Chiamare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

chiamare — to call — 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 call someone by phone or by name, and it is completely regular. It also means to name something, as in calling a child by a name, so watch the context to tell the two senses apart. On this page you will find chiamare 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 chiamare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the chiamare present tense page.

Example sentences with chiamare

In the present tense

  • “Io chiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I call Maria”
  • “Tu chiami Maria ogni giorno.” — “You call Maria”
  • “Lui chiama Maria ogni giorno.” — “He calls Maria”
  • “Noi chiamiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We call Maria”
  • “Voi chiamate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You call Maria”
  • “Loro chiamano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They call Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have called Maria”
  • “Tu hai chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have called Maria”
  • “Lui ha chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has called Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have called Maria”
  • “Voi avete chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have called Maria”
  • “Loro hanno chiamato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have called Maria”

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 chiamavo Maria una volta.” — “I used to call Maria”
  • “Tu chiamerai Maria domani.” — “You will call Maria”
  • “Lui chiamerebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would call Maria”
  • “È importante che noi chiamiamo Maria.” — “It is important that we call Maria”
  • “Chiama Maria!” — “Call Maria!”

How chiamare is used

The first thing to know about chiamare is its core meaning: to call. It means to call someone by phone or by name, and it is completely regular. It also means to name something, as in calling a child by a name, so watch the context to tell the two senses apart. 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 chiamare keeps. The present io form is chiamo, 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 chiamato, 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 chiamare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need chiamo, never chiamare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho chiamato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle chiamato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Chiamare in context

Io chiamo Maria ogni giorno. Tu chiami Maria ogni giorno. Lui chiama Maria ogni giorno. Noi chiamiamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of chiamare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — chiamo, chiami, chiama, chiamiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to call. Io ho chiamato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai chiamato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha chiamato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo chiamato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of chiamare 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 call — 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 chiamare Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io chiamo Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive chiamare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form chiamo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io chiami Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io chiamo Maria ogni giorno.”

chiami is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is chiamo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io chiamo Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho chiamato Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho chiamato here, not the present chiamo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono chiamato Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho chiamato Maria questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) chiamo
    • B) chiami
    • C) chiama
    • D) chiamiamo

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

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

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

    • A) chiamavo
    • B) chiamavi
    • C) chiamavamo
    • D) chiamava

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

    • A) chiameremo
    • B) chiamerò
    • C) chiamerai
    • D) chiamerà

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

    • A) chiamerei
    • B) chiameresti
    • C) chiamerebbe
    • D) chiameremmo

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

    • A) chiamasti
    • B) chiamò
    • C) chiamai
    • D) chiamammo

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

    • A) chiami
    • B) chiamiate
    • C) chiamino
    • D) chiamiamo

  8. What is the gerund of chiamare?

    • A) chiamando
    • B) chiamato
    • C) chiamare
    • D) chiamo

  9. What is the past participle of chiamare?

    • A) chiamando
    • B) chiamato
    • C) chiamare
    • D) chiamo

  10. What does chiamare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) chiami — the correct form is chiami. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho chiamato — the correct form is ho chiamato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) chiamava — the correct form is chiamava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) chiameremo — the correct form is chiameremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) chiameresti — the correct form is chiameresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) chiamai — the correct form is chiamai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) chiamiamo — the correct form is chiamiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) chiamando — the correct form is chiamando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) chiamato — the correct form is chiamato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to call — the correct form is to call. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does chiamare mean in English?

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

Is chiamare regular or irregular?

chiamare is regular. chiamare 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 chiamare?

The gerund is chiamando and the past participle is chiamato. The perfect tenses use avere + chiamato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of chiamare?

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

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