Mandare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

mandare — to send — 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 means to send a letter, a message or a parcel, and it is completely regular. It is the everyday verb for sending things by post, by message and by hand. On this page you will find mandare 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 mandare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the mandare present tense page.

Example sentences with mandare

In the present tense

  • “Io mando una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I send a letter to Maria”
  • “Tu mandi una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You send a letter to Maria”
  • “Lui manda una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He sends a letter to Maria”
  • “Noi mandiamo una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We send a letter to Maria”
  • “Voi mandate una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You send a letter to Maria”
  • “Loro mandano una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They send a letter to Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have sent a letter to Maria”
  • “Tu hai mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have sent a letter to Maria”
  • “Lui ha mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has sent a letter to Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have sent a letter to Maria”
  • “Voi avete mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have sent a letter to Maria”
  • “Loro hanno mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have sent a letter to 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 mandavo una lettera a Maria una volta.” — “I used to send a letter to Maria”
  • “Tu manderai una lettera a Maria domani.” — “You will send a letter to Maria”
  • “Lui manderebbe una lettera a Maria un giorno.” — “He would send a letter to Maria”
  • “È importante che noi mandiamo una lettera a Maria.” — “It is important that we send a letter to Maria”
  • “Manda una lettera a Maria!” — “Send a letter to Maria!”

How mandare is used

The first thing to know about mandare is its core meaning: to send. It means to send a letter, a message or a parcel, and it is completely regular. It is the everyday verb for sending things by post, by message and by hand. 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 mandare keeps. The present io form is mando, 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 mandato, 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 mandare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need mando, never mandare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho mandato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle mandato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Mandare in context

Io mando una lettera a Maria ogni giorno. Tu mandi una lettera a Maria ogni giorno. Lui manda una lettera a Maria ogni giorno. Noi mandiamo una lettera a Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of mandare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — mando, mandi, manda, mandiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to send. Io ho mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana. Tu hai mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana. Lui ha mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of mandare 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 send — 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 mandare una lettera a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io mando una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive mandare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form mando.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io mandi una lettera a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io mando una lettera a Maria ogni giorno.”

mandi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is mando — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mando una lettera a Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho mandato here, not the present mando.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono mandato una lettera a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho mandato una lettera a Maria questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) mando
    • B) mandi
    • C) manda
    • D) mandiamo

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

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

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

    • A) mandavo
    • B) mandavi
    • C) mandavamo
    • D) mandava

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

    • A) manderemo
    • B) manderò
    • C) manderai
    • D) manderà

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

    • A) manderei
    • B) manderesti
    • C) manderebbe
    • D) manderemmo

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

    • A) mandasti
    • B) mandò
    • C) mandai
    • D) mandammo

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

    • A) mandi
    • B) mandiate
    • C) mandino
    • D) mandiamo

  8. What is the gerund of mandare?

    • A) mandando
    • B) mandato
    • C) mandare
    • D) mando

  9. What is the past participle of mandare?

    • A) mandando
    • B) mandato
    • C) mandare
    • D) mando

  10. What does mandare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to send
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) mandi — the correct form is mandi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho mandato — the correct form is ho mandato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) mandava — the correct form is mandava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) manderemo — the correct form is manderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) manderesti — the correct form is manderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) mandai — the correct form is mandai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) mandiamo — the correct form is mandiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mandando — the correct form is mandando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) mandato — the correct form is mandato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to send — the correct form is to send. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does mandare mean in English?

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

Is mandare regular or irregular?

mandare is regular. mandare 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 mandare?

The gerund is mandando and the past participle is mandato. The perfect tenses use avere + mandato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of mandare?

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

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