Continuare Conjugation in Italian
continuare means “to continue” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 278 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of continuare — 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 continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I continue the work.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: continuare
- English: to continue
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: continuando
- Present participle: continuante
- Past participle: continuato
- 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 continuare, 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 continuare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about continuare
- 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 perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle continuato. 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 continuante and continuato: 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 continuare. 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 | continuo |
| tu | continui |
| lui/lei | continua |
| noi | continuiamo |
| voi | continuate |
| loro | continuano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I continue the work”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continuai |
| tu | continuasti |
| lui/lei | continuò |
| noi | continuammo |
| voi | continuaste |
| loro | continuarono |
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 continuai il lavoro ieri.” — “I continued the work”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continuavo |
| tu | continuavi |
| lui/lei | continuava |
| noi | continuavamo |
| voi | continuavate |
| loro | continuavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io continuavo il lavoro una volta.” — “I used to continue the work”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continuerò |
| tu | continuerai |
| lui/lei | continuerà |
| noi | continueremo |
| voi | continuerete |
| loro | continueranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io continuerò il lavoro domani.” — “I will continue the work”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continuerei |
| tu | continueresti |
| lui/lei | continuerebbe |
| noi | continueremmo |
| voi | continuereste |
| loro | continuerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io continuerei il lavoro un giorno.” — “I would continue the work”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho continuato |
| tu | hai continuato |
| lui/lei | ha continuato |
| noi | abbiamo continuato |
| voi | avete continuato |
| loro | hanno continuato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “He has continued the work”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo continuato |
| tu | avevi continuato |
| lui/lei | aveva continuato |
| noi | avevamo continuato |
| voi | avevate continuato |
| loro | avevano continuato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo continuato il lavoro prima della festa.” — “I had continued the work”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò continuato |
| tu | avrai continuato |
| lui/lei | avrà continuato |
| noi | avremo continuato |
| voi | avrete continuato |
| loro | avranno continuato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò continuato il lavoro per domani.” — “I will have continued the work”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei continuato |
| tu | avresti continuato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe continuato |
| noi | avremmo continuato |
| voi | avreste continuato |
| loro | avrebbero continuato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei continuato il lavoro ieri.” — “I would have continued the work”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continui |
| tu | continui |
| lui/lei | continui |
| noi | continuiamo |
| voi | continuiate |
| loro | continuino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io continui il lavoro.” — “It is important that I continue the work”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | continuassi |
| tu | continuassi |
| lui/lei | continuasse |
| noi | continuassimo |
| voi | continuaste |
| loro | continuassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io continuassi il lavoro.” — “It was important that I continue the work”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | continua |
| lui/lei | continui |
| noi | continuiamo |
| voi | continuate |
| loro | continuino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Continua il lavoro!” — “Continue the work!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | continuare |
| lui/lei | continui |
| noi | continuiamo |
| voi | continuiate |
| loro | continuino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non continuare il lavoro.” — “Do not continue the work.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | continuando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Continuando il lavoro, imparo molto.” — “While continuing the work, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | continuante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle continuante 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 | continuato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “I have continued the work.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with continuare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I continue the work”
- “Tu continuasti il lavoro ieri.” — “You continued the work”
- “Lui continuava il lavoro una volta.” — “He used to continue the work”
- “Io continuerò il lavoro domani.” — “I will continue the work”
- “Tu continueresti il lavoro un giorno.” — “You would continue the work”
- “Lui ha continuato il lavoro questa settimana.” — “He has continued the work”
- “Io avevo continuato il lavoro prima della festa.” — “I had continued the work”
- “Tu avrai continuato il lavoro per domani.” — “You will have continued the work”
- “È importante che io continui il lavoro.” — “It is important that I continue the work”
- “Continua il lavoro!” — “Continue the work!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io continui il lavoro.”
✓ Right: “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.”
continui is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with continuo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io continuo il lavoro ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho continuato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono continuato il lavoro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of continuare is formed with avere plus the past participle continuato: the io form is ho continuato. 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 continuo il lavoro.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io continui il lavoro.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use continui here, not the indicative continuo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho continuando il lavoro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho continuato il lavoro questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle continuato, not the gerund continuando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on continuare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of continuare in the Present indicative?
- A) continui
- B) continuo
- C) continua
- D) continuiamo
What is the lui/lei form of continuare in the Passato remoto?
- A) continuai
- B) continuasti
- C) continuò
- D) continuammo
What is the noi form of continuare in the Imperfect?
- A) continuavo
- B) continuavi
- C) continuava
- D) continuavamo
What is the tu form of continuare in the Future?
- A) continuerai
- B) continuerò
- C) continuerà
- D) continueremo
What is the io form of continuare in the Conditional?
- A) continueresti
- B) continuerei
- C) continuerebbe
- D) continueremmo
What is the lui/lei form of continuare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho continuato
- B) hai continuato
- C) ha continuato
- D) abbiamo continuato
What is the lui/lei form of continuare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) continuiamo
- B) continuiate
- C) continuino
- D) continui
What is the io form of continuare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) continuassi
- B) continuasse
- C) continuassimo
- D) continuaste
What is the gerund of continuare?
- A) continuato
- B) continuando
- C) continuare
- D) continuo
What does continuare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to continue
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) continuo — the correct form is continuo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) continuò — the correct form is continuò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) continuavamo — the correct form is continuavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) continuerai — the correct form is continuerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) continuerei — the correct form is continuerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha continuato — the correct form is ha continuato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) continui — the correct form is continui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) continuassi — the correct form is continuassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) continuando — the correct form is continuando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is continuare regular or irregular?
continuare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is continuando and the past participle is continuato.
What are the gerund and past participle of continuare?
The gerund is continuando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is continuato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho continuato.
Which auxiliary does continuare take in the passato prossimo?
continuare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho continuato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle continuato.
How do I say “I continue” in Italian?
Say “Io continuo il lavoro ogni giorno.” — “I continue the work” The io form of the present is continuo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of continuare — every tense of continuare in one place.
- Continuare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Continuare 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.
- Fare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Andare 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 continuare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise continuare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise continuare with the interactive tool.