Decidere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

decidere — to decide — 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 is the verb for making a decision, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is deciso and the remoto is decisi. It is often followed by di plus an infinitive, as in deciding to stay. On this page you will find decidere 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 decidere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the decidere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with decidere

In the present tense

  • “Io decido di restare ogni giorno.” — “I decide to stay”
  • “Tu decidi di restare ogni giorno.” — “You decide to stay”
  • “Lui decide di restare ogni giorno.” — “He decides to stay”
  • “Noi decidiamo di restare ogni giorno.” — “We decide to stay”
  • “Voi decidete di restare ogni giorno.” — “You decide to stay”
  • “Loro decidono di restare ogni giorno.” — “They decide to stay”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “I have decided to stay”
  • “Tu hai deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay”
  • “Lui ha deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “He has decided to stay”
  • “Noi abbiamo deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “We have decided to stay”
  • “Voi avete deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “You have decided to stay”
  • “Loro hanno deciso di restare questa settimana.” — “They have decided to stay”

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 decidevo di restare una volta.” — “I used to decide to stay”
  • “Tu deciderai di restare domani.” — “You will decide to stay”
  • “Lui deciderebbe di restare un giorno.” — “He would decide to stay”
  • “È importante che noi decidiamo di restare.” — “It is important that we decide to stay”
  • “Decidi di restare!” — “Decide to stay!”

How decidere is used

The first thing to know about decidere is its core meaning: to decide. It is the verb for making a decision, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is deciso and the remoto is decisi. It is often followed by di plus an infinitive, as in deciding to stay. 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 decidere keeps. The present io form is decido, 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 deciso, 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 decidere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need decido, never decidere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho deciso, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle deciso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Decidere in context

Io decido di restare ogni giorno. Tu decidi di restare ogni giorno. Lui decide di restare ogni giorno. Noi decidiamo di restare ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of decidere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — decido, decidi, decide, decidiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to decide. Io ho deciso di restare questa settimana. Tu hai deciso di restare questa settimana. Lui ha deciso di restare questa settimana. Noi abbiamo deciso di restare questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of decidere 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 decide — 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 decidere di restare.”

✓ Right: “Io decido di restare ogni giorno.”

The infinitive decidere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form decido.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io decidi di restare.”

✓ Right: “Io decido di restare ogni giorno.”

decidi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is decido — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io decido di restare ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho deciso di restare questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho deciso here, not the present decido.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono deciso di restare.”

✓ Right: “Io ho deciso di restare questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) decido
    • B) decidi
    • C) decide
    • D) decidiamo

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

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

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

    • A) decidevo
    • B) decidevi
    • C) decidevamo
    • D) decideva

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

    • A) decideremo
    • B) deciderò
    • C) deciderai
    • D) deciderà

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

    • A) deciderei
    • B) decideresti
    • C) deciderebbe
    • D) decideremmo

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

    • A) decidesti
    • B) decise
    • C) decisi
    • D) decidemmo

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

    • A) decida
    • B) decidiate
    • C) decidano
    • D) decidiamo

  8. What is the gerund of decidere?

    • A) decidendo
    • B) deciso
    • C) decidere
    • D) decido

  9. What is the past participle of decidere?

    • A) decidendo
    • B) deciso
    • C) decidere
    • D) decido

  10. What does decidere mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to decide
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) decidi — the correct form is decidi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho deciso — the correct form is ho deciso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) decideva — the correct form is decideva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) decideremo — the correct form is decideremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) decideresti — the correct form is decideresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) decisi — the correct form is decisi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) decidiamo — the correct form is decidiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) decidendo — the correct form is decidendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) deciso — the correct form is deciso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to decide — the correct form is to decide. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does decidere mean in English?

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

Is decidere regular or irregular?

decidere is irregular. decidere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of decidere?

The gerund is decidendo and the past participle is deciso. The perfect tenses use avere + deciso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of decidere?

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

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