pretend I had accepted!

No in Italian – Informal expressions

no in italian

Macché

Considered as one of the most well-known expressions to say no in Italian, you can apply it to communicate a strong sense of disappointment.

Example: 

Hai finito di studiare? – Macché, non ho neanche iniziato!
Have you finished studying? – As if! I haven’t even started!

In some cases, macché can be followed by a noun or a verb, especially when you are excluding or rejecting the possibility of doing something.

Examples:

Andiamo in montagna quest’estate? – Macché montagna! Andiamo ai Caraibi!
Shall we go to the mountains this summer? – Forget the mountains! Let’s go to the Caribbean!

Ti va di andare a bere qualcosa? – Macché bere! Muoio di fame!
Do you want to go get a drink? Forget drinking! I’m starving! 

Neanche per sogno / Neanche per idea

no in italian

You should apply one of these two alternatives to say no in Italian when you are firmly convinced not to perform a task you were suggested to accomplish.

Example:

Potresti comprare tu i regali di Natale al posto mio?  – Neanche per sogno! / Neanche per idea!
Could you buy Christmas presents in my place? – In your dreams! / Not a chance!  

Non ci penso proprio

Also in this case your aim is to mention the fact that you are not considering what they commanded you to do at all.

Example:

Ti va di andare a correre più tardi? – Non ci penso proprio!
Would you like to go jogging later? – Don’t even think about it!

Non mi va

When you use “non mi va” to say no in Italian, you just want to state that you dislike what they suggested you to do or don’t feel like doing anything at the moment.

Example:

Che ne dici se facciamo una torta? – Non mi va!
What about baking a pie? – I don’t feel like it!

Scordatelo

no in italian

This way to say no in Italian might be quite harsh to hear because it conveys the idea that you will ever consider the possibility of helping someone do something, without even thinking about it.

Example:

Mi aiuteresti con i compiti di matematica più tardi? – Scordatelo!
Would you help me with math homework later? – Forget it!

Remember to employ it sparingly so as not to appear unkind, even if you are talking to a friend! 

Proprio no / Certo che no

You can apply one of these expressions when asserting you are extremely sure not to do something previously requested.

Example:

Non avrai intenzione di rinunciare alle ferie retribuite, vero? – Proprio no! / Certo che no!
Are you not going to give up the right to paid leave, aren’t you? – Definitely not! / Of course not! 

Ma quando mai

Another way to say no in Italian is by replying with this expression when someone tries “to accuse” you of something you haven’t done.

Example:

Eri tu che cenavi ieri sera con Dominique? – Ma quando mai!
Was it you who was having dinner with Dominique last night? – Since when?

Non se ne parla proprio / Per carità 

These expressions could be useful to you when you definitely reject the idea of doing something for someone for different reasons.  

Example:

Dovresti convincere Paul a vendere la sua casa.  – Non se ne parla proprio! / Per carità!
You should persuade Paul to sell his house. – That’s off the table! / For pity’s sake!  

No in Italian – When “no” means “yes”

no in italian

In certain circumstances, basically when you retort to someone, the term no might mean yes, as in the expressions Come no and those related to question tags.  

Come no

This is a very common Italian expression you generally resort to when you want to confirm something in a decisive way.

Example:

Nonostante gli errori, sono stati molto bravi, vero? – Come no!
Despite the mistakes, they have been very successful, haven’t they? – For sure!

Question tags

Primarily belonging to the English grammar, question tags can be translated in Italian in different ways; one of these is by adding the word no accompanied by a question mark to the end of your statement.

Example:

Dovrebbe prendere le pillole una volta al giorno, no?
He should take his pills once a day, shouldn’t he? 

Conclusion

no in italian

As you may have noticed, there are many ways to say no in Italian when talking to a close friend or a stranger. Some of these are relatively common in everyday conversations, while others are mostly unusual or limited to a specific context of use. Beyond that, you should remember these expressions must be employed with restraint because they might often be perceived negatively or even hurt someone (like “Scordatelo!”, “Neanche per sogno!”).

Therefore, pay attention to when and how using them!   

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

/by
,

Volere Conjugation – How to use Volere in Italian

Volere Conjugation is considered as an essential and useful verb that can be found in most Italian daily conversations.

What does Volere means?

The Italian verb volere is mainly used to express will, expectation, intention, demand and wish. Volere means that you want to reach a goal, to achieve something or to complete an action; It also means to be eager to do something (and in this case you can also use the expression avere voglia+infinitive) or for someone else to do something. Being a modal verb, it is generally followed by an infinitive verb.

Here there are some examples:

Vuoi una tazza di tè o di caffè?
Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?

