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ITALIAN VERB

provare

to try

  • #65 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: provato
  • Gerund: provando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use provare

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

  1. Present

    Provo a chiamarlo un'altra volta.

    I'll try calling him one more time.

  2. Past

    Hai provato la torta? È buonissima.

    Have you tried the cake? It's delicious.

  3. Imperfect

    Provavo ad aprire la porta, ma niente.

    I was trying to open the door, but nothing.

  4. Future

    Proverò quel ristorante nuovo in centro.

    I'll try that new restaurant in the centre.

  5. Conditional

    Proverei la taglia più piccola, questa è larga.

    I'd try the smaller size, this one's loose.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che tu provi almeno una volta.

    I want you to try at least once.

  7. Imperative

    Prova questo vestito, ti starà benissimo.

    Try this dress on, it'll look great on you.

Good to know

  • Provare a is to try to do something; provare something is to try it on or to taste it.
  • Provare is also to feel: provo una grande gioia.

Where you hear provare

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

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Proviamo! Let's try!
  • Ho provato a ballare. I tried to dance.
  • Domani proveremo ancora. Tomorrow we'll try again.

Italian · Fluency Level 3

  • Proviamo! Let's try!
  • Ho provato a ballare. I tried to dance.
  • Domani proveremo ancora. Tomorrow we'll try again.
20
The Dance

Beginner Level 2 · Va bene, proviamo.

Needs a subscription 1
Nonna Has Decided

Fluency Level 3 · Non provare a fermarmi. Vengo, e basta.

Free 21
Filomena's Kitchen

Fluency Level 3 · Le mani si ricordano. Prova.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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