Conoscere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
conoscere — to know — 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 know a person or a place, and to be acquainted with something, and it is different from sapere, which means to know a fact. Only its passato remoto is irregular; the rest of the conjugation is regular. On this page you will find conoscere 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 conoscere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the conoscere present tense page.
Example sentences with conoscere
In the present tense
- “Io conosco Maria ogni giorno.” — “I know Maria”
- “Tu conosci Maria ogni giorno.” — “You know Maria”
- “Lui conosce Maria ogni giorno.” — “He knows Maria”
- “Noi conosciamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We know Maria”
- “Voi conoscete Maria ogni giorno.” — “You know Maria”
- “Loro conoscono Maria ogni giorno.” — “They know Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “I have known Maria”
- “Tu hai conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “You have known Maria”
- “Lui ha conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “He has known Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “We have known Maria”
- “Voi avete conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “You have known Maria”
- “Loro hanno conoscuto Maria questa settimana.” — “They have known 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 conoscevo Maria una volta.” — “I used to know Maria”
- “Tu conoscerai Maria domani.” — “You will know Maria”
- “Lui conoscerebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would know Maria”
- “È importante che noi conosciamo Maria.” — “It is important that we know Maria”
- “Conosci Maria!” — “Know Maria!”
How conoscere is used
The first thing to know about conoscere is its core meaning: to know. It means to know a person or a place, and to be acquainted with something, and it is different from sapere, which means to know a fact. Only its passato remoto is irregular; the rest of the conjugation 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 conoscere keeps. The present io form is conosco, 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 conoscuto, 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 conoscere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need conosco, never conoscere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho conoscuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle conoscuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Conoscere in context
Io conosco Maria ogni giorno. Tu conosci Maria ogni giorno. Lui conosce Maria ogni giorno. Noi conosciamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of conoscere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — conosco, conosci, conosce, conosciamo — while the meaning stays the same: to know. Io ho conoscuto Maria questa settimana. Tu hai conoscuto Maria questa settimana. Lui ha conoscuto Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo conoscuto Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of conoscere 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 know — 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 conoscere Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io conosco Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive conoscere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form conosco.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io conosci Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io conosco Maria ogni giorno.”
conosci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is conosco — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io conosco Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho conoscuto Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho conoscuto here, not the present conosco.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono conoscuto Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho conoscuto Maria questa settimana.”
conoscere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho conoscuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on conoscere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of conoscere in the Present indicative?
- A) conosco
- B) conosci
- C) conosce
- D) conosciamo
What is the io form of conoscere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai conoscuto
- B) ha conoscuto
- C) ho conoscuto
- D) abbiamo conoscuto
What is the lui/lei form of conoscere in the Imperfect?
- A) conoscevo
- B) conoscevi
- C) conoscevamo
- D) conosceva
What is the noi form of conoscere in the Future?
- A) conosceremo
- B) conoscerò
- C) conoscerai
- D) conoscerà
What is the tu form of conoscere in the Conditional?
- A) conoscerei
- B) conosceresti
- C) conoscerebbe
- D) conosceremmo
What is the io form of conoscere in the Passato remoto?
- A) conoscesti
- B) conobbe
- C) conobbi
- D) conoscemmo
What is the noi form of conoscere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) conosca
- B) conosciate
- C) conoscano
- D) conosciamo
What is the gerund of conoscere?
- A) conoscendo
- B) conoscuto
- C) conoscere
- D) conosco
What is the past participle of conoscere?
- A) conoscendo
- B) conoscuto
- C) conoscere
- D) conosco
What does conoscere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to know
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) conosci — the correct form is conosci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho conoscuto — the correct form is ho conoscuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) conosceva — the correct form is conosceva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) conosceremo — the correct form is conosceremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) conosceresti — the correct form is conosceresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) conobbi — the correct form is conobbi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) conosciamo — the correct form is conosciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) conoscendo — the correct form is conoscendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) conoscuto — the correct form is conoscuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to know — the correct form is to know. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does conoscere mean in English?
conoscere means “to know”. You use it whenever you talk about to know in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is conoscere regular or irregular?
conoscere is irregular. conoscere is irregular in passato-remoto — learn those forms as a set.
What are the gerund and past participle of conoscere?
The gerund is conoscendo and the past participle is conoscuto. The perfect tenses use avere + conoscuto.
Where can I see the full conjugation of conoscere?
On the conoscere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The conoscere 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 conoscere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- conoscere conjugation — full tables
- conoscere in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Avere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise conoscere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise conoscere with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise conoscere with the interactive tool.