Giulia e Marta vogliono andare a Roma questo weekend.
Giulia and Marta want to go to Rome this weekend.

As you may have noticed, volere principally translates the English verb to want.

Before continuing with the explanation, if you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

Volere conjugation – Presente

Firstly, it is really important to say that volere does not follow the general rules of Italian regular verbs. For this reason, you are suggested to learn its conjugation in all tenses by heart. Let’s find out how to conjugate it in the Presente:   

Io voglio
Tu vuoi
Lui/Lei vuole
Noi vogliamo
Voi volete
Loro vogliono

As you can see, the consonant g occurs in the verb root in the first person singular and plural and the third person plural.  

Examples:

Cosa vuoi? Un pezzo di torta o un gelato?
What do you want? A piece of cake or an ice-cream?

Non prendertela! Sai che la mamma vuole solo il nostro bene.
Don’t be upset! You know mum just wants what is best for us.   

Volere conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Volere Conjugation
Io ho voluto Io sono voluto/a
Tu hai voluto Tu sei voluto/a
Lui/Lei ha voluto Lui/Lei è voluto/a
Noi abbiamo voluto Noi siamo voluti/e
Voi avete voluto Voi siete voluti/e
Loro hanno voluto Loro sono voluti/e

In the Passato Prossimo, the verb volere can take both essere and avere. The choice of the right auxiliary depends on the type of verb you are using in the sentence. In case of transitive verbs which basically require a direct object, you will utilize avere. On the contrary, essere occurs when verbs of motion or reflexive verbs exist in the sentence.     

Examples:

Ieri non ha voluto mangiare nulla perché stava male.
Yesterday he didn’t want to eat anything because he was sick.

Non si è voluta intromettere per non sembrare troppo invadente.
She didn’t want to get involved so as not to appear too invasive.   

Volere conjugation – Imperfetto

Io volevo
Tu volevi
Lui/Lei voleva
Noi volevamo
Voi volevate
Loro volevano

You are asked to build sentences in the Imperfetto, when you want to talk about actions or habits in progress in the past. 

Examples:

Volevano cenare con noi perché ci trovavano molto simpatici.
They wanted to have dinner with us because they found us pleasant.  

Perché volevi incontrarla? Non l’hai vista di recente?
Why did you want to meet her? Didn’t you see her recently? 

Volere conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Volere Conjugation
Io avevo voluto Io ero voluto/a
Tu avevi voluto Tu eri voluto/a
Lui/Lei aveva voluto Lui/Lei era voluto/a
Noi avevamo voluto Noi eravamo voluti/e
Voi avevate voluto Voi eravate voluti/e
Loro avevano voluto Loro erano voluti/e

To form the Trapassato Prossimo, you just need to know the simple past of essere and avere and the past participle of the verb volere.

Examples:

Michael e Carl avevano voluto saperne di più di questa storia.
Michael and Carl had wanted to know more about this story.

Erano voluti uscire comunque nonostante la pioggia insistente.
They had wished to go out despite persistent rain anyway.  

Volere conjugation – Passato Remoto

Io volli
Tu volesti
Lui/Lei volle
Noi volemmo
Voi voleste
Loro vollero

Passato Remoto is one of the less appreciated tenses in Italian because its formation is particularly tricky. Beyond that, it is chiefly employed to report facts that happened a long time ago.  

Examples:

Mark non volle l’aiuto di nessuno, eccetto quello di suo padre.
Mark didn’t want anybody’s help, except his father’s.

Non vollero fargli del male, ma solo spaventarlo un pò.
They didn’t mean to hurt him, just scare him a little bit.  

Volere conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Volere Conjugation
Io ebbi voluto Io fui voluto/a
Tu avesti voluto Tu fosti voluto/a
Lui/Lei ebbe voluto Lui/Lei fu voluto/a
Noi avemmo voluto Noi fummo voluti/e
Voi aveste voluto Voi foste voluti/e
Loro ebbero voluto Loro furono voluti/e

As for the Trapassato Prossimo, you can create sentences in the Trapassato Remoto by referring to the past tense of auxiliary verbs and the past participle of volere.

Examples:

Dopo che non ebbe voluto partire con loro, cambiò idea.
After he hadn’t wanted to leave with them, he changed his mind. 

Dopo che vi foste volute sposare, vi trasferiste a Chicago.
After you had wanted to get married, you moved to Chicago.     

Volere conjugation – Futuro Semplice

Italian Futuro is required when you want to mention events that have yet to happen (Futuro Semplice) or make reference to a future situation occurring before another one (Futuro Anteriore).    

