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ITALIAN VERB

scherzare

to joke

  • #233 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: scherzato
  • Gerund: scherzando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use scherzare

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

  1. Present

    Scherzo, dai, non ti preoccupare!

    I'm joking, come on, don't worry!

  2. Past

    Ho scherzato, il regalo è per te.

    I was joking, the present is for you.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio zio scherzava sempre con i camerieri.

    My uncle was always joking with the waiters.

  4. Future

    Tra qualche anno ci scherzeremo sopra.

    In a few years we'll joke about it.

  5. Conditional

    Non scherzerei con il capo su questo.

    I wouldn't joke with the boss about this.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che tu scherzi, non è possibile!

    I hope you're joking, that can't be!

  7. Imperative

    Non scherzare, dimmi la verità.

    Don't joke, tell me the truth.

Good to know

  • Scherzi? or Stai scherzando? is "are you kidding?"; non scherzo, I'm not joking.

Where you hear scherzare

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

Italian · Fluency Level 1

  • Scherzo, dai! I'm joking, come on!
  • Hai scherzato tutta la sera. You joked all evening.
  • Non scherzerò più sul ritardo. I won't joke about being late any more.
29
Dario's Slang

Fluency Level 1 · Scherzo! Spacca pure il menù.

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Verbs like this one

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