Fare is an extremely important verb in Italian, so make sure you learn it and use it properly!
Before, starting your quiz, you may want to go over these lessons:
This Italian quiz will test your knowledge of the present tense of fare and your understanding of its use in the most common expressions
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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.
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:
Here below you find the most common uses of fare in Italian with some examples.
You can use fare in Italian to talk about your job.
Cosa fai nella vita? Faccio la cameriera.
What is your job? I’m a waitress.
Fare in Italian can also be employed to talk about your hobbies and interests.
Cosa fai nel tempo libero? Di solito faccio lunghe passeggiate.
What do you do in your free time? I usually go for long walks.
You can apply the third person of fare in Italian, “fa”, followed by an adjective to describe the weather.
Oggi fa caldo!
Today is hot!
Il meteo dice che domani fa freddo.
The weather forecast says that tomorrow will be cold.
To convey the result of a math calculation you need to use fare in Italian.
Tutti sanno che due più due fa quattro.
Everybody knows that two plus two is four.
Very often you can resort to fare in Italian the same way as make in English.
Ho fatto un tavolo di legno.
I made a wooden table.
Queste scarpe sono state fatte in Italia.
These shoes were made in Italy.
When you “create something with your hands” you need to use fare in Italian.
La mamma fa i biscotti e io faccio il pane.
Mom bakes cookies and I bake bread.
Followed by the preposition “da”, fare in Italian means “to act as” or “serve as”.
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.
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.
You make reference to the verb fare in Italian instead of to have in this statement.
Faccio colazione alle 8:00.
I have breakfast at 8:00.
In many expressions the verb to take is translated into fare in Italian.
Fai la doccia la sera o la mattina?
Do you take a shower in the evening or in the morning?
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.
You can also use fare due passi with the same meaning, literally to make two steps.
Facciamo due passi.
Let’s take a walk.
Non voglio fare una passeggiata.
I don’t want to take a walk.
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.
For this statement you can either use schiacciare or fare in Italian.
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.
You can say parlare or chiacchierare also with this statement using the verb fare in Italian.
Vieni qua e facciamo due chiacchiere.
Come here and let’s have a chat.
Gli impiegati fanno una pausa solo per il pranzo.
Employees take a break only for lunch.
Non vedo l’ora di fare un viaggio.
I can’t wait to take a trip.
Fare in Italian is also employed for taking pictures.
La ragazza fa tante foto.
The girl takes many pictures.
Exactly, in this expression Italians prefer to apply fare instead of comprare (to buy).
Hai fatto il biglietto per il treno?
Did you buy the train ticket?
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.
Posso farti una domanda?
Can I ask you a question?
Non mi piace fare la fila.
I don’t like to wait in line.
Mio figlio non fa sport.
My son doesn’t do sports.
Fate ginnastica tutti i giorni?
Do you exercise every day?
You can either look at this expression with fare in Italian or brindare.
A Capodanno si fa un brindisi.
On New Year’s Eve people make a toast.
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.
Chiama Jay / Telefona a Jay e digli di venire qui.
Call Jay and tell him to come here.
Actually, this idiom with fare in Italian literally means to make peace.
Mi dispiace tanto, facciamo pace?
I am so sorry, can we make up?
Io e mio marito facciamo la spesa la domenica.
My husband and I go grocery shopping on Sundays.
Unlike the previous idiom, when Italians go shopping for clothes or other items, they usually say fare le spese or fare shopping.
Le mie amiche fanno shopping al centro commerciale.
My friends go shopping at the mall.
In these two statements, instead of the verb essere (to be) you must apply fare in Italian
Faccio presto, non ti preoccupare!
I’ll be quick, don’t worry!
Sbrigati o farai tardi!
Hurry up or you will be late!
Non fare finta che non ti interessi.
Don’t pretend you don’t care.
Fare in Italian can also replace regalare (to gift or to give as a gift) when followed bythe statement un regalo.
Gli hai fatto un regalo per il compleanno?
Did you give him a present for his birthday?
Ho fatto di tutto per convincerlo, ma non ci sono riuscito.
I did everything possible to convince him, but I failed.
Non è molto brava a fare amicizia, vero?
She is not very good at making friends, is she?
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.
Domani mi serve la macchina. Hai fatto il pieno?
Tomorrow I need the car. Did you fill up the gas tank?
If you want to tell someone to be careful, you must employ fare in Italian, not pagare (to pay).
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.
Potrebbe cortesemente prestare attenzione quando parlo?
Could you please pay attention when I’m talking?
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.
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?
Facciamo una festa questa sera. Sarai dei nostri?
We are throwing a party this evening. Will you join us?
Ha fatta davvero del suo meglio per superare tutti gli esami.
He truly did his best to pass all his exams.
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.
Ecco il conto. Facciamo alla romana?
Here is the check. Shall we split it?
This statement has the same meaning of the expression fare da solo. However, this last one is much more common than the first one.
Non chiede mai aiuto. Fa sempre tutto da sé.
She never asks for help. She always does everything on her own.
This other statement including fare in Italian is mostly used when talking to children.
Fai il bravo / la brava quando mamma non c’è, ok?
Be nice when mom isn’t here, ok?
Faccio fatica a credergli.
I struggle believing him
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.
Come va la gamba oggi? Fa male.
How’s your leg today? It hurts.
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.
Non so se farò in tempo per la festa.
I don’t know if I will make it on time for the party.
Mi fa piacere se vieni.
I’ll be glad if you come.
Mi sa che hai fatto colpo.
I think you impressed them.
Non posso fare a meno del caffè.
I can’t do without coffee
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.
Mi ha fatto davvero una buona impressione la tua nuova fidanzata.
Your new girlfriend really made a good impression on me.
Luca mi fa impressione quando mi guarda fisso negli occhi.
Luca shocks / scares me when he stares at me.
Finally, fare in Italian,followed by an infinitive, translates the English expressions to make, to get and to let + infinitive.
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.
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. |
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 |
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!
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.
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.
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 |
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!
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.
| 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.
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!
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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.
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!
| 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.
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.
| Io avrei fatto |
| Tu avresti fatto |
| Lui/Lei avrebbe fatto |
| Noi avremmo fatto |
| Voi avreste fatto |
| Loro avrebbero fatto |
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!
| 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.
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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.
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.
| 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 |
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!
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) |
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!
| Present tense | Past tense |
| fare | avere fatto |
Secondo me, essere liberi significa fare quello che si vuole nella vita.
According to me, being free means doing whatever you want in life.
You could have done more
| Present tense | Past tense |
| facente | fatto |
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.
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 |
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:
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