Io vorrò
Tu vorrai
Lui/Lei vorrà
Noi vorremo
Voi vorrete
Loro vorranno

Examples:

Dopo quello che le hai fatto, non penso vorrà rivederti.
After what you did to her, I don’t think she’ll want to see you again.

Vorrà sicuramente sapere cosa ci è successo la scorsa estate.
I’m sure he will want to know what happened to us last summer. 

Volere conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Volere Conjugation
Io avrò voluto Io sarò voluto/a
Tu avrai voluto Tu sarai voluto/a
Lui/Lei avrà voluto Lui/Lei sarà voluto/a
Noi avremo voluto Noi saremo voluti/e
Voi avrete voluto Voi sarete voluti/e
Loro avranno voluto Loro saranno voluti/e

Examples:

Avranno voluto sicuramente mangiare dopo il viaggio a Boston.
They surely will have wanted to eat after their trip to Boston.  

Immagino saranno volute rimanere ancora un pò qui con noi.
I guess they will have wanted to stay a little longer here with us. 

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Che io voglia
Che tu voglia
Che lui/lei voglia
Che noi vogliamo
Che voi vogliate
Che loro vogliano

Congiuntivo is quite unpopular among Italians. It is often replaced with some tenses of the indicative mood. Despite that, its main feature is the conjunction che preceding the conjugated verb.

In order to translate the Congiuntivo Presente, Congiuntivo Passato, Congiuntivo Imperfetto and Congiuntivo Trapassato, you need to look at the tenses of present and past simple.   

Examples:

Perché Helene pensa che Luke voglia rompere con lei?
Why does Helen think Luke wants to break up with her?

Non credo che vogliano svegliarsi presto la domenica mattina.
I don’t really believe they want to get up early on Sunday morning.       

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Volere Conjugation
Che io abbia voluto Che io sia voluto/a
Che tu abbia voluto Che tu sia voluto/a
Che lui/lei abbia voluto Che lui/lei sia voluto/a
Che noi abbiamo voluto Che noi siamo voluti/e
Che voi abbiate voluto Che voi siate voluti/e
Che loro abbiano voluto Che loro siano voluti/e

Examples:

Credi che Jack abbia voluto allontanarsi da me di proposito?
Do you think Jack wanted to get away from me on purpose?

Nonostante si sia voluta riposare, non è riuscita a dormire. 
Although she wanted to rest, she couldn’t sleep.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io volessi
Che tu volessi
Che lui/lei volesse
Che noi volessimo
Che voi voleste
Che loro volessero

Examples:

Pensavo che voleste dargli un’altra possibilità.

I thought you wanted to give him another chance.

Elizabeth sperava volessi andare a fare una passeggiata con lei.

Elizabeth hoped I wanted to go out for a walk with her.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Volere Conjugation
Che io avessi voluto Che io fossi voluto/a
Che tu avessi voluto Che tu fossi voluto/a
Che lui/lei avesse voluto Che lui/lei fosse voluto/a
Che noi avessimo voluto Che noi fossimo voluti/e
Che voi aveste voluto Che voi foste voluti/e
Che loro avessero voluto Che loro fossero voluti/e

Examples:

Se avessi voluto il vostro aiuto, mi sarei rivolto a voi.
If I had wanted your help, I would have spoken to you.

Magari ti ci fossero volute due ore per riparare la lavastoviglie!
I wish it took you two hours to fix the dishwasher. 

Volere conjugation – Condizionale Presente

Italian Condizionale is the tense of polite requests and wishes.

Its equivalent form is the expression would like to in English.

Io vorrei
Tu vorresti
Lui/Lei vorrebbe
Noi vorremmo
Voi vorreste
Loro vorrebbero

Examples:

Vorrei un pezzo di crostata e una coca cola light, per favore!
I’d like a piece of pie and a diet coke, please!

Vorrebbero andare a prendere loro Derrek alla stazione domani.
They would like to pick Derrek up from the central station tomorrow.

Volere conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Volere Conjugation
Io avrei voluto Io sarei voluto/a
Tu avresti voluto Tu saresti voluto/a
Lui avrebbe voluto Lui sarebbe voluto/a
Noi avremmo voluto Noi saremmo voluti/e
Voi avreste voluto Voi sareste voluti/e
Loro avrebbero voluto Loro sarebbero voluti/e

Examples:

Avresti voluto del vino rosso, se ne avessero avuto?
Would you have liked some red wine, if they had had some?

Nonostante la situazione, sarebbero comunque voluti andarci.
Despite the situation, they would have liked to go there anyway.

