Aspettare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
aspettare — to wait — 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 wait for someone or something, and it is completely regular. It takes a direct object in Italian — aspetto Maria — where English needs the preposition for, so do not add an extra preposition in Italian. On this page you will find aspettare 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 aspettare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the aspettare present tense page.
Example sentences with aspettare
In the present tense
- “Io aspetto Maria ogni giorno.” — “I wait for Maria”
- “Tu aspetti Maria ogni giorno.” — “You wait for Maria”
- “Lui aspetta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He waits for Maria”
- “Noi aspettiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We wait for Maria”
- “Voi aspettate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You wait for Maria”
- “Loro aspettano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They wait for Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have waited for Maria”
- “Tu hai aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have waited for Maria”
- “Lui ha aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has waited for Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have waited for Maria”
- “Voi avete aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have waited for Maria”
- “Loro hanno aspettato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have waited for 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 aspettavo Maria una volta.” — “I used to wait for Maria”
- “Tu aspetterai Maria domani.” — “You will wait for Maria”
- “Lui aspetterebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would wait for Maria”
- “È importante che noi aspettiamo Maria.” — “It is important that we wait for Maria”
- “Aspetta Maria!” — “Wait for Maria!”
How aspettare is used
The first thing to know about aspettare is its core meaning: to wait. It means to wait for someone or something, and it is completely regular. It takes a direct object in Italian — aspetto Maria — where English needs the preposition for, so do not add an extra preposition in Italian. 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 aspettare keeps. The present io form is aspetto, 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 aspettato, 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 aspettare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need aspetto, never aspettare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho aspettato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle aspettato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Aspettare in context
Io aspetto Maria ogni giorno. Tu aspetti Maria ogni giorno. Lui aspetta Maria ogni giorno. Noi aspettiamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of aspettare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — aspetto, aspetti, aspetta, aspettiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to wait. Io ho aspettato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai aspettato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha aspettato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo aspettato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of aspettare 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 wait — 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 aspettare Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io aspetto Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive aspettare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form aspetto.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io aspetti Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io aspetto Maria ogni giorno.”
aspetti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is aspetto — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io aspetto Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho aspettato Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho aspettato here, not the present aspetto.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono aspettato Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho aspettato Maria questa settimana.”
aspettare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho aspettato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on aspettare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of aspettare in the Present indicative?
- A) aspetto
- B) aspetti
- C) aspetta
- D) aspettiamo
What is the io form of aspettare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai aspettato
- B) ha aspettato
- C) ho aspettato
- D) abbiamo aspettato
What is the lui/lei form of aspettare in the Imperfect?
- A) aspettavo
- B) aspettavi
- C) aspettavamo
- D) aspettava
What is the noi form of aspettare in the Future?
- A) aspetteremo
- B) aspetterò
- C) aspetterai
- D) aspetterà
What is the tu form of aspettare in the Conditional?
- A) aspetterei
- B) aspetteresti
- C) aspetterebbe
- D) aspetteremmo
What is the io form of aspettare in the Passato remoto?
- A) aspettasti
- B) aspettò
- C) aspettai
- D) aspettammo
What is the noi form of aspettare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) aspetti
- B) aspettiate
- C) aspettino
- D) aspettiamo
What is the gerund of aspettare?
- A) aspettando
- B) aspettato
- C) aspettare
- D) aspetto
What is the past participle of aspettare?
- A) aspettando
- B) aspettato
- C) aspettare
- D) aspetto
What does aspettare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to wait
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) aspetti — the correct form is aspetti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho aspettato — the correct form is ho aspettato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) aspettava — the correct form is aspettava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) aspetteremo — the correct form is aspetteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) aspetteresti — the correct form is aspetteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) aspettai — the correct form is aspettai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) aspettiamo — the correct form is aspettiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) aspettando — the correct form is aspettando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) aspettato — the correct form is aspettato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to wait — the correct form is to wait. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does aspettare mean in English?
aspettare means “to wait”. You use it whenever you talk about to wait in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is aspettare regular or irregular?
aspettare is regular. aspettare 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 aspettare?
The gerund is aspettando and the past participle is aspettato. The perfect tenses use avere + aspettato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of aspettare?
On the aspettare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The aspettare 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 aspettare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- aspettare conjugation — full tables
- aspettare in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Chiamare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Cercare 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 aspettare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise aspettare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise aspettare with the interactive tool.