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ITALIAN VERB

formare

to form

  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: formato
  • Gerund: formando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use formare

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

  1. Present

    L'azienda forma i nuovi dipendenti ogni anno.

    The company trains new employees every year.

  2. Past

    Abbiamo formato un gruppo di lettura in biblioteca.

    We formed a reading group at the library.

  3. Imperfect

    Le nuvole formavano strane figure nel cielo.

    The clouds were forming strange shapes in the sky.

  4. Future

    Formeremo le squadre prima della partita.

    We'll form the teams before the match.

  5. Conditional

    Con queste persone formerei una bella squadra.

    With these people I'd form a good team.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È meglio che si formi una fila ordinata.

    It's better for an orderly queue to form.

  7. Imperative

    Formate un cerchio e sedetevi per terra.

    Form a circle and sit on the floor.

Good to know

  • Formare is also to train: l'azienda forma i nuovi dipendenti.

Where you hear formare

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

Italian · Advanced Level 2

  • Formiamo un comitato stasera. We form a committee tonight.
  • Abbiamo formato il comitato ieri. We formed the committee yesterday.
  • Formeremo un gruppo di volontari. We will form a group of volunteers.
6
The Committee

Advanced Level 2 · Allora, formiamo un comitato per il no.

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Verbs like this one

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