Cercare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

cercare — to look for — 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 look for something lost and to search for something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -care stem keeps its hard c by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is cerchi and the future is cercherò. On this page you will find cercare 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 cercare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the cercare present tense page.

Example sentences with cercare

In the present tense

  • “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I look for the keys”
  • “Tu cerchi le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “You look for the keys”
  • “Lui cerca le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “He looks for the keys”
  • “Noi cerchiamo le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “We look for the keys”
  • “Voi cercate le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “You look for the keys”
  • “Loro cercano le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “They look for the keys”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “I have looked for the keys”
  • “Tu hai cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “You have looked for the keys”
  • “Lui ha cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “He has looked for the keys”
  • “Noi abbiamo cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “We have looked for the keys”
  • “Voi avete cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “You have looked for the keys”
  • “Loro hanno cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “They have looked for the keys”

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 cercavo le chiavi una volta.” — “I used to look for the keys”
  • “Tu cercherai le chiavi domani.” — “You will look for the keys”
  • “Lui cercherebbe le chiavi un giorno.” — “He would look for the keys”
  • “È importante che noi cerchiamo le chiavi.” — “It is important that we look for the keys”
  • “Cerca le chiavi!” — “Look for the keys!”

How cercare is used

The first thing to know about cercare is its core meaning: to look for. It means to look for something lost and to search for something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -care stem keeps its hard c by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is cerchi and the future is cercherò. 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 cercare keeps. The present io form is cerco, 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 cercato, 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 cercare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need cerco, never cercare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho cercato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle cercato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Cercare in context

Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno. Tu cerchi le chiavi ogni giorno. Lui cerca le chiavi ogni giorno. Noi cerchiamo le chiavi ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of cercare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — cerco, cerchi, cerca, cerchiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to look for. Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana. Tu hai cercato le chiavi questa settimana. Lui ha cercato le chiavi questa settimana. Noi abbiamo cercato le chiavi questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of cercare 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 look for — 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 cercare le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.”

The infinitive cercare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form cerco.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io cerchi le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.”

cerchi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is cerco — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io cerco le chiavi ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho cercato here, not the present cerco.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono cercato le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) cerco
    • B) cerchi
    • C) cerca
    • D) cerchiamo

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

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

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

    • A) cercavo
    • B) cercavi
    • C) cercavamo
    • D) cercava

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

    • A) cercheremo
    • B) cercherò
    • C) cercherai
    • D) cercherà

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

    • A) cercherei
    • B) cercheresti
    • C) cercherebbe
    • D) cercheremmo

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

    • A) cercasti
    • B) cercò
    • C) cercai
    • D) cercammo

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

    • A) cerchi
    • B) cerchiate
    • C) cerchino
    • D) cerchiamo

  8. What is the gerund of cercare?

    • A) cercando
    • B) cercato
    • C) cercare
    • D) cerco

  9. What is the past participle of cercare?

    • A) cercando
    • B) cercato
    • C) cercare
    • D) cerco

  10. What does cercare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to look for
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) cerchi — the correct form is cerchi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho cercato — the correct form is ho cercato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) cercava — the correct form is cercava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cercheremo — the correct form is cercheremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cercheresti — the correct form is cercheresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cercai — the correct form is cercai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) cerchiamo — the correct form is cerchiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cercando — the correct form is cercando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) cercato — the correct form is cercato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to look for — the correct form is to look for. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does cercare mean in English?

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

Is cercare regular or irregular?

cercare is regular. cercare 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 cercare?

The gerund is cercando and the past participle is cercato. The perfect tenses use avere + cercato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of cercare?

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

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