Volere conjugation – Infinito

Present tense Past tense
volere aver voluto esser voluto/ voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Un famoso proverbio dice: “Volere è potere!”
A famous proverb says: “Will is power!”

Aver voluto partecipare all’iniziativa è segno del mio impegno.  
Having wanted to take part in this initiative is sign of my commitment.

Remember that the present tense of Infinito can be also used as a noun translating the word will in English.  

Volere conjugation – Participio

Volere Conjugation
Present tense Past tense
volente voluto / voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Volente o nolente, verrai con noi al matrimonio di Felicia.
Willing or unwilling, you will come to Felicia’s wedding with us.

Ci siamo sempre sentiti ben voluti in questa famiglia.
We always felt well accepted in this family.

As you may have noticed, the past tense of Italian Participio may sometimes turn into an adjective or a noun. 

Volere conjugation – Gerundio

As for the subjunctive mood, Gerundio is another tense Italians don’t really use very often, too. Anyway, you can find it in sentences built in the present progressive.  

Present tense Past tense
volendo avendo voluto essendo voluto / voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Volendo potresti lasciare le tue cose nel garage.
If you want, you could leave your things in the garage. 

Essendosi voluti salutare, si sono dati appuntamento al bar.
Having wanted to say hello to each other, they met at the bar.

Volere conjugation – Different uses of Volere in Italian

Volere Conjugation

Volere with Che

In order to express wish, you can employ volere with the conjunction che  followed by subjunctive mood.

Example: 

Voglio che tu sia più gentile con Veronica d’ora in avanti.
I want you to be kinder to Veronica from now on.

Volere with Pronouns

In case volere is used as a modal verb, Italian direct and indirect object pronouns and combined pronouns can go either before the verb or after the infinitive that volere is supporting. Remember that you are supposed to delete the final ending of the infinitive if you decide to postpone pronouns after it.

Example:

Mi vorresti aiutare / Vorresti aiutarmi con i compiti?
Would you help me with my homework?

Ci vuole, ci vogliono

The impersonal and pronominal verb volerci, used with essere, means “it takes, it necessitates”. You can only conjugate it in the third person singular and plural according to what you are referring to.

Example:

Ci vogliono quasi 2.000 euro per acquistare una lavatrice nuova.
It takes almost 2.000 euros to buy a new washing machine.

In some cases, you can employ this construction with reflexive pronouns if the necessity is personal rather than impersonal.

Example:

Le ci è voluto un anno intero per scrivere la tesi di laurea.
It took her a whole year to write her dissertation.

Volere dire

Volere Conjugation

If accompanied by the verb dire, volere means “to mean” or “to say”

Examples:

Cosa vuol dire questa parola in tedesco?
What does this word in German mean?

Che vuoi dire?
What do you mean? / What are you saying?

Now that you are able to conjugate volere in all tenses, you can easily say which are your wishes and requests in Italian.

Therefore, tell your Italians friends what you want or don’t want to do! 

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

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To go in Italian – All the uses of Andare

The verb to go in Italian is one of the first verbs you want to learn, thanks to its versatility. In Italian we go everywhere, we don’t need to switch to verbs like to drive or to fly depending on the means of transportation as you do in English.

To go in Italian translates into andare.

But, that’s not only it. Before to see all the very important uses of andare let’s refresh the conjugation of the verb to go in Italian.

To go in Italian – Andare Conjugation

io vado I go
tu vai you go
lui/lei va he/she/it goes
noi andiamo we go
voi andate you go
loro vanno they go

As you can see from the chart, it is an irregular verb. Not completely though, since the subjects noi and voi act like regular verbs. Check the full conjugation of to go in Italian here.

Examples

Andiamo! – Let’s go!

Vado a fare la spesa – I go grocery shopping

Dove andate? – Where are you all going?

Uses of the verb to go in Italian

The Italian movement verb andare is versatile thanks to its multiple meanings and uses. As a result, it has literal and figurative senses, too.

Keeping in mind its conjugation, we’ll discover its most common meanings together!

To travel, to drive

The verb to go in Italian is used also as to travel or to drive when it means to proceed with a vehicle or to go somewhere to visit.

Examples:

Stai andando troppo veloce!

You’re driving too fast!

Se continui, andrai fuori strada.

If you keep going, you’ll drive off the road.

Per favore, vai a 50 km all’ora.

Please, travel at 50 km per hour.

Mi piacerebbe andare 500 anni indietro nel passato.

I’d like to travel 500 years back into the past.

Non dovresti andare in Messico.

You should not travel to Mexico.

