Incontrare Conjugation in Italian
incontrare means “to meet” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 754 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of incontrare — 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 incontro Maria ogni giorno.” — “I meet Maria.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: incontrare
- English: to meet
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: incontrando
- Present participle: incontrante
- Past participle: incontrato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + 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 incontrare, 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 incontrare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about incontrare
- 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.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle incontrato. 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 incontrante and incontrato: 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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for incontrare. 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 | incontro |
| tu | incontri |
| lui/lei | incontra |
| noi | incontriamo |
| voi | incontrate |
| loro | incontrano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.” — “I meet Maria”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontrai |
| tu | incontrasti |
| lui/lei | incontrò |
| noi | incontrammo |
| voi | incontraste |
| loro | incontrarono |
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 incontrai Maria ieri.” — “I met Maria”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontravo |
| tu | incontravi |
| lui/lei | incontrava |
| noi | incontravamo |
| voi | incontravate |
| loro | incontravano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io incontravo Maria una volta.” — “I used to meet Maria”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontrerò |
| tu | incontrerai |
| lui/lei | incontrerà |
| noi | incontreremo |
| voi | incontrerete |
| loro | incontreranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io incontrerò Maria domani.” — “I will meet Maria”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontrerei |
| tu | incontreresti |
| lui/lei | incontrerebbe |
| noi | incontreremmo |
| voi | incontrereste |
| loro | incontrerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io incontrerei Maria un giorno.” — “I would meet Maria”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho incontrato |
| tu | hai incontrato |
| lui/lei | ha incontrato |
| noi | abbiamo incontrato |
| voi | avete incontrato |
| loro | hanno incontrato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has met Maria”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo incontrato |
| tu | avevi incontrato |
| lui/lei | aveva incontrato |
| noi | avevamo incontrato |
| voi | avevate incontrato |
| loro | avevano incontrato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo incontrato Maria prima della festa.” — “I had met Maria”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò incontrato |
| tu | avrai incontrato |
| lui/lei | avrà incontrato |
| noi | avremo incontrato |
| voi | avrete incontrato |
| loro | avranno incontrato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò incontrato Maria per domani.” — “I will have met Maria”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei incontrato |
| tu | avresti incontrato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe incontrato |
| noi | avremmo incontrato |
| voi | avreste incontrato |
| loro | avrebbero incontrato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei incontrato Maria ieri.” — “I would have met Maria”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontri |
| tu | incontri |
| lui/lei | incontri |
| noi | incontriamo |
| voi | incontriate |
| loro | incontrino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io incontri Maria.” — “It is important that I meet Maria”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | incontrassi |
| tu | incontrassi |
| lui/lei | incontrasse |
| noi | incontrassimo |
| voi | incontraste |
| loro | incontrassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io incontrassi Maria.” — “It was important that I meet Maria”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | incontra |
| lui/lei | incontri |
| noi | incontriamo |
| voi | incontrate |
| loro | incontrino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Incontra Maria!” — “Meet Maria!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | incontrare |
| lui/lei | incontri |
| noi | incontriamo |
| voi | incontriate |
| loro | incontrino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non incontrare Maria.” — “Do not meet Maria.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | incontrando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Incontrando Maria, imparo molto.” — “While meeting Maria, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | incontrante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle incontrante 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 | incontrato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have met Maria.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with incontrare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.” — “I meet Maria”
- “Tu incontrasti Maria ieri.” — “You met Maria”
- “Lui incontrava Maria una volta.” — “He used to meet Maria”
- “Io incontrerò Maria domani.” — “I will meet Maria”
- “Tu incontreresti Maria un giorno.” — “You would meet Maria”
- “Lui ha incontrato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has met Maria”
- “Io avevo incontrato Maria prima della festa.” — “I had met Maria”
- “Tu avrai incontrato Maria per domani.” — “You will have met Maria”
- “È importante che io incontri Maria.” — “It is important that I meet Maria”
- “Incontra Maria!” — “Meet Maria!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io incontri Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.”
incontri is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with incontro.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io incontro Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho incontrato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono incontrato Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of incontrare is formed with avere plus the past participle incontrato: the io form is ho incontrato. 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 incontro Maria.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io incontri Maria.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use incontri here, not the indicative incontro.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho incontrando Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho incontrato Maria questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle incontrato, not the gerund incontrando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on incontrare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of incontrare in the Present indicative?
- A) incontri
- B) incontro
- C) incontra
- D) incontriamo
What is the lui/lei form of incontrare in the Passato remoto?
- A) incontrai
- B) incontrasti
- C) incontrò
- D) incontrammo
What is the noi form of incontrare in the Imperfect?
- A) incontravo
- B) incontravi
- C) incontrava
- D) incontravamo
What is the tu form of incontrare in the Future?
- A) incontrerai
- B) incontrerò
- C) incontrerà
- D) incontreremo
What is the io form of incontrare in the Conditional?
- A) incontreresti
- B) incontrerei
- C) incontrerebbe
- D) incontreremmo
What is the lui/lei form of incontrare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho incontrato
- B) hai incontrato
- C) ha incontrato
- D) abbiamo incontrato
What is the lui/lei form of incontrare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) incontriamo
- B) incontriate
- C) incontrino
- D) incontri
What is the io form of incontrare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) incontrassi
- B) incontrasse
- C) incontrassimo
- D) incontraste
What is the gerund of incontrare?
- A) incontrato
- B) incontrando
- 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) incontro — the correct form is incontro. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) incontrò — the correct form is incontrò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) incontravamo — the correct form is incontravamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) incontrerai — the correct form is incontrerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) incontrerei — the correct form is incontrerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha incontrato — the correct form is ha incontrato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) incontri — the correct form is incontri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) incontrassi — the correct form is incontrassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) incontrando — the correct form is incontrando. 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is incontrare regular or irregular?
incontrare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is incontrando and the past participle is incontrato.
What are the gerund and past participle of incontrare?
The gerund is incontrando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is incontrato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho incontrato.
Which auxiliary does incontrare take in the passato prossimo?
incontrare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho incontrato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle incontrato.
How do I say “I meet” in Italian?
Say “Io incontro Maria ogni giorno.” — “I meet Maria” The io form of the present is incontro, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of incontrare — every tense of incontrare in one place.
- Incontrare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Incontrare 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.
- Spiegare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Domandare 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 incontrare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise incontrare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise incontrare with the interactive tool.