Skip to content
fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

usare

to use

  • #64 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: usato
  • Gerund: usando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use usare

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

  1. Present

    Uso il telefono per pagare quasi tutto.

    I use my phone to pay for almost everything.

  2. Past

    Hai usato il mio computer ieri sera?

    Did you use my computer last night?

  3. Imperfect

    Prima usavamo sempre le mappe di carta.

    We used to always use paper maps.

  4. Future

    Userò la bici per andare al lavoro.

    I'll use the bike to get to work.

  5. Conditional

    Userei volentieri la bici, ma piove.

    I'd happily use the bike, but it's raining.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Preferisco che usiate la porta sul retro.

    I'd rather you used the back door.

  7. Imperative

    Usa l'olio buono per l'insalata.

    Use the good oil for the salad.

Good to know

  • Si usa così means "that's how it's done" or "that's the fashion".

Verbs like this one

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