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ITALIAN VERB

licenziare

to fire, to lay off

  • #432 most used
  • Irregular -are verb
  • Past participle: licenziato
  • Gerund: licenziando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use licenziare

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

  1. Present

    La ditta licenzia venti persone a fine anno.

    The company is laying off twenty people at the end of the year.

  2. Past

    L'hanno licenziato dopo dieci anni di lavoro.

    They fired him after ten years of work.

  3. Imperfect

    In quella fabbrica licenziavano senza preavviso.

    In that factory they fired people without notice.

  4. Future

    Se continua così, lo licenzieranno.

    If he carries on like this, they'll fire him.

  5. Conditional

    Io non licenzierei mai per un errore solo.

    I'd never fire anyone for a single mistake.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ho paura che licenzino anche mio fratello.

    I'm afraid they'll lay off my brother too.

  7. Imperative

    Licenzia il giardiniere, non viene mai.

    Fire the gardener, he never comes.

Good to know

  • Licenziarsi is to quit your job yourself: mi sono licenziato.

Verbs like this one

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