Continuare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

continuare — to continue — 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 continue and to carry on, and it is completely regular. The stem ends in u, so the forms keep the u throughout, and there is no spelling change to watch for. On this page you will find continuare 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 continuare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the continuare present tense page.

Example sentences with continuare

In the present tense

  • “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I continue the work”
  • “Tu continui il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You continue the work”
  • “Lui continua il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “He continues the work”
  • “Noi continuiamo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “We continue the work”
  • “Voi continuate il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “You continue the work”
  • “Loro continuano il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “They continue the work”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “I have continued the work”
  • “Tu hai continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “You have continued the work”
  • “Lui ha continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “He has continued the work”
  • “Noi abbiamo continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “We have continued the work”
  • “Voi avete continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “You have continued the work”
  • “Loro hanno continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “They have continued the work”

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 continuavo il lavoro una volta.” — “I used to continue the work”
  • “Tu continuerai il lavoro domani.” — “You will continue the work”
  • “Lui continuerebbe il lavoro un giorno.” — “He would continue the work”
  • “È importante che noi continuiamo il lavoro.” — “It is important that we continue the work”
  • “Continua il lavoro!” — “Continue the work!”

How continuare is used

The first thing to know about continuare is its core meaning: to continue. It means to continue and to carry on, and it is completely regular. The stem ends in u, so the forms keep the u throughout, and there is no spelling change to watch for. 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 continuare keeps. The present io form is continuo, 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 continuato, 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 continuare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need continuo, never continuare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho continuato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle continuato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Continuare in context

Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno. Tu continui il lavoro ogni giorno. Lui continua il lavoro ogni giorno. Noi continuiamo il lavoro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of continuare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — continuo, continui, continua, continuiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to continue. Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana. Tu hai continuato il lavoro questa settimana. Lui ha continuato il lavoro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo continuato il lavoro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of continuare 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 continue — 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 continuare il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive continuare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form continuo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io continui il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.”

continui is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is continuo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io continuo il lavoro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho continuato here, not the present continuo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono continuato il lavoro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) continuo
    • B) continui
    • C) continua
    • D) continuiamo

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

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

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

    • A) continuavo
    • B) continuavi
    • C) continuavamo
    • D) continuava

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

    • A) continueremo
    • B) continuerò
    • C) continuerai
    • D) continuerà

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

    • A) continuerei
    • B) continueresti
    • C) continuerebbe
    • D) continueremmo

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

    • A) continuasti
    • B) continuò
    • C) continuai
    • D) continuammo

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

    • A) continui
    • B) continuiate
    • C) continuino
    • D) continuiamo

  8. What is the gerund of continuare?

    • A) continuando
    • B) continuato
    • C) continuare
    • D) continuo

  9. What is the past participle of continuare?

    • A) continuando
    • B) continuato
    • C) continuare
    • D) continuo

  10. What does continuare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to continue
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) continui — the correct form is continui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho continuato — the correct form is ho continuato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) continuava — the correct form is continuava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) continueremo — the correct form is continueremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) continueresti — the correct form is continueresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) continuai — the correct form is continuai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) continuiamo — the correct form is continuiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) continuando — the correct form is continuando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) continuato — the correct form is continuato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to continue — the correct form is to continue. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does continuare mean in English?

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

Is continuare regular or irregular?

continuare is regular. continuare 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 continuare?

The gerund is continuando and the past participle is continuato. The perfect tenses use avere + continuato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of continuare?

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

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