Credere Conjugation in Italian
credere means “to believe” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 94 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of credere — 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 credo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I believe Maria.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: credere
- English: to believe
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto
- Gerund: credendo
- Present participle: credente
- Past participle: creduto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. 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 credere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about credere
- It is irregular in 1 tense(s): passato-remoto. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle creduto. 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 credente and creduto: 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 credere. 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 | credo |
| tu | credi |
| lui/lei | crede |
| noi | crediamo |
| voi | credete |
| loro | credono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I believe Maria”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | credetti |
| tu | credesti |
| lui/lei | credette |
| noi | credemmo |
| voi | credeste |
| loro | credettero |
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 credetti a Maria ieri.” — “I believed Maria”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | credevo |
| tu | credevi |
| lui/lei | credeva |
| noi | credevamo |
| voi | credevate |
| loro | credevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io credevo a Maria una volta.” — “I used to believe Maria”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | crederò |
| tu | crederai |
| lui/lei | crederà |
| noi | crederemo |
| voi | crederete |
| loro | crederanno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io crederò a Maria domani.” — “I will believe Maria”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | crederei |
| tu | crederesti |
| lui/lei | crederebbe |
| noi | crederemmo |
| voi | credereste |
| loro | crederebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io crederei a Maria un giorno.” — “I would believe Maria”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho creduto |
| tu | hai creduto |
| lui/lei | ha creduto |
| noi | abbiamo creduto |
| voi | avete creduto |
| loro | hanno creduto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has believed Maria”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo creduto |
| tu | avevi creduto |
| lui/lei | aveva creduto |
| noi | avevamo creduto |
| voi | avevate creduto |
| loro | avevano creduto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo creduto a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had believed Maria”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò creduto |
| tu | avrai creduto |
| lui/lei | avrà creduto |
| noi | avremo creduto |
| voi | avrete creduto |
| loro | avranno creduto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò creduto a Maria per domani.” — “I will have believed Maria”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei creduto |
| tu | avresti creduto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe creduto |
| noi | avremmo creduto |
| voi | avreste creduto |
| loro | avrebbero creduto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei creduto a Maria ieri.” — “I would have believed Maria”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | creda |
| tu | creda |
| lui/lei | creda |
| noi | crediamo |
| voi | crediate |
| loro | credano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io creda a Maria.” — “It is important that I believe Maria”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | credessi |
| tu | credessi |
| lui/lei | credesse |
| noi | credessimo |
| voi | credeste |
| loro | credessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io credessi a Maria.” — “It was important that I believe Maria”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | credi |
| lui/lei | creda |
| noi | crediamo |
| voi | credete |
| loro | credano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Credi a Maria!” — “Believe Maria!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | credere |
| lui/lei | creda |
| noi | crediamo |
| voi | crediate |
| loro | credano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non credere a Maria.” — “Do not believe Maria.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | credendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Credendo a Maria, imparo molto.” — “While believing Maria, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | credente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle credente 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 | creduto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have believed Maria.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with credere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I believe Maria”
- “Tu credesti a Maria ieri.” — “You believed Maria”
- “Lui credeva a Maria una volta.” — “He used to believe Maria”
- “Io crederò a Maria domani.” — “I will believe Maria”
- “Tu crederesti a Maria un giorno.” — “You would believe Maria”
- “Lui ha creduto a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has believed Maria”
- “Io avevo creduto a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had believed Maria”
- “Tu avrai creduto a Maria per domani.” — “You will have believed Maria”
- “È importante che io creda a Maria.” — “It is important that I believe Maria”
- “Credi a Maria!” — “Believe Maria!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io credi a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.”
credi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with credo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io credo a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho creduto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono creduto a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of credere is formed with avere plus the past participle creduto: the io form is ho creduto. 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 credo a Maria.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io creda a Maria.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use creda here, not the indicative credo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho credendo a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho creduto a Maria questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle creduto, not the gerund credendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on credere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of credere in the Present indicative?
- A) credi
- B) credo
- C) crede
- D) crediamo
What is the lui/lei form of credere in the Passato remoto?
- A) credetti
- B) credesti
- C) credette
- D) credemmo
What is the noi form of credere in the Imperfect?
- A) credevo
- B) credevi
- C) credeva
- D) credevamo
What is the tu form of credere in the Future?
- A) crederai
- B) crederò
- C) crederà
- D) crederemo
What is the io form of credere in the Conditional?
- A) crederesti
- B) crederei
- C) crederebbe
- D) crederemmo
What is the lui/lei form of credere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho creduto
- B) hai creduto
- C) ha creduto
- D) abbiamo creduto
What is the lui/lei form of credere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) crediamo
- B) crediate
- C) credano
- D) creda
What is the io form of credere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) credessi
- B) credesse
- C) credessimo
- D) credeste
What is the gerund of credere?
- A) creduto
- B) credendo
- 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) credo — the correct form is credo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) credette — the correct form is credette. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) credevamo — the correct form is credevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) crederai — the correct form is crederai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) crederei — the correct form is crederei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha creduto — the correct form is ha creduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) creda — the correct form is creda. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) credessi — the correct form is credessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) credendo — the correct form is credendo. 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is credere regular or irregular?
credere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto. The gerund is credendo and the past participle is creduto.
What are the gerund and past participle of credere?
The gerund is credendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is creduto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho creduto.
Which auxiliary does credere take in the passato prossimo?
credere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho creduto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle creduto.
How do I say “I believe” in Italian?
Say “Io credo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I believe Maria” The io form of the present is credo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of credere — every tense of credere in one place.
- Credere in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Credere 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.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Avere 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 credere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise credere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise credere with the interactive tool.