Introduction

Discutere means “to discuss”, and this page covers exactly one thing: discutere in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for discutere, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about discutere in the present. 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. For example: “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan.” Everything on this page uses the forms of discutere exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Discutere in the Present — full table

Person Form
io discuto
tu discuti
lui/lei discute
noi discutiamo
voi discutete
loro discutono
Gerund: discutendo · Past participle: discusso
The gerund is discutendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Discutendo il piano, imparo molto.” — “While discussing the plan, I learn a lot.” The past participle is discusso, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho discusso is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how discutere is used.
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.

How the present of discutere is formed

The present tense of discutere has six forms: io discuto, tu discuti, lui discute, noi discutiamo, voi discutete, loro discutono. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. discutere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect: the present forms do not all follow the standard -ere endings, so learn the six forms as a set instead of deriving them from the infinitive. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb. Because discutere is irregular in the remoto and the participle, its remoto io form is discussi and its participle is discusso.

Two things about the present of discutere are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning discutiamo and discutete pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so discuto can mean both “I discuss” and “I am discussing” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because discutere is irregular in the present, there is no shortcut: the six forms above are the forms, and they have to be learnt as they are. The good news is that the most frequent verbs are the irregular ones, so every minute spent on them pays off in real conversation.

When to use the present of discutere

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use discutere in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and discutere is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about discutere does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with discutere in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi discutiamo il piano ogni giorno.” — “We discuss the plan.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu discuti il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and discutere in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro discutono il piano ogni giorno.” — “They discuss the plan.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “He has discussed the plan”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “I have discussed the plan”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu discuti il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “You have discussed the plan”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: discutere in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
  2. “Tu discuti il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan”
  3. “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan”
  4. “Noi discutiamo il piano ogni giorno.” — “We discuss the plan”
  5. “Voi discutete il piano ogni giorno.” — “You discuss the plan”
  6. “Loro discutono il piano ogni giorno.” — “They discuss the plan”
  7. “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
  8. “Lui discute il piano ogni giorno.” — “He discusses the plan”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io discuti il piano.” Right: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is discuto, not discuti. discuti is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi discuto il piano.” Right: “Noi discutiamo il piano ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form discutiamo. discuto belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho discusso for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io discutere il piano.” Right: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive discutere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form discuto.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. What is the noi form of discutere in the Present indicative?

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

  5. What is the voi form of discutere in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the loro form of discutere in the Present indicative?

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

  7. What is the io form of discutere in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. B) discuto — the correct form is discuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) discuti — the correct form is discuti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) discute — the correct form is discute. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) discutiamo — the correct form is discutiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) discutete — the correct form is discutete. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) discutono — the correct form is discutono. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) discuto — the correct form is discuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) discuti — the correct form is discuti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does discutere mean in English?

discutere means “to discuss”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.

How is the present tense of discutere formed?

The six present forms are: io discuto, tu discuti, lui discute, noi discutiamo, voi discutete, loro discutono. discutere is irregular: the forms have to be learnt as a set, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of discutere?

The gerund is discutendo and the past participle is discusso.

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