Discutere Conjugation in Italian
discutere means “to discuss” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 142 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of discutere — 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 discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: discutere
- English: to discuss
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: discutendo
- Present participle: discutente
- Past participle: discusso
- 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 discutere, 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 discutere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about discutere
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is discusso and the remoto io form is discussi.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle discusso. 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 discutente and discusso: 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.
A note on discutere
A note on the pattern: discutere is regular in the present but irregular in the passato remoto — io discussi — and in the past participle, which is discusso. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for discutere. 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 | discuto |
| tu | discuti |
| lui/lei | discute |
| noi | discutiamo |
| voi | discutete |
| loro | discutono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discussi |
| tu | discutesti |
| lui/lei | discusse |
| noi | discutemmo |
| voi | discuteste |
| loro | discussero |
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 discussi il piano ieri.” — “I discussed the plan”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discutevo |
| tu | discutevi |
| lui/lei | discuteva |
| noi | discutevamo |
| voi | discutevate |
| loro | discutevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io discutevo il piano una volta.” — “I used to discuss the plan”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discuterò |
| tu | discuterai |
| lui/lei | discuterà |
| noi | discuteremo |
| voi | discuterete |
| loro | discuteranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io discuterò il piano domani.” — “I will discuss the plan”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discuterei |
| tu | discuteresti |
| lui/lei | discuterebbe |
| noi | discuteremmo |
| voi | discutereste |
| loro | discuterebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io discuterei il piano un giorno.” — “I would discuss the plan”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho discusso |
| tu | hai discusso |
| lui/lei | ha discusso |
| noi | abbiamo discusso |
| voi | avete discusso |
| loro | hanno discusso |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “He has discussed the plan”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo discusso |
| tu | avevi discusso |
| lui/lei | aveva discusso |
| noi | avevamo discusso |
| voi | avevate discusso |
| loro | avevano discusso |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo discusso il piano prima della festa.” — “I had discussed the plan”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò discusso |
| tu | avrai discusso |
| lui/lei | avrà discusso |
| noi | avremo discusso |
| voi | avrete discusso |
| loro | avranno discusso |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò discusso il piano per domani.” — “I will have discussed the plan”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei discusso |
| tu | avresti discusso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe discusso |
| noi | avremmo discusso |
| voi | avreste discusso |
| loro | avrebbero discusso |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei discusso il piano ieri.” — “I would have discussed the plan”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discuta |
| tu | discuta |
| lui/lei | discuta |
| noi | discutiamo |
| voi | discutiate |
| loro | discutano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io discuta il piano.” — “It is important that I discuss the plan”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | discutessi |
| tu | discutessi |
| lui/lei | discutesse |
| noi | discutessimo |
| voi | discuteste |
| loro | discutessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io discutessi il piano.” — “It was important that I discuss the plan”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | discuti |
| lui/lei | discuta |
| noi | discutiamo |
| voi | discutete |
| loro | discutano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Discuti il piano!” — “Discuss the plan!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | discutere |
| lui/lei | discuta |
| noi | discutiamo |
| voi | discutiate |
| loro | discutano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non discutere il piano.” — “Do not discuss the plan.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | discutendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Discutendo il piano, imparo molto.” — “While discussing the plan, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | discutente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle discutente 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 | discusso |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “I have discussed the plan.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with discutere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan”
- “Tu discutesti il piano ieri.” — “You discussed the plan”
- “Lui discuteva il piano una volta.” — “He used to discuss the plan”
- “Io discuterò il piano domani.” — “I will discuss the plan”
- “Tu discuteresti il piano un giorno.” — “You would discuss the plan”
- “Lui ha discusso il piano questa settimana.” — “He has discussed the plan”
- “Io avevo discusso il piano prima della festa.” — “I had discussed the plan”
- “Tu avrai discusso il piano per domani.” — “You will have discussed the plan”
- “È importante che io discuta il piano.” — “It is important that I discuss the plan”
- “Discuti il piano!” — “Discuss the plan!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io discuti il piano.”
✓ Right: “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.”
discuti is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with discuto.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io discuto il piano ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho discusso for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono discusso il piano.”
✓ Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of discutere is formed with avere plus the past participle discusso: the io form is ho discusso. 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 discuto il piano.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io discuta il piano.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use discuta here, not the indicative discuto.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho discutendo il piano.”
✓ Right: “Io ho discusso il piano questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle discusso, not the gerund discutendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on discutere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of discutere in the Present indicative?
- A) discuti
- B) discuto
- C) discute
- D) discutiamo
What is the lui/lei form of discutere in the Passato remoto?
- A) discussi
- B) discutesti
- C) discusse
- D) discutemmo
What is the noi form of discutere in the Imperfect?
- A) discutevo
- B) discutevi
- C) discuteva
- D) discutevamo
What is the tu form of discutere in the Future?
- A) discuterai
- B) discuterò
- C) discuterà
- D) discuteremo
What is the io form of discutere in the Conditional?
- A) discuteresti
- B) discuterei
- C) discuterebbe
- D) discuteremmo
What is the lui/lei form of discutere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho discusso
- B) hai discusso
- C) ha discusso
- D) abbiamo discusso
What is the lui/lei form of discutere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) discutiamo
- B) discutiate
- C) discutano
- D) discuta
What is the io form of discutere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) discutessi
- B) discutesse
- C) discutessimo
- D) discuteste
What is the gerund of discutere?
- A) discusso
- B) discutendo
- C) discutere
- D) discuto
What does discutere mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to discuss
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) discuto — the correct form is discuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) discusse — the correct form is discusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) discutevamo — the correct form is discutevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) discuterai — the correct form is discuterai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) discuterei — the correct form is discuterei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha discusso — the correct form is ha discusso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) discuta — the correct form is discuta. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) discutessi — the correct form is discutessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) discutendo — the correct form is discutendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is discutere regular or irregular?
discutere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is discutendo and the past participle is discusso.
What are the gerund and past participle of discutere?
The gerund is discutendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is discusso — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho discusso.
Which auxiliary does discutere take in the passato prossimo?
discutere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho discusso. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle discusso.
How do I say “I discuss” in Italian?
Say “Io discuto il piano ogni giorno.” — “I discuss the plan” The io form of the present is discuto, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of discutere — every tense of discutere in one place.
- Discutere in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Discutere 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.
- Rispondere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Decidere 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 discutere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise discutere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise discutere with the interactive tool.