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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

esistere

to exist

  • #179 most used
  • Regular -ere verb
  • Past participle: esistuto
  • Gerund: esistendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

How to use esistere

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

  1. Present

    Esiste un treno diretto per Palermo?

    Is there a direct train to Palermo?

  2. Past

    Quel negozio è esistito per cent'anni.

    That shop existed for a hundred years.

  3. Imperfect

    Quando ero piccolo non esistevano i cellulari.

    When I was little, mobile phones didn't exist.

  4. Future

    Tra dieci anni questo lavoro non esisterà più.

    In ten years this job won't exist anymore.

  5. Conditional

    Senza di te questo progetto non esisterebbe.

    Without you this project wouldn't exist.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non credo che esista un posto più bello.

    I don't think a more beautiful place exists.

Good to know

  • Esistere takes essere in the passato prossimo: è esistito.
  • Non esiste! is a strong no way, there's no way.

Where you hear esistere

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

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Una sfoglia senza uova non esiste, cara. A sheet of pasta without eggs doesn't exist, dear.
  • Questa trattoria è sempre esistita. This trattoria has always been here.
  • Un giorno il mio negozio di pasta esisterà davvero! One day my pasta shop will really exist!

Italian · Advanced Level 2

  • Una sfoglia senza uova non esiste, cara. A sheet of pasta without eggs doesn't exist, dear.
  • Questa trattoria è sempre esistita. This trattoria has always been here.
  • Un giorno il mio negozio di pasta esisterà davvero! One day my pasta shop will really exist!

Verbs like this one

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