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ITALIAN VERB

cantare

to sing

  • #145 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: cantato
  • Gerund: cantando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use cantare

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

  1. Present

    Mia sorella canta in un coro da anni.

    My sister has been singing in a choir for years.

  2. Past

    Abbiamo cantato tutta la sera intorno al fuoco.

    We sang all evening around the fire.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio padre cantava sempre in macchina.

    My father always sang in the car.

  4. Future

    Canterò una canzone al matrimonio di Luca.

    I'll sing a song at Luca's wedding.

  5. Conditional

    Canterei volentieri, ma sono stonato.

    I'd happily sing, but I'm tone-deaf.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non credo che Marco canti stasera, ha la tosse.

    I don't think Marco's singing tonight, he has a cough.

  7. Imperative

    Canta con noi, la conosci questa!

    Sing with us, you know this one!

Good to know

  • Cantare sotto la doccia is to sing in the shower, a classic.

Where you hear cantare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Cantiamo intorno al fuoco. We sing around the fire.
  • Abbiamo cantato tutti insieme. We all sang together.
  • A mezzanotte canteremo in piazza. At midnight we will sing in the square.

Italian · Intermediate Level 1

  • Cantiamo intorno al fuoco. We sing around the fire.
  • Abbiamo cantato tutti insieme. We all sang together.
  • A mezzanotte canteremo in piazza. At midnight we will sing in the square.
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Midnight in the Square

Beginner Level 3 · Cantiamo intorno al fuoco. · Cantiamo!

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Snowstorm at the Hotel

Intermediate Level 1 · Anzi! Hanno cantato tutta la sera.

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The First Night

Fluency Level 3 · In questa camera, mia madre cantava la sera. · Allora canta tu, Nonna. Piano. Io ascolto.

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Verbs like this one

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