Fare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

fare — to do, to make — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It covers both 'to do' and 'to make', and it appears in dozens of everyday expressions: making a cake, doing homework, and talking about the weather, where Italian says the weather 'does' hot or cold. It is irregular in almost every tense, so its tables are worth learning whole. On this page you will find fare 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 fare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the fare passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with fare

In the present tense

  • “Io faccio un dolce ogni giorno.” — “I make a cake”
  • “Tu fai un dolce ogni giorno.” — “You make a cake”
  • “Lui fa un dolce ogni giorno.” — “He makes a cake”
  • “Noi facciamo un dolce ogni giorno.” — “We make a cake”
  • “Voi fate un dolce ogni giorno.” — “You make a cake”
  • “Loro fanno un dolce ogni giorno.” — “They make a cake”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “I have made a cake”
  • “Tu hai fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “You have made a cake”
  • “Lui ha fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “He has made a cake”
  • “Noi abbiamo fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “We have made a cake”
  • “Voi avete fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “You have made a cake”
  • “Loro hanno fatto un dolce questa settimana.” — “They have made a cake”

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 facevo un dolce una volta.” — “I used to make a cake”
  • “Tu farai un dolce domani.” — “You will make a cake”
  • “Lui farebbe un dolce un giorno.” — “He would make a cake”
  • “È importante che noi facciamo un dolce.” — “It is important that we make a cake”
  • “Fai un dolce!” — “Make a cake!”

How fare is used

The first thing to know about fare is its core meaning: to do, to make. It covers both 'to do' and 'to make', and it appears in dozens of everyday expressions: making a cake, doing homework, and talking about the weather, where Italian says the weather 'does' hot or cold. It is irregular in almost every tense, so its tables are worth learning whole. 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 fare keeps. The present io form is faccio, 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 fatto, 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 fare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need faccio, never fare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho fatto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle fatto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Fare in context

Io faccio un dolce ogni giorno. Tu fai un dolce ogni giorno. Lui fa un dolce ogni giorno. Noi facciamo un dolce ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of fare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — faccio, fai, fa, facciamo — while the meaning stays the same: to do, to make. Io ho fatto un dolce questa settimana. Tu hai fatto un dolce questa settimana. Lui ha fatto un dolce questa settimana. Noi abbiamo fatto un dolce questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of fare 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 do, to make — 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 fare un dolce.”

✓ Right: “Io faccio un dolce ogni giorno.”

The infinitive fare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form faccio.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io fai un dolce.”

✓ Right: “Io faccio un dolce ogni giorno.”

fai is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is faccio — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io faccio un dolce ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho fatto un dolce questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho fatto here, not the present faccio.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono fatto un dolce.”

✓ Right: “Io ho fatto un dolce questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) faccio
    • B) fai
    • C) fa
    • D) facciamo

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

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

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

    • A) facevo
    • B) facevi
    • C) facevamo
    • D) faceva

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

    • A) faremo
    • B) farò
    • C) farai
    • D) farà

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

    • A) farei
    • B) faresti
    • C) farebbe
    • D) faremmo

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

    • A) facesti
    • B) fece
    • C) feci
    • D) facemmo

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

    • A) faccia
    • B) facciate
    • C) facciano
    • D) facciamo

  8. What is the gerund of fare?

    • A) facendo
    • B) fatto
    • C) fare
    • D) faccio

  9. What is the past participle of fare?

    • A) facendo
    • B) fatto
    • C) fare
    • D) faccio

  10. What does fare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to do, to make
  • D) to say

Answer key

  1. B) fai — the correct form is fai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho fatto — the correct form is ho fatto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) faceva — the correct form is faceva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) faremo — the correct form is faremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) faresti — the correct form is faresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) feci — the correct form is feci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) facciamo — the correct form is facciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) facendo — the correct form is facendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) fatto — the correct form is fatto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to do, to make — the correct form is to do, to make. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does fare mean in English?

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

Is fare regular or irregular?

fare is irregular. fare is irregular in present, passato-remoto, imperfect, future, conditional, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, past-participle, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of fare?

The gerund is facendo and the past participle is fatto. The perfect tenses use avere + fatto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of fare?

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

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