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ITALIAN VERB

respirare

to breathe

  • #379 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: respirato
  • Gerund: respirando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use respirare

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

  1. Present

    In montagna si respira un'aria pulita.

    In the mountains you breathe clean air.

  2. Past

    Ho respirato a fondo e sono entrata.

    I took a deep breath and went in.

  3. Imperfect

    Respirava male per via del raffreddore.

    He was breathing badly because of his cold.

  4. Future

    Al mare respireremo finalmente un po'.

    At the seaside we'll finally be able to breathe a little.

  5. Conditional

    Senza traffico la città respirerebbe meglio.

    Without traffic the city would breathe better.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il dottore vuole che respiri lentamente.

    The doctor wants you to breathe slowly.

  7. Imperative

    Respira piano, va tutto bene.

    Breathe slowly, everything's fine.

Where you hear respirare

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

Italian · Advanced Level 2

  • Respira piano, tesoro. Breathe slowly, sweetheart.
  • Ho respirato e ho parlato. I breathed and I spoke.
  • Domani respirerai e parlerai piano. Tomorrow you'll breathe and speak slowly.

Italian · Advanced Level 3

  • Respira piano, tesoro. Breathe slowly, sweetheart.
  • Ho respirato e ho parlato. I breathed and I spoke.
  • Domani respirerai e parlerai piano. Tomorrow you'll breathe and speak slowly.
27
The Count

Advanced Level 2 · Non respiro più.

Needs a subscription 13
A Busy Sunday

Advanced Level 3 · Respira. Prima i primi, poi il pane.

Needs a subscription 18
Giulia's Midwife

Fluency Level 2 · Respiri, signora. Piano, con calma.

Needs a subscription 10
Landing in Rome

Fluency Level 3 · Respira. Piano. Non c'è fretta.

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Verbs like this one

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