Fermarsi Conjugation in Italian

fermarsi means “to stop” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 762 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the reflexive verb for stopping, as in stopping on the way home, and it is completely regular. Every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere, as it is for all reflexive verbs. Its transitive partner fermare means to stop something else. This page gives you the complete conjugation of fermarsi — 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 mi fermo ogni giorno.” — “I stop.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: fermarsi
  • English: to stop
  • Verb type: Regular -are verb
  • Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
  • Gerund: fermandosi
  • Present participle: fermante
  • Past participle: fermato
  • Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
  • Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for fermarsi, 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 fermarsi in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about fermarsi

  1. It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
  2. The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle fermato. 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. Because fermarsi is reflexive, every form on this page carries its reflexive pronoun — mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si — and the passato prossimo is formed with essere. The engine gives the bare verb forms, so the pronouns here are the article layer that makes the forms usable in a sentence.
  3. The participles are fermante and fermato: 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 fermarsi

A note on the pair: fermarsi is the reflexive partner of fermare. Fermare means to stop something else — io fermo la macchina — while fermarsi means to stop oneself, as in stopping on the way home. Both verbs are regular; only the pronoun and the auxiliary change.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for fermarsi. 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 mi fermo
tu ti fermi
lui/lei si ferma
noi ci fermiamo
voi vi fermate
loro si fermano

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io mi fermo ogni giorno.” — “I stop”

Passato remoto

Person Form
io mi fermai
tu ti fermasti
lui/lei si fermò
noi ci fermammo
voi vi fermaste
loro si fermarono

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 mi fermai ieri.” — “I stopped”

Imperfect (imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi fermavo
tu ti fermavi
lui/lei si fermava
noi ci fermavamo
voi vi fermavate
loro si fermavano

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io mi fermavo una volta.” — “I used to stop”

Future (futuro semplice)

Person Form
io mi fermerò
tu ti fermerai
lui/lei si fermerà
noi ci fermeremo
voi vi fermerete
loro si fermeranno

The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io mi fermerò domani.” — “I will stop”

Conditional (condizionale)

Person Form
io mi fermerei
tu ti fermeresti
lui/lei si fermerebbe
noi ci fermeremmo
voi vi fermereste
loro si fermerebbero

The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io mi fermerei un giorno.” — “I would stop”

Present perfect (passato prossimo)

Person Form
io mi sono fermato
tu ti sei fermato
lui/lei si è fermato
noi ci siamo fermato
voi vi siete fermato
loro si sono fermato

The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui si è fermato questa settimana.” — “He has stopped”

Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)

Person Form
io mi ero fermato
tu ti eri fermato
lui/lei si era fermato
noi ci eravamo fermato
voi vi eravate fermato
loro si erano fermato

The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io mi ero fermato prima della festa.” — “I had stopped”

Future perfect (futuro anteriore)

Person Form
io mi sarò fermato
tu ti sarai fermato
lui/lei si sarà fermato
noi ci saremo fermato
voi vi sarete fermato
loro si saranno fermato

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io mi sarò fermato per domani.” — “I will have stopped”

Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)

Person Form
io mi sarei fermato
tu ti saresti fermato
lui/lei si sarebbe fermato
noi ci saremmo fermato
voi vi sareste fermato
loro si sarebbero fermato

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io mi sarei fermato ieri.” — “I would have stopped”

Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)

Person Form
io mi fermi
tu ti fermi
lui/lei si fermi
noi ci fermiamo
voi vi fermiate
loro si fermino

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io mi fermi.” — “It is important that I stop”

Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi fermassi
tu ti fermassi
lui/lei si fermasse
noi ci fermassimo
voi vi fermaste
loro si fermassero

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io mi fermassi.” — “It was important that I stop”

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu fermati
lui/lei si fermi
noi fermiamoci
voi fermatevi
loro si fermino

The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Fermati!” — “Stop!”

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu non ti fermare
lui/lei non si fermi
noi non ci fermiamo
voi non vi fermiate
loro non si fermino

The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non ti fermare.” — “Do not stop.”

Gerund

Form Italian
Gerund fermandosi

The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Fermandosi, imparo molto.” — “While stopping, I learn a lot.”

