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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

costare

to cost

  • #105 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: costato
  • Gerund: costando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

How to use costare

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

  1. Present

    Quanto costa un biglietto per Firenze?

    How much is a ticket to Florence?

  2. Past

    La cena è costata trenta euro a testa.

    Dinner cost thirty euros each.

  3. Imperfect

    Una volta il caffè costava mille lire.

    Once upon a time a coffee cost a thousand lire.

  4. Future

    Il viaggio costerà circa duecento euro.

    The trip will cost about two hundred euros.

  5. Conditional

    Costerebbe meno prendere il treno.

    It would cost less to take the train.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Temo che costi troppo per noi.

    I'm afraid it costs too much for us.

Good to know

  • Quanto costa? is how much is it; quanto costano? for more than one thing.
  • Costare takes essere in the passato prossimo: è costato caro.

Where you hear costare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Un etto di mortadella costa due euro. A hundred grams of mortadella costs two euros.
  • Il parmigiano è costato tre euro. The parmesan cost three euros.
  • A Lecce, la mia pasta fresca costerà poco. In Lecce, my fresh pasta will cost very little.

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Un etto di mortadella costa due euro. A hundred grams of mortadella costs two euros.
  • Il parmigiano è costato tre euro. The parmesan cost three euros.
  • A Lecce, la mia pasta fresca costerà poco. In Lecce, my fresh pasta will cost very little.
10
The Dishwasher Broke

Beginner Level 2 · Va bene. Quanto costerà?

Needs a subscription 27
The Hole in the Roof

Beginner Level 2 · Quanto costerà? · Costerà tanto. Forse duemila euro.

Needs a subscription 5
Half Now, the Rest in December

Beginner Level 3 · Carmine, quanto costa tutto?

Needs a subscription 7
The Red Threads

Beginner Level 3 · Un grammo! E quanto costa?

Needs a subscription 11
Franco's Numbers

Intermediate Level 3 · Costerebbe troppo. Almeno cinquantamila.

Needs a subscription 22
Persuading Zio Antonio

Advanced Level 1 · Certo. A Lei non costerà nulla.

Needs a subscription 25
Insurance

Advanced Level 1 · Il terremoto non è coperto. Costa di più.

Needs a subscription 7
A Councillor's Visit

Advanced Level 2 · Poche. E i servizi costano.

Needs a subscription 1
The Business Plan

Advanced Level 3 · Quanto costa aprire la trattoria? · Quanto costa al mese?

Free 2
The Flour Supplier

Advanced Level 3 · Quanto costa la farina al quintale?

Free 11
The Menu

Advanced Level 3 · Costa poco e piace a tutti.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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