Aprire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

aprire — to open — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to open a door, a window or a book, and it is regular in the present but irregular in the past participle: the participle is aperto, not a regular -ito form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. On this page you will find aprire 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 aprire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the aprire passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with aprire

In the present tense

  • “Io apro la porta ogni giorno.” — “I open the door”
  • “Tu apri la porta ogni giorno.” — “You open the door”
  • “Lui apre la porta ogni giorno.” — “He opens the door”
  • “Noi apriamo la porta ogni giorno.” — “We open the door”
  • “Voi aprite la porta ogni giorno.” — “You open the door”
  • “Loro aprono la porta ogni giorno.” — “They open the door”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “I have opened the door”
  • “Tu hai aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door”
  • “Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “He has opened the door”
  • “Noi abbiamo aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “We have opened the door”
  • “Voi avete aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “You have opened the door”
  • “Loro hanno aperto la porta questa settimana.” — “They have opened the door”

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 aprivo la porta una volta.” — “I used to open the door”
  • “Tu aprirai la porta domani.” — “You will open the door”
  • “Lui aprirebbe la porta un giorno.” — “He would open the door”
  • “È importante che noi apriamo la porta.” — “It is important that we open the door”
  • “Apri la porta!” — “Open the door!”

How aprire is used

The first thing to know about aprire is its core meaning: to open. It means to open a door, a window or a book, and it is regular in the present but irregular in the past participle: the participle is aperto, not a regular -ito form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. 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 aprire keeps. The present io form is apro, 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 aperto, 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 aprire does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need apro, never aprire. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho aperto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle aperto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Aprire in context

Io apro la porta ogni giorno. Tu apri la porta ogni giorno. Lui apre la porta ogni giorno. Noi apriamo la porta ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of aprire is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — apro, apri, apre, apriamo — while the meaning stays the same: to open. Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana. Tu hai aperto la porta questa settimana. Lui ha aperto la porta questa settimana. Noi abbiamo aperto la porta questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of aprire 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 open — 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 aprire la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io apro la porta ogni giorno.”

The infinitive aprire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form apro.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io apri la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io apro la porta ogni giorno.”

apri is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is apro — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io apro la porta ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho aperto here, not the present apro.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono aperto la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io ho aperto la porta questa settimana.”

aprire takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho aperto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on aprire across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of aprire in the Present indicative?

    • A) apro
    • B) apri
    • C) apre
    • D) apriamo

  2. What is the io form of aprire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai aperto
    • B) ha aperto
    • C) ho aperto
    • D) abbiamo aperto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of aprire in the Imperfect?

    • A) aprivo
    • B) aprivi
    • C) aprivamo
    • D) apriva

  4. What is the noi form of aprire in the Future?

    • A) apriremo
    • B) aprirò
    • C) aprirai
    • D) aprirà

  5. What is the tu form of aprire in the Conditional?

    • A) aprirei
    • B) apriresti
    • C) aprirebbe
    • D) apriremmo

  6. What is the io form of aprire in the Passato remoto?

    • A) apristi
    • B) aprì
    • C) aprii
    • D) aprimmo

  7. What is the noi form of aprire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) apra
    • B) apriate
    • C) aprano
    • D) apriamo

  8. What is the gerund of aprire?

    • A) aprendo
    • B) aperto
    • C) aprire
    • D) apro

  9. What is the past participle of aprire?

    • A) aprendo
    • B) aperto
    • C) aprire
    • D) apro

  10. What does aprire mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to open
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) apri — the correct form is apri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho aperto — the correct form is ho aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) apriva — the correct form is apriva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) apriremo — the correct form is apriremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) apriresti — the correct form is apriresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) aprii — the correct form is aprii. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) apriamo — the correct form is apriamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) aprendo — the correct form is aprendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) aperto — the correct form is aperto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to open — the correct form is to open. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does aprire mean in English?

aprire means “to open”. You use it whenever you talk about to open in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is aprire regular or irregular?

aprire is irregular. aprire is irregular in past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of aprire?

The gerund is aprendo and the past participle is aperto. The perfect tenses use avere + aperto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of aprire?

On the aprire conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The aprire passato prossimo 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 aprire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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