Present participle

Form Italian
Present participle fermante

The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle fermante 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 fermato

The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io mi sono fermato questa settimana.” — “I have stopped.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with fermarsi, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Io mi fermo ogni giorno.” — “I stop”
  2. “Tu ti fermasti ieri.” — “You stopped”
  3. “Lui si fermava una volta.” — “He used to stop”
  4. “Io mi fermerò domani.” — “I will stop”
  5. “Tu ti fermeresti un giorno.” — “You would stop”
  6. “Lui si è fermato questa settimana.” — “He has stopped”
  7. “Io mi ero fermato prima della festa.” — “I had stopped”
  8. “Tu ti sarai fermato per domani.” — “You will have stopped”
  9. “È importante che io mi fermi.” — “It is important that I stop”
  10. “Fermati!” — “Stop!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io fermarsi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi fermo ogni giorno.”

The infinitive fermarsi never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form mi fermo.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Io ti fermi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi fermo ogni giorno.”

ti fermi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with mi fermo.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mi fermo ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono fermato questa settimana.”

Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo mi sono fermato for a finished action yesterday.

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo

✗ Wrong: “Io ho fermato.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono fermato questa settimana.”

The passato prossimo of fermarsi is formed with essere plus the past participle fermato: the io form is mi sono fermato. 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 mi fermo.”

✓ Right: “È importante che io mi fermi.”

After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use mi fermi here, not the indicative mi fermo.

6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense

✗ Wrong: “Io sono fermandosi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono fermato questa settimana.”

The perfect tenses need the past participle fermato, not the gerund fermandosi. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on fermarsi. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

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

    • A) ti fermi
    • B) mi fermo
    • C) si ferma
    • D) ci fermiamo

  2. What is the lui/lei form of fermarsi in the Passato remoto?

    • A) mi fermai
    • B) ti fermasti
    • C) si fermò
    • D) ci fermammo

  3. What is the noi form of fermarsi in the Imperfect?

    • A) mi fermavo
    • B) ti fermavi
    • C) si fermava
    • D) ci fermavamo

  4. What is the tu form of fermarsi in the Future?

    • A) ti fermerai
    • B) mi fermerò
    • C) si fermerà
    • D) ci fermeremo

  5. What is the io form of fermarsi in the Conditional?

    • A) ti fermeresti
    • B) mi fermerei
    • C) si fermerebbe
    • D) ci fermeremmo

  6. What is the lui/lei form of fermarsi in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) mi sono fermato
    • B) ti sei fermato
    • C) si è fermato
    • D) ci siamo fermato

  7. What is the lui/lei form of fermarsi in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mi fermi
    • B) ti fermi
    • C) ci fermiamo
    • D) si fermi

  8. What is the io form of fermarsi in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) mi fermassi
    • B) ti fermassi
    • C) si fermasse
    • D) ci fermassimo

  9. What is the gerund of fermarsi?

    • A) fermato
    • B) fermandosi
    • C) fermarsi
    • D) mi fermo

  10. What does fermarsi mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) mi fermo — the correct form is mi fermo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) si fermò — the correct form is si fermò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ci fermavamo — the correct form is ci fermavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ti fermerai — the correct form is ti fermerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) mi fermerei — the correct form is mi fermerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) si è fermato — the correct form is si è fermato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) si fermi — the correct form is si fermi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mi fermassi — the correct form is mi fermassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) fermandosi — the correct form is fermandosi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to stop — the correct form is to stop. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does fermarsi mean in English?

fermarsi means “to stop”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is fermarsi regular or irregular?

fermarsi is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is fermandosi and the past participle is fermato.

What are the gerund and past participle of fermarsi?

The gerund is fermandosi — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is fermato — use it with essere for the perfect tenses, as in mi sono fermato.

Which auxiliary does fermarsi take in the passato prossimo?

fermarsi takes essere in the passato prossimo: the io form is mi sono fermato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with essere plus the past participle fermato.

How do I say “I stop” in Italian?

Say “Io mi fermo ogni giorno.” — “I stop” The io form of the present is mi fermo, and it is the form you will use most often.

Where does the reflexive pronoun go with fermarsi?

Before the conjugated verb in most tenses — mi fermo for io — and attached to the end of the verb in the affirmative imperative and the gerund. In the passato prossimo the pronoun comes before the auxiliary: mi sono fermato.

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