Chiudere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

chiudere — to close — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to close a door, a window or a book, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is chiuso, while the present is regular. On this page you will find chiudere 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 chiudere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the chiudere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with chiudere

In the present tense

  • “Io chiudo la porta ogni giorno.” — “I close the door”
  • “Tu chiudi la porta ogni giorno.” — “You close the door”
  • “Lui chiude la porta ogni giorno.” — “He closes the door”
  • “Noi chiudiamo la porta ogni giorno.” — “We close the door”
  • “Voi chiudete la porta ogni giorno.” — “You close the door”
  • “Loro chiudono la porta ogni giorno.” — “They close the door”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “I have closed the door”
  • “Tu hai chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed the door”
  • “Lui ha chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “He has closed the door”
  • “Noi abbiamo chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “We have closed the door”
  • “Voi avete chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “You have closed the door”
  • “Loro hanno chiuso la porta questa settimana.” — “They have closed the door”

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 chiudevo la porta una volta.” — “I used to close the door”
  • “Tu chiuderai la porta domani.” — “You will close the door”
  • “Lui chiuderebbe la porta un giorno.” — “He would close the door”
  • “È importante che noi chiudiamo la porta.” — “It is important that we close the door”
  • “Chiudi la porta!” — “Close the door!”

How chiudere is used

The first thing to know about chiudere is its core meaning: to close. It means to close a door, a window or a book, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is chiuso, while the present is regular. 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 chiudere keeps. The present io form is chiudo, 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 chiuso, 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 chiudere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need chiudo, never chiudere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho chiuso, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle chiuso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Chiudere in context

Io chiudo la porta ogni giorno. Tu chiudi la porta ogni giorno. Lui chiude la porta ogni giorno. Noi chiudiamo la porta ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of chiudere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — chiudo, chiudi, chiude, chiudiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to close. Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana. Tu hai chiuso la porta questa settimana. Lui ha chiuso la porta questa settimana. Noi abbiamo chiuso la porta questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of chiudere 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 close — 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 chiudere la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io chiudo la porta ogni giorno.”

The infinitive chiudere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form chiudo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io chiudi la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io chiudo la porta ogni giorno.”

chiudi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is chiudo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io chiudo la porta ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho chiuso here, not the present chiudo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono chiuso la porta.”

✓ Right: “Io ho chiuso la porta questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) chiudo
    • B) chiudi
    • C) chiude
    • D) chiudiamo

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

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

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

    • A) chiudevo
    • B) chiudevi
    • C) chiudevamo
    • D) chiudeva

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

    • A) chiuderemo
    • B) chiuderò
    • C) chiuderai
    • D) chiuderà

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

    • A) chiuderei
    • B) chiuderesti
    • C) chiuderebbe
    • D) chiuderemmo

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

    • A) chiudesti
    • B) chiuse
    • C) chiusi
    • D) chiudemmo

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

    • A) chiuda
    • B) chiudiate
    • C) chiudano
    • D) chiudiamo

  8. What is the gerund of chiudere?

    • A) chiudendo
    • B) chiuso
    • C) chiudere
    • D) chiudo

  9. What is the past participle of chiudere?

    • A) chiudendo
    • B) chiuso
    • C) chiudere
    • D) chiudo

  10. What does chiudere mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) chiudi — the correct form is chiudi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho chiuso — the correct form is ho chiuso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) chiudeva — the correct form is chiudeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) chiuderemo — the correct form is chiuderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) chiuderesti — the correct form is chiuderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) chiusi — the correct form is chiusi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) chiudiamo — the correct form is chiudiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) chiudendo — the correct form is chiudendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) chiuso — the correct form is chiuso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to close — the correct form is to close. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does chiudere mean in English?

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

Is chiudere regular or irregular?

chiudere is irregular. chiudere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of chiudere?

The gerund is chiudendo and the past participle is chiuso. The perfect tenses use avere + chiuso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of chiudere?

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

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