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ITALIAN VERB

preparare

to prepare, to make (food)

  • #108 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: preparato
  • Gerund: preparando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use preparare

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

  1. Present

    Stasera preparo io la cena.

    Tonight I'm making dinner.

  2. Past

    Ho preparato la valigia ieri sera.

    I packed my suitcase last night.

  3. Imperfect

    La nonna preparava la pasta a mano ogni domenica.

    Grandma made pasta by hand every Sunday.

  4. Future

    Prepareremo tutto prima che arrivino gli ospiti.

    We'll prepare everything before the guests arrive.

  5. Conditional

    Preparerei un tiramisù, se avessi le uova.

    I'd make a tiramisu, if I had the eggs.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che prepariate i documenti per domani.

    I want you to prepare the documents for tomorrow.

  7. Imperative

    Prepara il caffè, io taglio la torta.

    Make the coffee, I'll cut the cake.

Good to know

  • Prepararsi is to get ready: mi preparo in dieci minuti.
  • Preparare la valigia is to pack your suitcase.

Where you hear preparare

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

Italian · Intermediate Level 2

  • Preparo la pasta per tutti. I'm making pasta for everyone.
  • Ho preparato la torta ieri sera. I made the cake last night.
  • Domani preparerò la pizza. Tomorrow I'll make the pizza.

Italian · Intermediate Level 3

  • Preparo la pasta per tutti. I'm making pasta for everyone.
  • Ho preparato la torta ieri sera. I made the cake last night.
  • Domani preparerò la pizza. Tomorrow I'll make the pizza.

Verbs like this one

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