Credere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
credere — to believe — 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 believe someone and to believe in something, and it is the verb for opinions and trust. Only its passato remoto is irregular; every other tense follows the regular -ere pattern. On this page you will find credere 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 credere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the credere present tense page.
Example sentences with credere
In the present tense
- “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I believe Maria”
- “Tu credi a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You believe Maria”
- “Lui crede a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He believes Maria”
- “Noi crediamo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We believe Maria”
- “Voi credete a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You believe Maria”
- “Loro credono a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They believe Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have believed Maria”
- “Tu hai creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have believed Maria”
- “Lui ha creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has believed Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have believed Maria”
- “Voi avete creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have believed Maria”
- “Loro hanno creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have believed 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 credevo a Maria una volta.” — “I used to believe Maria”
- “Tu crederai a Maria domani.” — “You will believe Maria”
- “Lui crederebbe a Maria un giorno.” — “He would believe Maria”
- “È importante che noi crediamo a Maria.” — “It is important that we believe Maria”
- “Credi a Maria!” — “Believe Maria!”
How credere is used
The first thing to know about credere is its core meaning: to believe. It means to believe someone and to believe in something, and it is the verb for opinions and trust. Only its passato remoto is irregular; every other tense follows the regular -ere pattern. 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 credere keeps. The present io form is credo, 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 creduto, 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 credere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need credo, never credere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho creduto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle creduto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Credere in context
Io credo a Maria ogni giorno. Tu credi a Maria ogni giorno. Lui crede a Maria ogni giorno. Noi crediamo a Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of credere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — credo, credi, crede, crediamo — while the meaning stays the same: to believe. Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana. Tu hai creduto a Maria questa settimana. Lui ha creduto a Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo creduto a Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of credere 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 believe — 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 credere a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive credere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form credo.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io credi a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.”
credi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is credo — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io credo a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho creduto here, not the present credo.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono creduto a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.”
credere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho creduto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on credere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of credere in the Present indicative?
- A) credo
- B) credi
- C) crede
- D) crediamo
What is the io form of credere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai creduto
- B) ha creduto
- C) ho creduto
- D) abbiamo creduto
What is the lui/lei form of credere in the Imperfect?
- A) credevo
- B) credevi
- C) credevamo
- D) credeva
What is the noi form of credere in the Future?
- A) crederemo
- B) crederò
- C) crederai
- D) crederà
What is the tu form of credere in the Conditional?
- A) crederei
- B) crederesti
- C) crederebbe
- D) crederemmo
What is the io form of credere in the Passato remoto?
- A) credesti
- B) credette
- C) credetti
- D) credemmo
What is the noi form of credere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) creda
- B) crediate
- C) credano
- D) crediamo
What is the gerund of credere?
- A) credendo
- B) creduto
- C) credere
- D) credo
What is the past participle of credere?
- A) credendo
- B) creduto
- C) credere
- D) credo
What does credere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to believe
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) credi — the correct form is credi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho creduto — the correct form is ho creduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) credeva — the correct form is credeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) crederemo — the correct form is crederemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) crederesti — the correct form is crederesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) credetti — the correct form is credetti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) crediamo — the correct form is crediamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) credendo — the correct form is credendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) creduto — the correct form is creduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to believe — the correct form is to believe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does credere mean in English?
credere means “to believe”. You use it whenever you talk about to believe in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is credere regular or irregular?
credere is irregular. credere is irregular in passato-remoto — learn those forms as a set.
What are the gerund and past participle of credere?
The gerund is credendo and the past participle is creduto. The perfect tenses use avere + creduto.
Where can I see the full conjugation of credere?
On the credere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The credere 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 credere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- credere conjugation — full tables
- credere 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 credere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise credere with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise credere with the interactive tool.