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ITALIAN VERB

spiegare

to explain

  • #83 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: spiegato
  • Gerund: spiegando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use spiegare

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

  1. Present

    Mi spieghi come funziona questa macchinetta?

    Can you explain to me how this machine works?

  2. Past

    Il professore ha spiegato tutto molto bene.

    The teacher explained everything very well.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio padre mi spiegava le stelle sul terrazzo.

    My father used to explain the stars to me on the terrace.

  4. Future

    Vi spiegherò la strada con una mappa.

    I'll explain the way to you with a map.

  5. Conditional

    Te lo spiegherei, ma è una storia lunga.

    I'd explain it to you, but it's a long story.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Vuoi che ti spieghi di nuovo le regole?

    Do you want me to explain the rules again?

  7. Imperative

    Spiegami cos'è successo, con calma.

    Explain to me what happened, calmly.

Good to know

  • Spiegare also means to unfold: spiegare una mappa, le ali.

Where you hear spiegare

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

Italian · Fluency Level 1

  • Le spiego la situazione. I'll explain the situation to you.
  • Il sindaco mi ha spiegato tutto. The mayor explained everything to me.
  • Lo spiegheremo a tutto il paese. We will explain it to the whole village.

Italian · Fluency Level 2

  • Le spiego la situazione. I'll explain the situation to you.
  • Il sindaco mi ha spiegato tutto. The mayor explained everything to me.
  • Lo spiegheremo a tutto il paese. We will explain it to the whole village.
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Why It's Funny

Fluency Level 1 · Chiara, spiegami quella dei ragni.

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In the Publisher's Office

Fluency Level 2 · Certo. Le spiego i punti principali.

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Verbs like this one

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