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ITALIAN VERB

cucire

to sew

  • Irregular -ire verb
  • Past participle: cucito
  • Gerund: cucendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use cucire

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

  1. Present

    Mia madre cuce ancora i vestiti a mano.

    My mother still sews clothes by hand.

  2. Past

    Ho cucito il bottone della camicia da solo.

    I sewed the shirt button on myself.

  3. Imperfect

    La nonna cuciva davanti alla finestra.

    Grandma used to sew by the window.

  4. Future

    Ti cucirò l'orlo dei pantaloni stasera.

    I'll hem your trousers tonight.

  5. Conditional

    Lo cucirei io, ma non ho il filo giusto.

    I'd sew it myself, but I don't have the right thread.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cerco qualcuno che cucia una toppa sullo zaino.

    I'm looking for someone to sew a patch on the backpack.

  7. Imperative

    Cuci piano, l'ago è sottile.

    Sew slowly, the needle is thin.

Good to know

  • Cucire keeps its -i-: io cucio, loro cuciono, not -isc-.

Where you hear cucire

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

Italian · Fluency Level 2

  • Cucio io il vestito. I'll sew the dress myself.
  • Mia madre ha cucito tutta la notte. My mother sewed all night.
  • Cucirò una coperta per il bambino. I'll sew a blanket for the baby.
12
The Night Before She Left

Fluency Level 2 · Mi cucì i soldi nel cappotto, uno a uno.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ire verb.