To fit

In this case, go in Italian it’s used with the meaning of how something fits you. The thing that fits is the subject and the person is in the form of an indirect object pronoun (mi – to me, ti -to you, gli – to him, le – to her, ci – to us, vi – to you all, gli – to them).

Examples:

Questi pantaloni ti vanno bene?

Do these pants fit you?

Penso che la gonna non mi vada.

I think that the skirt won’t fit me.

To function, to work

As in the examples below when you say that something is, or is not, working, you can use andare.

Examples:

La televisione non va.

The television is not working.

Non vanno le lampadine.

The light bulbs aren’t working.

To go away, to leave

Examples

Devo andare.

I must go.

Vado via.

I go away.

To feel

We use go in Italianto ask and express how someone, or something, is doing.

Example:

Come va? Va tutto bene, e tu?

How do you do? All good, and you?

Come vanno le vacanze?

How is vacation going?

To get along, to agree

Further, if you want to say that you get along with someone, you’ll need to use to go in Italian in the expression andare d’accordo.

Examples:

Per fortuna, andiamo tutti d’accordo.

Luckily, we all get along.

Non vado d’accordo con il mio capo.

I don’t get along with my boss.

To be ok with, to feel like

Finally, you can use andare in the third person, singular and plural, when you talk about desires, wanting to do or have something. The subject, in this use, is the thing you do or do not feel like doing, and the person is in the form of an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli).

Examples:

Vi va un gelato?

Do you all feel like an ice cream?

Ti va bene?

Is it ok with you?

Mi va di guardare un film stasera.

I feel like watching a movie tonight.

Note that by adding the preposition DI before the infinitive of the verb, you are talking about actions you would like to do.

And these were the main uses of the verb to go in Italian.

One thing to remember is that we don’t use to go in Italian to talk about the future (I’m going to do something).

Vado in Italia domani

I’m going to Italy tomorrow

Prepositions to use with to go in Italian

Same as in English, the verb to go in Italian is followed by prepositions. Andare sometimes wants the preposition A, some others IN or DA but when and how to use them correctly? To use prepositions properly, it’s not an easy task in any language, and Italian is no exception. Below you will find the most common cases with andare and prepositions.

A with the verb to go in Italian

The verb to go in Italian is often followed by the preposition a. Let’s see together all the cases.

Andare a + città

Use this preposition with the name of cities (ex. Roma, Parigi, Londra, New York, etc.) with no articles.

Andiamo a Parigi per il nostro anniversario.

We go to Paris for our anniversary.

Andare a + places

Use a with some names of places in the city (ex. casa, letto, teatro, scuola, una festa, etc.) with no articles

Example:

Quando vado a teatro, vado sempre a letto tardi.

When I go to the theatre, I always go to bed late.

Andare a + meals

Use this preposition with names of the meals (colazione, pranzo, cena) with no articles

Example:

Dove andate di solito a colazione?

Where do you usually go for breakfast?

Andare a + infinitives

To go in Italian uses this preposition before the infinitive verbs that follow (ex. studiare, ballare, fare la spesa, giocare, correre, etc.) with no articles.

Example:

Giorgio e Marco vanno a studiare a casa, mentre io vado a fare la spesa.

Giorgio and Marco go home to study while I go grocery shopping.

Andare a piedi

A follows to go in Italian to indicate the action of walking (a piedi)

Example:

Vai a piedi a scuola?

Do you go by foot to school?

Andare a + cardinal directions

Use this preposition with cardinal directions (sud, nord, est, ovest)

Example:

Lucia va a sud della città per correre.

Lucia goes to the south of the city to run.

Andare al + specific places

Use al (a + il = al) and other articulate preposition with some names of places, events and geographical names (ex. cinema, ristorante, bar, matrimonio, ricevimento, congresso, mare, lago, etc.)

Examples:

Possiamo andare al mare?

Can we go to the beach?

Domani vado al matrimoniodella mia migliore amica.

Tomorrow I’ll go to my best friend’s wedding.

IN with the verb to go in Italian

In follows to go in Italian in the situations below.

Andare in + nations, regions, continents

Use this preposition with names of nations, regions and continents (ex. Italia, Spagna, Costa Azzurra, Asia, etc.) with no articles.

Per il mio compleanno andiamo in Franciae in Belgio.

For my birthday we go to France and Belgium.

Andare negli + plural names of nations

Use this preposition with definite articles (aka preposizione articolata – in + def. art.) when used with nations or regions names in the plural (ex. gli Stati Uniti, gli Emirati Arabi, etc.)

Example

Marco va negli Stati Uniti da solo.

Marco goes to the United States by himself.

