Ballare Conjugation in Italian
ballare means “to dance” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 36 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to dance, and it is completely regular. It is the verb for dancing at a party, in a class or at home, and every form follows the ordinary -are pattern. This page gives you the complete conjugation of ballare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io ballo ogni giorno.” — “I dance.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ballare
- English: to dance
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: ballando
- Present participle: ballante
- Past participle: ballato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ballare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read ballare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about ballare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle ballato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are ballante and ballato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for ballare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballo |
| tu | balli |
| lui/lei | balla |
| noi | balliamo |
| voi | ballate |
| loro | ballano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io ballo ogni giorno.” — “I dance”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballai |
| tu | ballasti |
| lui/lei | ballò |
| noi | ballammo |
| voi | ballaste |
| loro | ballarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io ballai ieri.” — “I danced”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballavo |
| tu | ballavi |
| lui/lei | ballava |
| noi | ballavamo |
| voi | ballavate |
| loro | ballavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io ballavo una volta.” — “I used to dance”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballerò |
| tu | ballerai |
| lui/lei | ballerà |
| noi | balleremo |
| voi | ballerete |
| loro | balleranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io ballerò domani.” — “I will dance”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballerei |
| tu | balleresti |
| lui/lei | ballerebbe |
| noi | balleremmo |
| voi | ballereste |
| loro | ballerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io ballerei un giorno.” — “I would dance”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho ballato |
| tu | hai ballato |
| lui/lei | ha ballato |
| noi | abbiamo ballato |
| voi | avete ballato |
| loro | hanno ballato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha ballato questa settimana.” — “He has danced”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo ballato |
| tu | avevi ballato |
| lui/lei | aveva ballato |
| noi | avevamo ballato |
| voi | avevate ballato |
| loro | avevano ballato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo ballato prima della festa.” — “I had danced”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò ballato |
| tu | avrai ballato |
| lui/lei | avrà ballato |
| noi | avremo ballato |
| voi | avrete ballato |
| loro | avranno ballato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò ballato per domani.” — “I will have danced”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei ballato |
| tu | avresti ballato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ballato |
| noi | avremmo ballato |
| voi | avreste ballato |
| loro | avrebbero ballato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei ballato ieri.” — “I would have danced”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | balli |
| tu | balli |
| lui/lei | balli |
| noi | balliamo |
| voi | balliate |
| loro | ballino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io balli.” — “It is important that I dance”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ballassi |
| tu | ballassi |
| lui/lei | ballasse |
| noi | ballassimo |
| voi | ballaste |
| loro | ballassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io ballassi.” — “It was important that I dance”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | balla |
| lui/lei | balli |
| noi | balliamo |
| voi | ballate |
| loro | ballino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Balla!” — “Dance!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ballare |
| lui/lei | balli |
| noi | balliamo |
| voi | balliate |
| loro | ballino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non ballare.” — “Do not dance.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | ballando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Ballando, imparo molto.” — “While dancing, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | ballante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle ballante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | ballato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho ballato questa settimana.” — “I have danced.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ballare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io ballo ogni giorno.” — “I dance”
- “Tu ballasti ieri.” — “You danced”
- “Lui ballava una volta.” — “He used to dance”
- “Io ballerò domani.” — “I will dance”
- “Tu balleresti un giorno.” — “You would dance”
- “Lui ha ballato questa settimana.” — “He has danced”
- “Io avevo ballato prima della festa.” — “I had danced”
- “Tu avrai ballato per domani.” — “You will have danced”
- “È importante che io balli.” — “It is important that I dance”
- “Balla!” — “Dance!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io ballare.”
✓ Right: “Io ballo ogni giorno.”
The infinitive ballare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form ballo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io balli.”
✓ Right: “Io ballo ogni giorno.”
balli is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with ballo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io ballo ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ballato questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho ballato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono ballato.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ballato questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of ballare is formed with avere plus the past participle ballato: the io form is ho ballato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io ballo.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io balli.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use balli here, not the indicative ballo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho ballando.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ballato questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle ballato, not the gerund ballando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on ballare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of ballare in the Present indicative?
- A) balli
- B) ballo
- C) balla
- D) balliamo
What is the lui/lei form of ballare in the Passato remoto?
- A) ballai
- B) ballasti
- C) ballò
- D) ballammo
What is the noi form of ballare in the Imperfect?
- A) ballavo
- B) ballavi
- C) ballava
- D) ballavamo
What is the tu form of ballare in the Future?
- A) ballerai
- B) ballerò
- C) ballerà
- D) balleremo
What is the io form of ballare in the Conditional?
- A) balleresti
- B) ballerei
- C) ballerebbe
- D) balleremmo
What is the lui/lei form of ballare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho ballato
- B) hai ballato
- C) ha ballato
- D) abbiamo ballato
What is the lui/lei form of ballare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) balliamo
- B) balliate
- C) ballino
- D) balli
What is the io form of ballare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) ballassi
- B) ballasse
- C) ballassimo
- D) ballaste
What is the gerund of ballare?
- A) ballato
- B) ballando
- C) ballare
- D) ballo
What does ballare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to dance
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) ballo — the correct form is ballo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ballò — the correct form is ballò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ballavamo — the correct form is ballavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ballerai — the correct form is ballerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ballerei — the correct form is ballerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha ballato — the correct form is ha ballato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) balli — the correct form is balli. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ballassi — the correct form is ballassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ballando — the correct form is ballando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to dance — the correct form is to dance. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does ballare mean in English?
ballare means “to dance”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is ballare regular or irregular?
ballare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is ballando and the past participle is ballato.
What are the gerund and past participle of ballare?
The gerund is ballando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is ballato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho ballato.
Which auxiliary does ballare take in the passato prossimo?
ballare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho ballato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle ballato.
How do I say “I dance” in Italian?
Say “Io ballo ogni giorno.” — “I dance” The io form of the present is ballo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of ballare — every tense of ballare in one place.
- Ballare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Ballare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Chiamare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Cercare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise ballare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise ballare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise ballare with the interactive tool.