Ascoltare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

ascoltare — to listen — 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 for listening to music, to a person or to a lesson, and it is completely regular in every tense. Do not confuse it with sentire, which means to hear or to feel: ascoltare is the deliberate act of paying attention with your ears. On this page you will find ascoltare 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 ascoltare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ascoltare present tense page.

Example sentences with ascoltare

In the present tense

  • “Io ascolto la musica ogni giorno.” — “I listen to the music”
  • “Tu ascolti la musica ogni giorno.” — “You listen to the music”
  • “Lui ascolta la musica ogni giorno.” — “He listens to the music”
  • “Noi ascoltiamo la musica ogni giorno.” — “We listen to the music”
  • “Voi ascoltate la musica ogni giorno.” — “You listen to the music”
  • “Loro ascoltano la musica ogni giorno.” — “They listen to the music”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “I have listened to the music”
  • “Tu hai ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “You have listened to the music”
  • “Lui ha ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “He has listened to the music”
  • “Noi abbiamo ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “We have listened to the music”
  • “Voi avete ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “You have listened to the music”
  • “Loro hanno ascoltato la musica questa settimana.” — “They have listened to the music”

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 ascoltavo la musica una volta.” — “I used to listen to the music”
  • “Tu ascolterai la musica domani.” — “You will listen to the music”
  • “Lui ascolterebbe la musica un giorno.” — “He would listen to the music”
  • “È importante che noi ascoltiamo la musica.” — “It is important that we listen to the music”
  • “Ascolta la musica!” — “Listen to the music!”

How ascoltare is used

The first thing to know about ascoltare is its core meaning: to listen. It is the verb for listening to music, to a person or to a lesson, and it is completely regular in every tense. Do not confuse it with sentire, which means to hear or to feel: ascoltare is the deliberate act of paying attention with your ears. 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 ascoltare keeps. The present io form is ascolto, 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 ascoltato, 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 ascoltare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need ascolto, never ascoltare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho ascoltato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ascoltato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ascoltare in context

Io ascolto la musica ogni giorno. Tu ascolti la musica ogni giorno. Lui ascolta la musica ogni giorno. Noi ascoltiamo la musica ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ascoltare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ascolto, ascolti, ascolta, ascoltiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to listen. Io ho ascoltato la musica questa settimana. Tu hai ascoltato la musica questa settimana. Lui ha ascoltato la musica questa settimana. Noi abbiamo ascoltato la musica questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of ascoltare 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 listen — 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 ascoltare la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io ascolto la musica ogni giorno.”

The infinitive ascoltare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form ascolto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io ascolti la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io ascolto la musica ogni giorno.”

ascolti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is ascolto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io ascolto la musica ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho ascoltato la musica questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho ascoltato here, not the present ascolto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono ascoltato la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io ho ascoltato la musica questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ascolto
    • B) ascolti
    • C) ascolta
    • D) ascoltiamo

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

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

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

    • A) ascoltavo
    • B) ascoltavi
    • C) ascoltavamo
    • D) ascoltava

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

    • A) ascolteremo
    • B) ascolterò
    • C) ascolterai
    • D) ascolterà

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

    • A) ascolterei
    • B) ascolteresti
    • C) ascolterebbe
    • D) ascolteremmo

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

    • A) ascoltasti
    • B) ascoltò
    • C) ascoltai
    • D) ascoltammo

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

    • A) ascolti
    • B) ascoltiate
    • C) ascoltino
    • D) ascoltiamo

  8. What is the gerund of ascoltare?

    • A) ascoltando
    • B) ascoltato
    • C) ascoltare
    • D) ascolto

  9. What is the past participle of ascoltare?

    • A) ascoltando
    • B) ascoltato
    • C) ascoltare
    • D) ascolto

  10. What does ascoltare mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to listen
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) ascolti — the correct form is ascolti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho ascoltato — the correct form is ho ascoltato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ascoltava — the correct form is ascoltava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ascolteremo — the correct form is ascolteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ascolteresti — the correct form is ascolteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ascoltai — the correct form is ascoltai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ascoltiamo — the correct form is ascoltiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ascoltando — the correct form is ascoltando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ascoltato — the correct form is ascoltato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to listen — the correct form is to listen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ascoltare mean in English?

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

Is ascoltare regular or irregular?

ascoltare is regular. ascoltare 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 ascoltare?

The gerund is ascoltando and the past participle is ascoltato. The perfect tenses use avere + ascoltato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ascoltare?

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

Related pages