Andare in + means of transportation

Use this preposition to indicate the means of transport (ex. autobus, macchina, treno, etc.) with no articles

Example

Mio figlio va a scuola in autobus tutti i giorni.

My son goes to school by bus every day.

Andare in + places in town

Use IN with to go in Italian followed by some places in the cities, like shops and also places ending in -IA (ex. città, centro, ufficio, banca, piscina, giardino, farmacia, libreria, birreria, etc.) with no articles.

Example

Stasera andiamo in centro in pizzeria e dopo andiamo in birreria.

Tonight, we’ll go downtown to a pizza place and after that we’ll go to a brewery.

Andare in vacanza

Quest’anno Andrea va in vacanza in montagna.

This year Andrea goes on vacation in the mountains.

Andare in pensione

To go in Italian is also used to say to retire.

Mio padre va in pensione domani.

My father will retire tomorrow.

Da with to go in Italian

Andare + DA

Use this preposition to indicate the person where someone goes or stays (ex. un amico, il dottore, Maria, etc.) with or without articles depending on the person (ex. with personal names no articles, articles with names of professions)

Papà, oggi vado da Luca, la mamma va dal dottore e tu vai dal parrucchiere, va bene?

Dad, today I’ll go to Luca’s, mum will go to the doctor and you’ll go to the hairdresser, ok?

Expressions with to go in Italian

Let’s conclude with some very useful expressions you may use and hear with to go in Italian.

Andare a genio

It doesn’t mean to go to the genius or genie, as it may sound like, but to have the desire or to like.

Example

Non mi va a genio

It doesn’t appeal to me

Andare a monte and Andare in fumo

We use to go in Italian in these expressions to say that something went wrong.

Examples

Il piano è andato a monte

The plan blew up

Tutto andrà in fumo

Everything will go up in smoke

Andare a ruba

This expression means to fly off the shelf.

Example

La nutella va sempre a ruba

Nutella flies always off the shelf

Andare a letto con i polli

To go to bed with chickens means to go to bed early.

Example

Tu vai a dormire a letto con i polli

You go to sleep so early

Andare a gonfie vele

To go in Italian is used also to say that something is going very well. Same as to be on a roll.

Example

Il lavoro sta andando a gonfie vele

Work is going very well

Andare alla grande

Same as the expression above.

Example

Come vanno le cose? Va tutto alla grande!

How are things going? Everything goes perfectly!

Andare di matto

Example

Sto andando di matto!

I am getting crazy!

Andare di moda

The verb to go in Italian followed by di moda means to be a trend.

Example

I jeans sono sempre di moda

Jeans are always a trend

Andare di corpo

Sorry about this one, it means to move the bowels. But the finer way to say to go to the bathroom is andare in bagno.

Andare di + infinitive

Example

Ti va di andare al parco?

Would you like to go to the park?

Congratulations! You made it through this very long guide of andare, and its main uses! Now, you just need to andare a praticare (go practice)!

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

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Fare Conjugation – Conjugate and use Fare in Italian!

The Fare Conjugation is very important to know if you want to learn Italian. In fact, the verb fare is one of the most well-known verbs in Italian language.

We generally use it to talk about doing or making something, but there are several circumstances where it can be used, e.g. when asking and giving information about one’s profession, hobbies or leisure activities.

Examples:

Che lavoro fai? Faccio l’idraulico.

What is your job? I’m a plumber.

Vado a fare sci nautico nel Mediterraneo.

I go water skiing in the Mediterranean.    

As you can notice, there are different ways to translate the Italian verb fare in English, principally looking at the context where it is employed.     

Fare Conjugation – Presente

First, you have to know that the verb fare doesn’t follow the general rules of conjugation. For this reason, you are supposed to learn it by heart. Let’s start with the Presente, tense used to talk about habits or actions that are happening right now: 

Io faccio
Tu fai
Lui/Lei fa
Noi facciamo
Voi fate
Loro fanno

Examples:

Faccio del mio meglio ma sembra che non te ne importi nulla!

I’m doing my best but it seems you don’t really care!

Ma perché fate sempre quello che vi dice? Non ascoltatelo più!

Why do you always do what he says? Don’t listen to him anymore!

Pay attention:

Note that a common mistake lots of English speakers do when studying Italian is to confuse the third person singular fa (does) with the adverb of time fa (ago). Check out the following examples:

Luca fa sempre colazione presto la mattina perché alle 8 deve prendere il treno.

Luca always has breakfast early in the morning because he has to take the train at 8 am.

Sette anni fa sono stato in Canada insieme ad alcuni amici di mia sorella.

Seven years ago I went to Canada with some of my sister’s friends.      

