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ITALIAN VERB

mettere

to put

  • #18 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: messo
  • Gerund: mettendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use mettere

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

  1. Present

    Dove metto le borse della spesa?

    Where do I put the shopping bags?

  2. Past

    Ho messo il latte in frigo, tranquilla.

    I put the milk in the fridge, don't worry.

  3. Imperfect

    Mia nonna metteva sempre troppo sale.

    My grandmother always put in too much salt.

  4. Future

    Metteremo i fiori sul balcone.

    We'll put the flowers on the balcony.

  5. Conditional

    Io metterei il divano vicino alla finestra.

    I'd put the sofa near the window.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che tu metta il casco, sempre.

    I want you to put on the helmet, always.

  7. Imperative

    Metti il pane in tavola, per favore.

    Put the bread on the table, please.

Good to know

  • Mettere is to put; ci metto dieci minuti is it takes me ten minutes.
  • Mettere also means to put on clothes: metto il cappotto.

Where you hear mettere

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

Italian · Intermediate Level 1

  • Metto il sale nell'acqua. I put the salt in the water.
  • Ho messo la legna vicino al camino. I put the wood next to the fireplace.
  • Domani metterò la giacca pesante. Tomorrow I'll put on the heavy jacket.

Italian · Advanced Level 3

  • Metto il sale nell'acqua. I put the salt in the water.
  • Ho messo la legna vicino al camino. I put the wood next to the fireplace.
  • Domani metterò la giacca pesante. Tomorrow I'll put on the heavy jacket.
23
Payday and the Roof

Intermediate Level 1 · Sì. Ne ho messi da parte mille.

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The Menu

Advanced Level 3 · E cosa metteresti al suo posto? · Metterei la pasta fatta a mano.

Needs a subscription 10
Street Food Lesson

Fluency Level 1 · Affare fatto. Ma il limone ce lo metto io.

Needs a subscription 11
Not My Name

Fluency Level 2 · No. Non mettere il mio nome.

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Verbs like this one

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