Incontrare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
incontrare — to meet — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb for meeting someone, by chance or by arrangement, and it is completely regular in every tense. It takes the person as a direct object, and it is the verb for first meetings, appointments and chance encounters alike. On this page you will find incontrare 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 incontrare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the incontrare present tense page.
Example sentences with incontrare
In the present tense
- “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.” — “I meet Maria”
- “Tu incontri Maria ogni giorno.” — “You meet Maria”
- “Lui incontra Maria ogni giorno.” — “He meets Maria”
- “Noi incontriamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We meet Maria”
- “Voi incontrate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You meet Maria”
- “Loro incontrano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They meet Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have met Maria”
- “Tu hai incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have met Maria”
- “Lui ha incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has met Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have met Maria”
- “Voi avete incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have met Maria”
- “Loro hanno incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have met Maria”
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 incontravo Maria una volta.” — “I used to meet Maria”
- “Tu incontrerai Maria domani.” — “You will meet Maria”
- “Lui incontrerebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would meet Maria”
- “È importante che noi incontriamo Maria.” — “It is important that we meet Maria”
- “Incontra Maria!” — “Meet Maria!”
How incontrare is used
The first thing to know about incontrare is its core meaning: to meet. It is the verb for meeting someone, by chance or by arrangement, and it is completely regular in every tense. It takes the person as a direct object, and it is the verb for first meetings, appointments and chance encounters alike. 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 incontrare keeps. The present io form is incontro, 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 incontrato, 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 incontrare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need incontro, never incontrare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho incontrato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle incontrato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Incontrare in context
Io incontro Maria ogni giorno. Tu incontri Maria ogni giorno. Lui incontra Maria ogni giorno. Noi incontriamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of incontrare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — incontro, incontri, incontra, incontriamo — while the meaning stays the same: to meet. Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai incontrato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha incontrato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo incontrato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of incontrare 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 meet — 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 incontrare Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive incontrare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form incontro.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io incontri Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.”
incontri is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is incontro — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io incontro Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho incontrato here, not the present incontro.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono incontrato Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.”
incontrare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho incontrato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on incontrare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of incontrare in the Present indicative?
- A) incontro
- B) incontri
- C) incontra
- D) incontriamo
What is the io form of incontrare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai incontrato
- B) ha incontrato
- C) ho incontrato
- D) abbiamo incontrato
What is the lui/lei form of incontrare in the Imperfect?
- A) incontravo
- B) incontravi
- C) incontravamo
- D) incontrava
What is the noi form of incontrare in the Future?
- A) incontreremo
- B) incontrerò
- C) incontrerai
- D) incontrerà
What is the tu form of incontrare in the Conditional?
- A) incontrerei
- B) incontreresti
- C) incontrerebbe
- D) incontreremmo
What is the io form of incontrare in the Passato remoto?
- A) incontrasti
- B) incontrò
- C) incontrai
- D) incontrammo
What is the noi form of incontrare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) incontri
- B) incontriate
- C) incontrino
- D) incontriamo
What is the gerund of incontrare?
- A) incontrando
- B) incontrato
- C) incontrare
- D) incontro
What is the past participle of incontrare?
- A) incontrando
- B) incontrato
- C) incontrare
- D) incontro
What does incontrare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to meet
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) incontri — the correct form is incontri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho incontrato — the correct form is ho incontrato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) incontrava — the correct form is incontrava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) incontreremo — the correct form is incontreremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) incontreresti — the correct form is incontreresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) incontrai — the correct form is incontrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) incontriamo — the correct form is incontriamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) incontrando — the correct form is incontrando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) incontrato — the correct form is incontrato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to meet — the correct form is to meet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does incontrare mean in English?
incontrare means “to meet”. You use it whenever you talk about to meet in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is incontrare regular or irregular?
incontrare is regular. incontrare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of incontrare?
The gerund is incontrando and the past participle is incontrato. The perfect tenses use avere + incontrato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of incontrare?
On the incontrare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The incontrare 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 incontrare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- incontrare conjugation — full tables
- incontrare in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Spiegare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Domandare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise incontrare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise incontrare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise incontrare with the interactive tool.