Fare Conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Io ho fatto
Tu hai fatto
Lui/Lei ha fatto
Noi abbiamo fatto
Voi avete fatto
Loro hanno fatto

With the Passato Prossimo you mention actions that happened in the recent past. The verb fare requires to have as auxiliary.

Examples:

Devi stare tranquilla perché non hai fatto niente di male. Non è colpa tua!

You have to be quiet because you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not your fault!

Non ha mai fatto niente di buono nella vita. È davvero una delusione continua!

He has never done something decent in his life. He is really a bitter disappointment!

Note that:

In case of expressions with the reflexive form farsi, you are obliged to use the auxiliary to be.

Terry si è fatta bella per il suo fidanzato.

Terry primped for her boyfriend.

Ci siamo fatti in quattro per organizzare questa festa.

We bent over backwards to organize this party.   

Fare Conjugation – Imperfetto

Io facevo
Tu facevi
Lui/Lei faceva
Noi facevamo
Voi facevate
Loro facevano

You build sentences in the Imperfetto, when you want to report past habits or actions in progress in the past. 

Examples:

Quando eravamo piccoli, io e mia sorella facevamo sempre una torta di mela per il compleanno di mia madre.

When we were children, my sister and I used to make an apple pie for my mother’s birthday.

Rimproverò i suoi figli perché guardavano la tv mentre facevano i compiti.

She scolded her kids because they watched tv while they were doing their homework.

Fare Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Io avevo fatto
Tu avevi fatto
Lui/Lei aveva fatto
Noi avevamo fatto
Voi avevate fatto
Loro avevano fatto

Trapassato Remoto is mainly used to describe actions that happened before another event in the past. To form it, you need to take the imperfect of have and the past participle of the main verb.   

Examples:

Lucy aveva fatto assieme a Michael un bel progetto per la fiera della scienza.

Lucy had made a nice project with Michael for the science fair.

I medici dissero che avevano fatto tutto il possibile per curarla.  

Doctors said they had done everything possible to heal her.  

Fare Conjugation – Passato Remoto

Io feci
Tu facesti
Lui/Lei fece
Noi facemmo
Voi faceste
Loro fecero

Probably, you already know that Passato Remoto is quite unpopular among Italians, because its formation is relatively knotty. It is generally employed when we speak about facts that occured a long time ago. 

Examples:

I fratelli De Silva affittarono una Maserati e si fecero un giro sulla costa occidentale degli Stati Uniti.

De Silva Brothers rent a Maserati and they took a ride on the west coast of the USA.

Quando andai a trovare Joe, mi fece un pasticcio di carne davvero buono!

When I visited Joe, he made a really tasty meat pie for me.      

Fare Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Io ebbi fatto
Tu avesti fatto
Lui/Lei ebbe fatto
Noi avemmo fatto
Voi aveste fatto
Loro ebbero fatto

Trapassato Remoto is the less common tense in the Italian language.

It usually appears in literature, novels or history documentaries.

It is composed by the auxiliary conjugated in the Passato Remoto and the past participle of the main verb.     

Examples:

Dopo che ebbe fatto il suo dovere, poté andare a casa.

After he had done his job, he could go home.

Non appena ebbero fatto ciò che gli era stato ordinato, andarono a mangiare una pizza tutti assieme.

As soon as they had done what they were commanded, they went out for a pizza all together.   

Fare Conjugation – Futuro Semplice

Io farò
Tu farai
Lui/Lei farà
Noi faremo
Voi farete
Loro faranno

Futuro Semplice in Italian refers to events that have yet to happen.

In most cases, Italians avoid using the future in favor of the present tense.

Examples:

Farò tutto quello che è necessario per aiutarti a ritrovare i tuoi genitori.

I’ll do whatever it takes to help you find your parents.

Sono sicuro che farete un figurone alla cerimonia di premiazione.

I’m sure you will make a great impression at the award ceremony.  

Fare Conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Io avrò fatto
Tu avrai fatto
Lui/Lei avrà fatto
Noi avremo fatto
Voi avrete fatto
Loro avranno fatto

With the Futuro Anteriore you can make reference to a situation that will be finished before another one takes place. For its construction, the auxiliary in the future tense and the past participle of the main verb are required.       

Examples:

Questa volta avrà fatto la cosa giusta? Lo spero tanto!

Will he have done the right thing this time? I really hope that!

Ma dove sono finiti? Avranno fatto sicuramente tardi!

Where are they? They must have been late!

Fare Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

Io farei
Tu faresti
Lui/Lei farebbe
Noi faremmo
Voi fareste
Loro farebbero

Italian Condizionale is mostly used to express intentions, polite requests and hypotheses. Conditional sentences are built in combination with the subjunctive tense.    

