Amare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
amare — to love — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of loving a person, a place or an activity, and it is completely regular. It is the model verb many textbooks use for the -are conjugation because every form follows the pattern exactly. On this page you will find amare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the amare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the amare present tense page.
Example sentences with amare
In the present tense
- “Io amo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I love Maria”
- “Tu ami Maria ogni giorno.” — “You love Maria”
- “Lui ama Maria ogni giorno.” — “He loves Maria”
- “Noi amiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We love Maria”
- “Voi amate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You love Maria”
- “Loro amano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They love Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho amato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have loved Maria”
- “Tu hai amato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have loved Maria”
- “Lui ha amato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has loved Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo amato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have loved Maria”
- “Voi avete amato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have loved Maria”
- “Loro hanno amato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have loved Maria”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “Io amavo Maria una volta.” — “I used to love Maria”
- “Tu amerai Maria domani.” — “You will love Maria”
- “Lui amerebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would love Maria”
- “È importante che noi amiamo Maria.” — “It is important that we love Maria”
- “Ama Maria!” — “Love Maria!”
How amare is used
The first thing to know about amare is its core meaning: to love. It is the verb of loving a person, a place or an activity, and it is completely regular. It is the model verb many textbooks use for the -are conjugation because every form follows the pattern exactly. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company amare keeps. The present io form is amo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho amato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what amare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need amo, never amare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho amato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle amato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Amare in context
Io amo Maria ogni giorno. Tu ami Maria ogni giorno. Lui ama Maria ogni giorno. Noi amiamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of amare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — amo, ami, ama, amiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to love. Io ho amato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai amato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha amato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo amato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of amare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to love — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io amare Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io amo Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive amare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form amo.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io ami Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io amo Maria ogni giorno.”
ami is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is amo — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io amo Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho amato Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho amato here, not the present amo.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono amato Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho amato Maria questa settimana.”
amare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho amato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on amare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of amare in the Present indicative?
- A) amo
- B) ami
- C) ama
- D) amiamo
What is the io form of amare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai amato
- B) ha amato
- C) ho amato
- D) abbiamo amato
What is the lui/lei form of amare in the Imperfect?
- A) amavo
- B) amavi
- C) amavamo
- D) amava
What is the noi form of amare in the Future?
- A) ameremo
- B) amerò
- C) amerai
- D) amerà
What is the tu form of amare in the Conditional?
- A) amerei
- B) ameresti
- C) amerebbe
- D) ameremmo
What is the io form of amare in the Passato remoto?
- A) amasti
- B) amò
- C) amai
- D) amammo
What is the noi form of amare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) ami
- B) amiate
- C) amino
- D) amiamo
What is the gerund of amare?
- A) amando
- B) amato
- C) amare
- D) amo
What is the past participle of amare?
- A) amando
- B) amato
- C) amare
- D) amo
What does amare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to love
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) ami — the correct form is ami. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho amato — the correct form is ho amato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) amava — the correct form is amava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ameremo — the correct form is ameremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ameresti — the correct form is ameresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) amai — the correct form is amai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) amiamo — the correct form is amiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) amando — the correct form is amando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) amato — the correct form is amato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to love — the correct form is to love. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does amare mean in English?
amare means “to love”. You use it whenever you talk about to love in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is amare regular or irregular?
amare is regular. amare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of amare?
The gerund is amando and the past participle is amato. The perfect tenses use avere + amato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of amare?
On the amare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The amare present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for amare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- amare conjugation — full tables
- amare in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Fare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Andare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise amare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise amare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise amare with the interactive tool.