Cadere Conjugation in Italian
cadere means “to fall” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 250 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb for falling, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and future are irregular: the remoto is caddi and the future stem is cadr-, so the future is cadrò. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, as verbs of movement do. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cadere — 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 cado ogni giorno.” — “I fall.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: cadere
- English: to fall
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect
- Gerund: cadendo
- Present participle: cadente
- Past participle: caduto
- Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for cadere, 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 cadere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about cadere
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts. Its passato remoto is irregular, with the io form caddi, and its future stem is cadr-, so the future is cadrò.
- The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle caduto. 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 cadente and caduto: 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.
A note on cadere
A note on the pattern: cadere is irregular in the passato remoto — io caddi — and in the future, where the stem shortens to cadr-: io cadrò. It takes essere in the passato prossimo — io sono caduto — because it is a verb of movement, and the past participle agrees with the subject in the sentence.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for cadere. 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 | cado |
| tu | cadi |
| lui/lei | cade |
| noi | cadiamo |
| voi | cadete |
| loro | cadono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io cado ogni giorno.” — “I fall”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | caddi |
| tu | cadesti |
| lui/lei | cadde |
| noi | cademmo |
| voi | cadeste |
| loro | caddero |
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 caddi ieri.” — “I fell”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cadevo |
| tu | cadevi |
| lui/lei | cadeva |
| noi | cadevamo |
| voi | cadevate |
| loro | cadevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io cadevo una volta.” — “I used to fall”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cadrò |
| tu | cadrai |
| lui/lei | cadrà |
| noi | cadremo |
| voi | cadrete |
| loro | cadranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io cadrò domani.” — “I will fall”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cadrei |
| tu | cadresti |
| lui/lei | cadrebbe |
| noi | cadremmo |
| voi | cadreste |
| loro | cadrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io cadrei un giorno.” — “I would fall”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sono caduto |
| tu | sei caduto |
| lui/lei | è caduto |
| noi | siamo caduto |
| voi | siete caduto |
| loro | sono caduto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui è caduto questa settimana.” — “He has fallen”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ero caduto |
| tu | eri caduto |
| lui/lei | era caduto |
| noi | eravamo caduto |
| voi | eravate caduto |
| loro | erano caduto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io ero caduto prima della festa.” — “I had fallen”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarò caduto |
| tu | sarai caduto |
| lui/lei | sarà caduto |
| noi | saremo caduto |
| voi | sarete caduto |
| loro | saranno caduto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io sarò caduto per domani.” — “I will have fallen”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarei caduto |
| tu | saresti caduto |
| lui/lei | sarebbe caduto |
| noi | saremmo caduto |
| voi | sareste caduto |
| loro | sarebbero caduto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io sarei caduto ieri.” — “I would have fallen”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cada |
| tu | cada |
| lui/lei | cada |
| noi | cadiamo |
| voi | cadiate |
| loro | cadano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io cada.” — “It is important that I fall”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cadessi |
| tu | cadessi |
| lui/lei | cadesse |
| noi | cadessimo |
| voi | cadeste |
| loro | cadessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io cadessi.” — “It was important that I fall”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cadi |
| lui/lei | cada |
| noi | cadiamo |
| voi | cadete |
| loro | cadano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Cadi!” — “Fall!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cadere |
| lui/lei | cada |
| noi | cadiamo |
| voi | cadiate |
| loro | cadano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non cadere.” — “Do not fall.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | cadendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Cadendo, imparo molto.” — “While falling, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | cadente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle cadente 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 | caduto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io sono caduto questa settimana.” — “I have fallen.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with cadere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io cado ogni giorno.” — “I fall”
- “Tu cadesti ieri.” — “You fell”
- “Lui cadeva una volta.” — “He used to fall”
- “Io cadrò domani.” — “I will fall”
- “Tu cadresti un giorno.” — “You would fall”
- “Lui è caduto questa settimana.” — “He has fallen”
- “Io ero caduto prima della festa.” — “I had fallen”
- “Tu sarai caduto per domani.” — “You will have fallen”
- “È importante che io cada.” — “It is important that I fall”
- “Cadi!” — “Fall!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io cadere.”
✓ Right: “Io cado ogni giorno.”
The infinitive cadere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form cado.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io cadi.”
✓ Right: “Io cado ogni giorno.”
cadi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with cado.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io cado ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io sono caduto questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo sono caduto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io ho caduto.”
✓ Right: “Io sono caduto questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of cadere is formed with essere plus the past participle caduto: the io form is sono caduto. 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 cado.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io cada.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use cada here, not the indicative cado.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io sono cadendo.”
✓ Right: “Io sono caduto questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle caduto, not the gerund cadendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on cadere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of cadere in the Present indicative?
- A) cadi
- B) cado
- C) cade
- D) cadiamo
What is the lui/lei form of cadere in the Passato remoto?
- A) caddi
- B) cadesti
- C) cadde
- D) cademmo
What is the noi form of cadere in the Imperfect?
- A) cadevo
- B) cadevi
- C) cadeva
- D) cadevamo
What is the tu form of cadere in the Future?
- A) cadrai
- B) cadrò
- C) cadrà
- D) cadremo
What is the io form of cadere in the Conditional?
- A) cadresti
- B) cadrei
- C) cadrebbe
- D) cadremmo
What is the lui/lei form of cadere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) sono caduto
- B) sei caduto
- C) è caduto
- D) siamo caduto
What is the lui/lei form of cadere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) cadiamo
- B) cadiate
- C) cadano
- D) cada
What is the io form of cadere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) cadessi
- B) cadesse
- C) cadessimo
- D) cadeste
What is the gerund of cadere?
- A) caduto
- B) cadendo
- C) cadere
- D) cado
What does cadere mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to fall
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) cado — the correct form is cado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) cadde — the correct form is cadde. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cadevamo — the correct form is cadevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cadrai — the correct form is cadrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cadrei — the correct form is cadrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) è caduto — the correct form is è caduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cada — the correct form is cada. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cadessi — the correct form is cadessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cadendo — the correct form is cadendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to fall — the correct form is to fall. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does cadere mean in English?
cadere means “to fall”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is cadere regular or irregular?
cadere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect. The gerund is cadendo and the past participle is caduto.
What are the gerund and past participle of cadere?
The gerund is cadendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is caduto — use it with essere for the perfect tenses, as in sono caduto.
Which auxiliary does cadere take in the passato prossimo?
cadere takes essere in the passato prossimo: the io form is sono caduto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with essere plus the past participle caduto.
How do I say “I fall” in Italian?
Say “Io cado ogni giorno.” — “I fall” The io form of the present is cado, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of cadere — every tense of cadere in one place.
- Cadere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Cadere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Rispondere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Discutere 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 cadere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise cadere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise cadere with the interactive tool.