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ITALIAN VERB

sorprendere

to surprise

  • #394 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: sorpreso
  • Gerund: sorprendendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use sorprendere

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

  1. Present

    Mi sorprende che tu non lo sappia ancora.

    It surprises me that you don't know yet.

  2. Past

    Ci ha sorpreso tutti con una torta fatta da lui.

    He surprised us all with a cake he made himself.

  3. Imperfect

    Da piccoli i regali ci sorprendevano sempre.

    As children, presents always surprised us.

  4. Future

    Il finale del libro ti sorprenderà, vedrai.

    The ending of the book will surprise you, you'll see.

  5. Conditional

    Non mi sorprenderebbe vederli insieme.

    It wouldn't surprise me to see them together.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che la festa la sorprenda davvero.

    I want the party to really surprise her.

  7. Imperative

    Sorprendila con una cena fuori, le piacerà.

    Surprise her with a dinner out, she'll like it.

Good to know

  • Mi sorprende che... takes the subjunctive: mi sorprende che sia già qui.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ere verb.