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ITALIAN VERB

contare

to count

  • #184 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: contato
  • Gerund: contando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use contare

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

  1. Present

    Mio figlio conta già fino a cento.

    My son already counts up to a hundred.

  2. Past

    Ho contato i soldi due volte, manca un euro.

    I counted the money twice, one euro is missing.

  3. Imperfect

    Contavo i giorni che mancavano alle vacanze.

    I was counting the days until the holidays.

  4. Future

    Conteremo i voti stasera, dopo la cena.

    We'll count the votes tonight, after dinner.

  5. Conditional

    Conterei di più sugli amici che sulla fortuna.

    I'd count more on friends than on luck.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che la mia opinione conti qualcosa.

    I hope my opinion counts for something.

  7. Imperative

    Conta fino a dieci prima di rispondere.

    Count to ten before you answer.

Good to know

  • Contare su is to count on: conto su di te.
  • Non conta niente is it doesn't matter at all.

Where you hear contare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Conto i soldi. I'm counting the money.
  • Ho contato tutto. I counted everything.
  • Conterò stasera. I will count tonight.

Italian · Advanced Level 2

  • Conto i soldi. I'm counting the money.
  • Ho contato tutto. I counted everything.
  • Conterò stasera. I will count tonight.
25
Payday

Beginner Level 2 · Sì, in contanti. Conta!

Needs a subscription 10
Door to Door

Advanced Level 2 · Perché conta. · Questa volta conta il suo voto.

Needs a subscription 26
Voting Day

Advanced Level 2 · Alle undici di sera. Poi si conta.

Needs a subscription 27
The Count

Advanced Level 2 · Silenzio, per favore. Si contano le ultime.

Needs a subscription 14
Filomena

Fluency Level 3 · Lo so. Li ho contati tutti.

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Verbs like this one

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