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ITALIAN VERB

suonare

to sound; to ring, to play an instrument

  • #147 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: suonato
  • Gerund: suonando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use suonare

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

  1. Present

    Suona il telefono, rispondi tu?

    The phone's ringing, will you get it?

  2. Past

    Ieri sera abbiamo suonato fino a mezzanotte.

    Last night we played until midnight.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio padre suonava la chitarra dopo cena.

    My father used to play the guitar after dinner.

  4. Future

    Suonerò il campanello tre volte, così sai che sono io.

    I'll ring the bell three times, so you know it's me.

  5. Conditional

    Suonerei il pianoforte, se non fosse così tardi.

    I'd play the piano, if it weren't so late.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Aspettiamo che suoni la campanella.

    Let's wait for the bell to ring.

  7. Imperative

    Suona qualcosa di allegro, per favore.

    Play something cheerful, please.

Good to know

  • Suonare is for instruments and bells; giocare is for games and sports.

Where you hear suonare

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

Italian · Fluency Level 2

  • Il nome suona bene. The name sounds good.
  • Il telefono ha suonato alle quattro. The phone rang at four.
  • Domenica suonerà la banda in piazza. On Sunday the band will play in the square.
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The Name

Fluency Level 2 · Vincenzo di Fontelupo. Suona bene.

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Verbs like this one

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