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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

ascoltare

to listen, to listen to

  • #94 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: ascoltato
  • Gerund: ascoltando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I listen
  2. tu you listen
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she listens
  4. noi we listen
  5. voi you all listen
  6. loro they listen

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I listened
  2. tu you listened
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she listened
  4. noi we listened
  5. voi you all listened
  6. loro they listened

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to listen
  2. tu you used to listen
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to listen
  4. noi we used to listen
  5. voi you all used to listen
  6. loro they used to listen

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will listen
  2. tu you will listen
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will listen
  4. noi we will listen
  5. voi you all will listen
  6. loro they will listen

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would listen
  2. tu you would listen
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would listen
  4. noi we would listen
  5. voi you all would listen
  6. loro they would listen

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I listen
  2. tu (that) you listen
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she listen
  4. noi (that) we listen
  5. voi (that) you all listen
  6. loro (that) they listen

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu listen!
  2. Lei listen! (formal)
  3. noi listen! (let’s)
  4. voi listen! (all of you)

How to use ascoltare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ascolto musica mentre lavoro.

    I listen to music while I work.

  2. Past

    Hai ascoltato il messaggio della nonna?

    Did you listen to Grandma's message?

  3. Imperfect

    Da ragazzo ascoltavo la radio tutta la notte.

    As a boy I listened to the radio all night.

  4. Future

    Ascolterò il podcast in treno.

    I'll listen to the podcast on the train.

  5. Conditional

    Ti ascolterei volentieri, ma ho fretta.

    I'd gladly listen to you, but I'm in a hurry.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che mi ascolti fino alla fine.

    I want you to listen to me to the end.

  7. Imperative

    Ascolta, ho un'idea per sabato.

    Listen, I have an idea for Saturday.

Good to know

  • Ascoltare takes no preposition: ascolto la radio. Sentire is to hear.

Where you hear ascoltare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Advanced Level 1

  • Ascolto la nonna ogni sera. I listen to Nonna every evening.
  • Non l'ho ascoltata. I didn't listen to her.
  • D'ora in poi la ascolterò. From now on I'll listen to her.

Italian · Advanced Level 3

  • Ascolto la nonna ogni sera. I listen to Nonna every evening.
  • Non l'ho ascoltata. I didn't listen to her.
  • D'ora in poi la ascolterò. From now on I'll listen to her.
22
Persuading Zio Antonio

Advanced Level 1 · Prego, avvocato. La ascolto.

Needs a subscription 3
Negotiating

Advanced Level 3 · La ascolto, signora.

Needs a subscription 1
Nonna Begins

Fluency Level 2 · Pronto, Laura? Sei sola? Allora ascolta. · Sono sola, Nonna. Ti ascolto.

Free 26
Reading to Nonna

Fluency Level 2 · Ascolta. C'era una volta un paese di montagna. · Vai, vai. Ti ascolto.

Needs a subscription 27
The Presentation in Rome

Fluency Level 2 · A Boston, al telefono. Ci ascolta.

Needs a subscription 30
The Ticket

Fluency Level 2 · Ragazzi, ascoltate. Nonna ha comprato il biglietto.

Needs a subscription 30
At the Door, Again

Fluency Level 3 · Come la prima volta, a Bologna. Ascolta.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -are verb.