Discutere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

discutere — to discuss — 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 discussing a plan, a problem or an idea, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is discusso and the remoto is discussi. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair. On this page you will find discutere 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 discutere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the discutere present tense page.

Example sentences with discutere

In the present tense

  • “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
  • “Tu discuti il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan”
  • “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan”
  • “Noi discutiamo il piano ogni giorno.” — “We discuss the plan”
  • “Voi discutete il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan”
  • “Loro discutono il piano ogni giorno.” — “They discuss the plan”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “I have discussed the plan”
  • “Tu hai discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “You have discussed the plan”
  • “Lui ha discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “He has discussed the plan”
  • “Noi abbiamo discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “We have discussed the plan”
  • “Voi avete discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “You have discussed the plan”
  • “Loro hanno discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “They have discussed the plan”

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 discutevo il piano una volta.” — “I used to discuss the plan”
  • “Tu discuterai il piano domani.” — “You will discuss the plan”
  • “Lui discuterebbe il piano un giorno.” — “He would discuss the plan”
  • “È importante che noi discutiamo il piano.” — “It is important that we discuss the plan”
  • “Discuti il piano!” — “Discuss the plan!”

How discutere is used

The first thing to know about discutere is its core meaning: to discuss. It is the verb for discussing a plan, a problem or an idea, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is discusso and the remoto is discussi. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair. 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 discutere keeps. The present io form is discuto, 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 discusso, 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 discutere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need discuto, never discutere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho discusso, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle discusso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Discutere in context

Io discuto il piano ogni giorno. Tu discuti il piano ogni giorno. Lui discute il piano ogni giorno. Noi discutiamo il piano ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of discutere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — discuto, discuti, discute, discutiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to discuss. Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana. Tu hai discusso il piano questa settimana. Lui ha discusso il piano questa settimana. Noi abbiamo discusso il piano questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of discutere 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 discuss — 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 discutere il piano.”

✓ Right: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.”

The infinitive discutere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form discuto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io discuti il piano.”

✓ Right: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.”

discuti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is discuto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io discuto il piano ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho discusso here, not the present discuto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono discusso il piano.”

✓ Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) discuto
    • B) discuti
    • C) discute
    • D) discutiamo

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

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

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

    • A) discutevo
    • B) discutevi
    • C) discutevamo
    • D) discuteva

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

    • A) discuteremo
    • B) discuterò
    • C) discuterai
    • D) discuterà

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

    • A) discuterei
    • B) discuteresti
    • C) discuterebbe
    • D) discuteremmo

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

    • A) discutesti
    • B) discusse
    • C) discussi
    • D) discutemmo

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

    • A) discuta
    • B) discutiate
    • C) discutano
    • D) discutiamo

  8. What is the gerund of discutere?

    • A) discutendo
    • B) discusso
    • C) discutere
    • D) discuto

  9. What is the past participle of discutere?

    • A) discutendo
    • B) discusso
    • C) discutere
    • D) discuto

  10. What does discutere mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) discuti — the correct form is discuti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho discusso — the correct form is ho discusso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) discuteva — the correct form is discuteva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) discuteremo — the correct form is discuteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) discuteresti — the correct form is discuteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) discussi — the correct form is discussi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) discutiamo — the correct form is discutiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) discutendo — the correct form is discutendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) discusso — the correct form is discusso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to discuss — the correct form is to discuss. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does discutere mean in English?

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

Is discutere regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of discutere?

The gerund is discutendo and the past participle is discusso. The perfect tenses use avere + discusso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of discutere?

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

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