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ITALIAN VERB

giocare

to play (a game)

  • #51 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: giocato
  • Gerund: giocando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use giocare

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

  1. Present

    I bambini giocano in giardino da stamattina.

    The kids have been playing in the garden since this morning.

  2. Past

    Ieri sera abbiamo giocato a carte fino a tardi.

    Last night we played cards until late.

  3. Imperfect

    Da piccoli giocavamo a nascondino in cortile.

    As kids we played hide-and-seek in the courtyard.

  4. Future

    Domenica giocheremo a calcetto con i colleghi.

    On Sunday we'll play five-a-side with colleagues.

  5. Conditional

    Giocherei a tennis, ma il campo è bagnato.

    I'd play tennis, but the court's wet.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È meglio che i bambini giochino fuori oggi.

    It's better the kids play outside today.

  7. Imperative

    Gioca con tuo fratello, non con il telefono.

    Play with your brother, not with the phone.

Good to know

  • Giocare a is to play a game or a sport: gioco a calcio, a carte. Suonare is to play an instrument.

Where you hear giocare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Giochiamo a tombola? Shall we play tombola?
  • Ho giocato a tombola con Rosa. I played tombola with Rosa.
  • Domani giocheremo ancora. Tomorrow we will play again.
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Tombola at Gino's

Beginner Level 3 · Giochiamo a tombola? Due euro a cartella.

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Verbs like this one

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