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ITALIAN VERB

chiamare

to call

  • #32 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: chiamato
  • Gerund: chiamando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use chiamare

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

  1. Present

    Ti chiamo dopo cena, va bene?

    I'll call you after dinner, okay?

  2. Past

    Ho chiamato il ristorante per prenotare.

    I called the restaurant to book.

  3. Imperfect

    Mia madre mi chiamava ogni sera.

    My mother called me every evening.

  4. Future

    Vi chiameremo appena arriviamo.

    We'll call you as soon as we arrive.

  5. Conditional

    Chiamerei un taxi, piove troppo.

    I'd call a taxi, it's raining too much.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che mi chiami quando atterri.

    I want you to call me when you land.

  7. Imperative

    Chiama il cameriere, per favore.

    Call the waiter, please.

Good to know

  • Chiamare is to call someone by phone or by name; chiamarsi is to be called.

Where you hear chiamare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Ti chiamo ogni sera alle nove, tesoro. I call you every evening at nine, sweetheart.
  • Stasera ho chiamato la nonna dal telefono nuovo. Tonight I called my grandmother from the new phone.
  • Domani ti chiamo per il gruppo della classe. Tomorrow I'll call you about the class group.

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Ti chiamo ogni sera alle nove, tesoro. I call you every evening at nine, sweetheart.
  • Stasera ho chiamato la nonna dal telefono nuovo. Tonight I called my grandmother from the new phone.
  • Domani ti chiamo per il gruppo della classe. Tomorrow I'll call you about the class group.
9
A New Phone

Beginner Level 1 · Ti chiamo.

Needs a subscription 13
Nonna Asks About Tomorrow

Beginner Level 2 · Brava. Chiamami domani sera. · Ti chiamerò, Nonna. Buonanotte!

Needs a subscription 23
Assunta Is Unwell

Beginner Level 2 · Chiamo la dottoressa.

Needs a subscription 29
The Emigrants Leave

Beginner Level 2 · Certo. E tu chiamami. · Chiamami stasera!

Needs a subscription 8
Nonna's Birthday Is Coming

Beginner Level 3 · La chiamiamo dal bar, tutto il paese!

Needs a subscription 12
A Letter from the Bank

Intermediate Level 1 · Allora è un errore. Chiama la banca.

Needs a subscription 13
The Quay

Intermediate Level 3 · Lo stesso mare... Adesso la chiamo.

Needs a subscription 26
Zio Antonio Makes Peace

Intermediate Level 3 · Puoi ancora farlo. Chiamala.

Needs a subscription 18
The Notary on the Phone

Advanced Level 1 · Signora, La chiamo in merito alla pratica.

Needs a subscription 5
The First Shift

Advanced Level 3 · Chiamami, se c'è un problema.

Needs a subscription 30
The Television Calls

Advanced Level 3 · Pronto, signora Santilli? Chiamo dalla televisione.

Needs a subscription 6
The Blunder

Fluency Level 1 · Davvero. Hanno già chiamato in dieci.

Needs a subscription

And 4 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

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