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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

capitare

to happen, to turn up by chance

  • #181 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: capitato
  • Gerund: capitando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use capitare

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

  1. Present

    Capita a tutti di sbagliare, tranquillo.

    Everyone makes mistakes, don't worry.

  2. Past

    Mi è capitato di vederla al mercato.

    I happened to see her at the market.

  3. Imperfect

    Capitava spesso di incontrarlo al bar.

    We often happened to run into him at the café.

  4. Future

    Se capiterai a Bologna, chiamami.

    If you happen to be in Bologna, call me.

  5. Conditional

    Un'occasione così non capiterebbe due volte.

    A chance like this wouldn't come twice.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che non ti capiti mai una cosa simile.

    I hope something like that never happens to you.

  7. Imperative

    Capita da noi quando vuoi, la porta è aperta.

    Drop by ours whenever you like, the door is open.

Good to know

  • Capita! is "it happens!"; mi è capitato di is "I happened to".
  • Se capiti a Roma is "if you happen to be in Rome".

Verbs like this one

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