Arrivare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

arrivare — to arrive — 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 means to arrive somewhere, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is one of the first verbs of movement learners meet. On this page you will find arrivare 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 arrivare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the arrivare present tense page.

Example sentences with arrivare

In the present tense

  • “Io arrivo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “I arrive in Rome”
  • “Tu arrivi a Roma ogni giorno.” — “You arrive in Rome”
  • “Lui arriva a Roma ogni giorno.” — “He arrives in Rome”
  • “Noi arriviamo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “We arrive in Rome”
  • “Voi arrivate a Roma ogni giorno.” — “You arrive in Rome”
  • “Loro arrivano a Roma ogni giorno.” — “They arrive in Rome”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “I have arrived in Rome”
  • “Tu sei arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “You have arrived in Rome”
  • “Lui è arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “He has arrived in Rome”
  • “Noi siamo arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “We have arrived in Rome”
  • “Voi siete arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “You have arrived in Rome”
  • “Loro sono arrivato a Roma questa settimana.” — “They have arrived in Rome”

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 arrivavo a Roma una volta.” — “I used to arrive in Rome”
  • “Tu arriverai a Roma domani.” — “You will arrive in Rome”
  • “Lui arriverebbe a Roma un giorno.” — “He would arrive in Rome”
  • “È importante che noi arriviamo a Roma.” — “It is important that we arrive in Rome”
  • “Arriva a Roma!” — “Arrive in Rome!”

How arrivare is used

The first thing to know about arrivare is its core meaning: to arrive. It means to arrive somewhere, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is one of the first verbs of movement learners meet. 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 arrivare keeps. The present io form is arrivo, 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 sono arrivato, 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 arrivare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need arrivo, never arrivare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono arrivato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle arrivato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Arrivare in context

Io arrivo a Roma ogni giorno. Tu arrivi a Roma ogni giorno. Lui arriva a Roma ogni giorno. Noi arriviamo a Roma ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of arrivare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — arrivo, arrivi, arriva, arriviamo — while the meaning stays the same: to arrive. Io sono arrivato a Roma questa settimana. Tu sei arrivato a Roma questa settimana. Lui è arrivato a Roma questa settimana. Noi siamo arrivato a Roma questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of arrivare 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 arrive — 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 arrivare a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io arrivo a Roma ogni giorno.”

The infinitive arrivare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form arrivo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io arrivi a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io arrivo a Roma ogni giorno.”

arrivi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is arrivo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io arrivo a Roma ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono arrivato a Roma questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono arrivato here, not the present arrivo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho arrivato a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io sono arrivato a Roma questa settimana.”

arrivare takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono arrivato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) arrivo
    • B) arrivi
    • C) arriva
    • D) arriviamo

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

    • A) sei arrivato
    • B) è arrivato
    • C) sono arrivato
    • D) siamo arrivato

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

    • A) arrivavo
    • B) arrivavi
    • C) arrivavamo
    • D) arrivava

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

    • A) arriveremo
    • B) arriverò
    • C) arriverai
    • D) arriverà

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

    • A) arriverei
    • B) arriveresti
    • C) arriverebbe
    • D) arriveremmo

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

    • A) arrivasti
    • B) arrivò
    • C) arrivai
    • D) arrivammo

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

    • A) arrivi
    • B) arriviate
    • C) arrivino
    • D) arriviamo

  8. What is the gerund of arrivare?

    • A) arrivando
    • B) arrivato
    • C) arrivare
    • D) arrivo

  9. What is the past participle of arrivare?

    • A) arrivando
    • B) arrivato
    • C) arrivare
    • D) arrivo

  10. What does arrivare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to arrive
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) arrivi — the correct form is arrivi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono arrivato — the correct form is sono arrivato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) arrivava — the correct form is arrivava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) arriveremo — the correct form is arriveremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) arriveresti — the correct form is arriveresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) arrivai — the correct form is arrivai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) arriviamo — the correct form is arriviamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) arrivando — the correct form is arrivando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) arrivato — the correct form is arrivato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to arrive — the correct form is to arrive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does arrivare mean in English?

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

Is arrivare regular or irregular?

arrivare is regular. arrivare 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 arrivare?

The gerund is arrivando and the past participle is arrivato. The perfect tenses use essere + arrivato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of arrivare?

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

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