Dimenticare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

dimenticare — to forget — 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 forget something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -care stem keeps its hard c by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is dimentichi and the future is dimenticherò. Do not confuse it with ricordare, which means to remember. On this page you will find dimenticare 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 dimenticare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the dimenticare present tense page.

Example sentences with dimenticare

In the present tense

  • “Io dimentico le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “I forget the keys”
  • “Tu dimentichi le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “You forget the keys”
  • “Lui dimentica le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “He forgets the keys”
  • “Noi dimentichiamo le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “We forget the keys”
  • “Voi dimenticate le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “You forget the keys”
  • “Loro dimenticano le chiavi ogni giorno.” — “They forget the keys”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “I have forgotten the keys”
  • “Tu hai dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “You have forgotten the keys”
  • “Lui ha dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “He has forgotten the keys”
  • “Noi abbiamo dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “We have forgotten the keys”
  • “Voi avete dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “You have forgotten the keys”
  • “Loro hanno dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.” — “They have forgotten the keys”

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 dimenticavo le chiavi una volta.” — “I used to forget the keys”
  • “Tu dimenticherai le chiavi domani.” — “You will forget the keys”
  • “Lui dimenticherebbe le chiavi un giorno.” — “He would forget the keys”
  • “È importante che noi dimentichiamo le chiavi.” — “It is important that we forget the keys”
  • “Dimentica le chiavi!” — “Forget the keys!”

How dimenticare is used

The first thing to know about dimenticare is its core meaning: to forget. It means to forget something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -care stem keeps its hard c by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is dimentichi and the future is dimenticherò. Do not confuse it with ricordare, which means to remember. 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 dimenticare keeps. The present io form is dimentico, 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 dimenticato, 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 dimenticare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need dimentico, never dimenticare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho dimenticato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle dimenticato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Dimenticare in context

Io dimentico le chiavi ogni giorno. Tu dimentichi le chiavi ogni giorno. Lui dimentica le chiavi ogni giorno. Noi dimentichiamo le chiavi ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of dimenticare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — dimentico, dimentichi, dimentica, dimentichiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to forget. Io ho dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana. Tu hai dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana. Lui ha dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana. Noi abbiamo dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of dimenticare 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 forget — 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 dimenticare le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io dimentico le chiavi ogni giorno.”

The infinitive dimenticare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form dimentico.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io dimentichi le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io dimentico le chiavi ogni giorno.”

dimentichi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is dimentico — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io dimentico le chiavi ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho dimenticato here, not the present dimentico.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono dimenticato le chiavi.”

✓ Right: “Io ho dimenticato le chiavi questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) dimentico
    • B) dimentichi
    • C) dimentica
    • D) dimentichiamo

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

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

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

    • A) dimenticavo
    • B) dimenticavi
    • C) dimenticavamo
    • D) dimenticava

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

    • A) dimenticheremo
    • B) dimenticherò
    • C) dimenticherai
    • D) dimenticherà

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

    • A) dimenticherei
    • B) dimenticheresti
    • C) dimenticherebbe
    • D) dimenticheremmo

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

    • A) dimenticasti
    • B) dimenticò
    • C) dimenticai
    • D) dimenticammo

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

    • A) dimentichi
    • B) dimentichiate
    • C) dimentichino
    • D) dimentichiamo

  8. What is the gerund of dimenticare?

    • A) dimenticando
    • B) dimenticato
    • C) dimenticare
    • D) dimentico

  9. What is the past participle of dimenticare?

    • A) dimenticando
    • B) dimenticato
    • C) dimenticare
    • D) dimentico

  10. What does dimenticare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to forget
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) dimentichi — the correct form is dimentichi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho dimenticato — the correct form is ho dimenticato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) dimenticava — the correct form is dimenticava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) dimenticheremo — the correct form is dimenticheremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) dimenticheresti — the correct form is dimenticheresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) dimenticai — the correct form is dimenticai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) dimentichiamo — the correct form is dimentichiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) dimenticando — the correct form is dimenticando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) dimenticato — the correct form is dimenticato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to forget — the correct form is to forget. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does dimenticare mean in English?

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

Is dimenticare regular or irregular?

dimenticare is regular. dimenticare 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 dimenticare?

The gerund is dimenticando and the past participle is dimenticato. The perfect tenses use avere + dimenticato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of dimenticare?

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

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