Cercare Conjugation in Italian
cercare means “to look for” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 74 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cercare — 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 cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I look for the keys.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: cercare
- English: to look for
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: cercando
- Present participle: cercante
- Past participle: cercato
- 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 cercare, 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 cercare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about cercare
- 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 -care stem keeps its hard c by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is cerchi and the future is cercherò.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle cercato. 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 cercante and cercato: 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 cercare. 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 | cerco |
| tu | cerchi |
| lui/lei | cerca |
| noi | cerchiamo |
| voi | cercate |
| loro | cercano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I look for the keys”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cercai |
| tu | cercasti |
| lui/lei | cercò |
| noi | cercammo |
| voi | cercaste |
| loro | cercarono |
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 cercai le chiavi ieri.” — “I looked for the keys”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cercavo |
| tu | cercavi |
| lui/lei | cercava |
| noi | cercavamo |
| voi | cercavate |
| loro | cercavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io cercavo le chiavi una volta.” — “I used to look for the keys”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cercherò |
| tu | cercherai |
| lui/lei | cercherà |
| noi | cercheremo |
| voi | cercherete |
| loro | cercheranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io cercherò le chiavi domani.” — “I will look for the keys”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cercherei |
| tu | cercheresti |
| lui/lei | cercherebbe |
| noi | cercheremmo |
| voi | cerchereste |
| loro | cercherebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io cercherei le chiavi un giorno.” — “I would look for the keys”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho cercato |
| tu | hai cercato |
| lui/lei | ha cercato |
| noi | abbiamo cercato |
| voi | avete cercato |
| loro | hanno cercato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “He has looked for the keys”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo cercato |
| tu | avevi cercato |
| lui/lei | aveva cercato |
| noi | avevamo cercato |
| voi | avevate cercato |
| loro | avevano cercato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo cercato le chiavi prima della festa.” — “I had looked for the keys”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò cercato |
| tu | avrai cercato |
| lui/lei | avrà cercato |
| noi | avremo cercato |
| voi | avrete cercato |
| loro | avranno cercato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò cercato le chiavi per domani.” — “I will have looked for the keys”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei cercato |
| tu | avresti cercato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe cercato |
| noi | avremmo cercato |
| voi | avreste cercato |
| loro | avrebbero cercato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei cercato le chiavi ieri.” — “I would have looked for the keys”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cerchi |
| tu | cerchi |
| lui/lei | cerchi |
| noi | cerchiamo |
| voi | cerchiate |
| loro | cerchino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io cerchi le chiavi.” — “It is important that I look for the keys”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cercassi |
| tu | cercassi |
| lui/lei | cercasse |
| noi | cercassimo |
| voi | cercaste |
| loro | cercassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io cercassi le chiavi.” — “It was important that I look for the keys”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cerca |
| lui/lei | cerchi |
| noi | cerchiamo |
| voi | cercate |
| loro | cerchino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Cerca le chiavi!” — “Look for the keys!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cercare |
| lui/lei | cerchi |
| noi | cerchiamo |
| voi | cerchiate |
| loro | cerchino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non cercare le chiavi.” — “Do not look for the keys.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | cercando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Cercando le chiavi, imparo molto.” — “While looking for the keys, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | cercante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle cercante 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 | cercato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “I have looked for the keys.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with cercare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I look for the keys”
- “Tu cercasti le chiavi ieri.” — “You looked for the keys”
- “Lui cercava le chiavi una volta.” — “He used to look for the keys”
- “Io cercherò le chiavi domani.” — “I will look for the keys”
- “Tu cercheresti le chiavi un giorno.” — “You would look for the keys”
- “Lui ha cercato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “He has looked for the keys”
- “Io avevo cercato le chiavi prima della festa.” — “I had looked for the keys”
- “Tu avrai cercato le chiavi per domani.” — “You will have looked for the keys”
- “È importante che io cerchi le chiavi.” — “It is important that I look for the keys”
- “Cerca le chiavi!” — “Look for the keys!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io cerchi le chiavi.”
✓ Right: “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.”
cerchi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with cerco.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io cerco le chiavi ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho cercato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono cercato le chiavi.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of cercare is formed with avere plus the past participle cercato: the io form is ho cercato. 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 cerco le chiavi.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io cerchi le chiavi.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use cerchi here, not the indicative cerco.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho cercando le chiavi.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cercato le chiavi questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle cercato, not the gerund cercando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on cercare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of cercare in the Present indicative?
- A) cerchi
- B) cerco
- C) cerca
- D) cerchiamo
What is the lui/lei form of cercare in the Passato remoto?
- A) cercai
- B) cercasti
- C) cercò
- D) cercammo
What is the noi form of cercare in the Imperfect?
- A) cercavo
- B) cercavi
- C) cercava
- D) cercavamo
What is the tu form of cercare in the Future?
- A) cercherai
- B) cercherò
- C) cercherà
- D) cercheremo
What is the io form of cercare in the Conditional?
- A) cercheresti
- B) cercherei
- C) cercherebbe
- D) cercheremmo
What is the lui/lei form of cercare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho cercato
- B) hai cercato
- C) ha cercato
- D) abbiamo cercato
What is the lui/lei form of cercare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) cerchiamo
- B) cerchiate
- C) cerchino
- D) cerchi
What is the io form of cercare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) cercassi
- B) cercasse
- C) cercassimo
- D) cercaste
What is the gerund of cercare?
- A) cercato
- B) cercando
- C) cercare
- D) cerco
What does cercare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to look for
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) cerco — the correct form is cerco. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) cercò — the correct form is cercò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cercavamo — the correct form is cercavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cercherai — the correct form is cercherai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cercherei — the correct form is cercherei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha cercato — the correct form is ha cercato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cerchi — the correct form is cerchi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cercassi — the correct form is cercassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cercando — the correct form is cercando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is cercare regular or irregular?
cercare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is cercando and the past participle is cercato.
What are the gerund and past participle of cercare?
The gerund is cercando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is cercato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho cercato.
Which auxiliary does cercare take in the passato prossimo?
cercare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho cercato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle cercato.
How do I say “I look for” in Italian?
Say “Io cerco le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I look for the keys” The io form of the present is cerco, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of cercare — every tense of cercare in one place.
- Cercare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Cercare 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.
- Aspettare 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 cercare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise cercare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise cercare with the interactive tool.