Examples:

Davvero faresti tutto quello che dice Kevin? Non ci credo!

Would you really do everything Kevin says? I don’t believe you!

Anche se dessi loro una seconda possibilità, farebbero comunque gli stessi errori.

Even if I give them a second chance, they’d still make the same mistakes.

Fare Conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Io avrei fatto
Tu avresti fatto
Lui/Lei avrebbe fatto
Noi avremmo fatto
Voi avreste fatto
Loro avrebbero fatto

Examples:

Se glielo avessi detto prima, non avrebbe fatto stupidaggini!

If you had told him earlier, he wouldn’t have done anything foolish!

E voi? Avreste fatto lo stesso per me? Non credo proprio!

And you? Would you have done the same for me? I don’t think so!  

Fare Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Che io faccia
Che tu faccia
Che lui/lei faccia
Che noi facciamo
Che voi facciate
Che loro facciano

You need Italian Congiuntivo when you want to communicate uncertainty, wishes, doubts or opinions. It usually comes after the conjunction che.

In addition, it has two simple and two compound tenses.   

Examples:

Pretende che facciate qualcosa per rimediare agli errori commessi.

She does expect you to do something in order to right your wrongs.

Non lascerò che facciano ancora del male alla mia famiglia.

I won’t let them hurt my family again.    

Fare Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io abbia fatto
Che tu abbia fatto
Che lui/lei abbia fatto
Che noi abbiamo fatto
Che voi abbiate fatto
Che loro abbiano fatto

Examples:

Spero che abbia fatto tutto quanto in suo potere per aiutarla.

I hope he has done everything in his power to help her.

La docente è entusiasta del fatto che Matthew abbia fatto da solo tutto il compito di matematica.

The teacher is thrilled that Matthew has done the math test all by  himself.   

Fare Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io facessi
Che tu facessi
Che lui/lei facesse
Che noi facessimo
Che voi faceste
Che loro facessero

You make use of the Congiuntivo Imperfetto, when the main sentence has past, conditional or imperfect tense. 

Examples:

Vorrei che facessi più attenzione a quello che dici in pubblico.

I wish you would pay more attention to what you say in public.

Sarebbe meglio se faceste per un attimo le cose con calma.

It would be better if you take things easy for a while.  

Fare Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io avessi fatto
Che tu avessi fatto
Che lui/lei avesse fatto
Che noi avessimo fatto
Che voi aveste fatto
Che loro avessero fatto

Examples:

Se avesse fatto più del dovuto, a quest’ora avrebbe ricevuto una promozione.

If she had done more than necessary, she would have gotten a promotion by now. 

Credevo che avessero fatto loro confusione con i documenti, non la banca!

I thought they messed up the paperwork, not the bank!  

Fare Conjugation – Imperativo

With the Imperativo you are able to give someone instructions, orders, advice and suggestions. Being an irregular verb, fare presents its own forms, too.

Fa’/Fai (tu)
Faccia (lui/lei)
Facciamo (noi)
Fate (voi)
Facciano (loro)

Examples:

Fate come se foste a casa vostra! Arrivo subito. 

Make yourselves comfortable! I’ll be right over.  

Facciamo una sorpresa alla mamma quando torna da lavoro, ragazzi!

Guys, let’s give mum a surprise when she comes home from work!

Fare Conjugation – Infinito

Present tense Past tense
fare avere fatto

Examples:

Secondo me, essere liberi significa fare quello che si vuole nella vita.

According to me, being free means doing whatever you want in life.

Potevi fare di piú

You could have done more

Fare Conjugation – Participio

Present tense Past tense
facente fatto

Examples:

Facente parte della commissione d’esame, non potè aiutarmi in alcun modo.

Being a member of the examination board, he couldn’t help me in any way.

Mi chiedo sempre che cosa ho fatto di male per meritarmi tutto questo.

I always wonder what I have done wrong to deserve this. 

As you can see, the present tense of the Participio is normally followed by a noun that gives more information about the subject it refers to.

Instead, the past tense is the most important element to form other compound tenses.  

Fare Conjugation – Gerundio

Gerundio is another tense that you don’t use in Italian very often.

You basically find it in sentences in the present progressive.

Present tense Past tense
facendo avendo fatto

Examples:

Sembrava che stessero facendo qualche ricerca sull’apparato digerente.

It looked like they were doing some kind of research on the digestive system.

Pur non avendo fatto un buon viaggio, era comunque contento di aver preso l’autobus al posto del treno.

Despite not having had a good trip, he was still glad he caught the bus instead of the train.

If you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

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