Bisognare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

bisognare — to be necessary — 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 be necessary, and it is used impersonally: the real use is the third person, as in 'Bisogna studiare' — it is necessary to study — followed by an infinitive. It takes avere in the passato prossimo in the tables on this page, and the full six-person tables are given as the verb is listed, even though only the third-person forms are used in practice. On this page you will find bisognare 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 bisognare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the bisognare passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with bisognare

In the present tense

  • “Bisogna studiare ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to study”
  • “Bisogna partire ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to leave”
  • “Bisogna lavorare ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to work”
  • “Bisogna mangiare ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to eat”
  • “Bisogna dormire ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to sleep”
  • “Bisogna leggere ogni giorno.” — “It is necessary to read”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Ha bisognato studiare questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to study”
  • “Ha bisognato partire questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to leave”
  • “Ha bisognato lavorare questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to work”
  • “Ha bisognato mangiare questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to eat”
  • “Ha bisognato dormire questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to sleep”
  • “Ha bisognato leggere questa settimana.” — “It has been necessary to read”

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.

  • “Bisognava studiare una volta.” — “It used to be necessary to study”
  • “Bisognerà partire domani.” — “It will be necessary to leave”
  • “Bisognerebbe lavorare un giorno.” — “It would be necessary to work”
  • “È importante che bisogni mangiare.” — “It is important to eat”
  • “Bisogna partire!” — “It is necessary to leave!”

How bisognare is used

The first thing to know about bisognare is its core meaning: to be necessary. It means to be necessary, and it is used impersonally: the real use is the third person, as in 'Bisogna studiare' — it is necessary to study — followed by an infinitive. It takes avere in the passato prossimo in the tables on this page, and the full six-person tables are given as the verb is listed, even though only the third-person forms are used in practice. 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 that bisognare is used impersonally, in the third person: the tables on this page give all six persons as the verb is listed, but real sentences use the third-person forms with an indirect object pronoun or an infinitive. The passato prossimo form is ho bisognato, built with avere plus the participle bisognato, and the time words that go with it are the same as for any other verb: ieri and questa settimana for finished actions, ogni giorno and sempre for habits. The third thing to know is what bisognare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need bisogno, never bisognare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho bisognato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle bisognato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Bisognare in context

Bisogna studiare ogni giorno. Bisogna partire ogni giorno. Bisogna lavorare ogni giorno. Bisogna mangiare ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of bisognare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — bisogno, bisogni, bisogna, bisogniamo — while the meaning stays the same: to be necessary. Ha bisognato studiare questa settimana. Ha bisognato partire questa settimana. Ha bisognato lavorare questa settimana. Ha bisognato mangiare questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of bisognare 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 be necessary — 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 bisognare.”

✓ Right: “Bisogna studiare ogni giorno.”

The infinitive bisognare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form bisogno.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io bisogni.”

✓ Right: “Bisogna studiare ogni giorno.”

bisogni is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is bisogno — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io bisogno ieri.”

✓ Right: “Ha bisognato studiare questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho bisognato here, not the present bisogno.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono bisognato.”

✓ Right: “Ha bisognato studiare questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) bisogno
    • B) bisogni
    • C) bisogna
    • D) bisogniamo

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

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

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

    • A) bisognavo
    • B) bisognavi
    • C) bisognavamo
    • D) bisognava

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

    • A) bisogneremo
    • B) bisognerò
    • C) bisognerai
    • D) bisognerà

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

    • A) bisognerei
    • B) bisogneresti
    • C) bisognerebbe
    • D) bisogneremmo

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

    • A) bisognasti
    • B) bisognò
    • C) bisognai
    • D) bisognammo

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

    • A) bisogni
    • B) bisogniate
    • C) bisognino
    • D) bisogniamo

  8. What is the gerund of bisognare?

    • A) bisognando
    • B) bisognato
    • C) bisognare
    • D) bisogno

  9. What is the past participle of bisognare?

    • A) bisognando
    • B) bisognato
    • C) bisognare
    • D) bisogno

  10. What does bisognare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) bisogni — the correct form is bisogni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho bisognato — the correct form is ho bisognato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) bisognava — the correct form is bisognava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) bisogneremo — the correct form is bisogneremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) bisogneresti — the correct form is bisogneresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) bisognai — the correct form is bisognai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) bisogniamo — the correct form is bisogniamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) bisognando — the correct form is bisognando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) bisognato — the correct form is bisognato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be necessary — the correct form is to be necessary. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does bisognare mean in English?

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

Is bisognare regular or irregular?

bisognare is regular. bisognare 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 bisognare?

The gerund is bisognando and the past participle is bisognato. The perfect tenses use avere + bisognato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of bisognare?

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

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