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ITALIAN VERB

separare

to separate

  • #311 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: separato
  • Gerund: separando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use separare

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

  1. Present

    Separo sempre la plastica dalla carta.

    I always separate the plastic from the paper.

  2. Past

    Ho separato i vestiti bianchi da quelli colorati.

    I separated the white clothes from the coloured ones.

  3. Imperfect

    Un muro separava il giardino dalla strada.

    A wall separated the garden from the street.

  4. Future

    Separeremo le due stanze con una libreria.

    We'll separate the two rooms with a bookcase.

  5. Conditional

    Separerei i bambini, così litigano meno.

    I'd separate the children, that way they fight less.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Bisogna che separi il tuorlo dall'albume.

    You need to separate the yolk from the white.

  7. Imperative

    Separa il vetro dal resto, per favore.

    Separate the glass from the rest, please.

Good to know

  • Separare i rifiuti is sorting the rubbish for recycling, la raccolta differenziata.

Verbs like this one

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