Mangiare Conjugation in Italian
mangiare means “to eat” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 16 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb of eating, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -giare stem drops its final i before e and i, so the io form is mangio and the future is mangerò. It is the verb behind every conversation about food. This page gives you the complete conjugation of mangiare — 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 mangio una pizza ogni giorno.” — “I eat a pizza.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: mangiare
- English: to eat
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: mangiando
- Present participle: mangiante
- Past participle: mangiato
- 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 mangiare, 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 mangiare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about mangiare
- 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 -giare stem drops its final i before e and i, so the io form is mangio and the future is mangerò.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle mangiato. 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 mangiante and mangiato: 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 mangiare. 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 | mangio |
| tu | mangi |
| lui/lei | mangia |
| noi | mangiamo |
| voi | mangiate |
| loro | mangiano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io mangio una pizza ogni giorno.” — “I eat a pizza”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangiai |
| tu | mangiasti |
| lui/lei | mangiò |
| noi | mangiammo |
| voi | mangiaste |
| loro | mangiarono |
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 mangiai una pizza ieri.” — “I ate a pizza”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangiavo |
| tu | mangiavi |
| lui/lei | mangiava |
| noi | mangiavamo |
| voi | mangiavate |
| loro | mangiavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io mangiavo una pizza una volta.” — “I used to eat a pizza”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangerò |
| tu | mangerai |
| lui/lei | mangerà |
| noi | mangeremo |
| voi | mangerete |
| loro | mangeranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io mangerò una pizza domani.” — “I will eat a pizza”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangerei |
| tu | mangeresti |
| lui/lei | mangerebbe |
| noi | mangeremmo |
| voi | mangereste |
| loro | mangerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io mangerei una pizza un giorno.” — “I would eat a pizza”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho mangiato |
| tu | hai mangiato |
| lui/lei | ha mangiato |
| noi | abbiamo mangiato |
| voi | avete mangiato |
| loro | hanno mangiato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha mangiato una pizza questa settimana.” — “He has eaten a pizza”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo mangiato |
| tu | avevi mangiato |
| lui/lei | aveva mangiato |
| noi | avevamo mangiato |
| voi | avevate mangiato |
| loro | avevano mangiato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo mangiato una pizza prima della festa.” — “I had eaten a pizza”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò mangiato |
| tu | avrai mangiato |
| lui/lei | avrà mangiato |
| noi | avremo mangiato |
| voi | avrete mangiato |
| loro | avranno mangiato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò mangiato una pizza per domani.” — “I will have eaten a pizza”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei mangiato |
| tu | avresti mangiato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe mangiato |
| noi | avremmo mangiato |
| voi | avreste mangiato |
| loro | avrebbero mangiato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei mangiato una pizza ieri.” — “I would have eaten a pizza”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangi |
| tu | mangi |
| lui/lei | mangi |
| noi | mangiamo |
| voi | mangiate |
| loro | mangino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io mangi una pizza.” — “It is important that I eat a pizza”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | mangiassi |
| tu | mangiassi |
| lui/lei | mangiasse |
| noi | mangiassimo |
| voi | mangiaste |
| loro | mangiassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io mangiassi una pizza.” — “It was important that I eat a pizza”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | mangia |
| lui/lei | mangi |
| noi | mangiamo |
| voi | mangiate |
| loro | mangino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Mangia una pizza!” — “Eat a pizza!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | mangiare |
| lui/lei | mangi |
| noi | mangiamo |
| voi | mangiate |
| loro | mangino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non mangiare una pizza.” — “Do not eat a pizza.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | mangiando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Mangiando una pizza, imparo molto.” — “While eating a pizza, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | mangiante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle mangiante 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 | mangiato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho mangiato una pizza questa settimana.” — “I have eaten a pizza.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with mangiare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io mangio una pizza ogni giorno.” — “I eat a pizza”
- “Tu mangiasti una pizza ieri.” — “You ate a pizza”
- “Lui mangiava una pizza una volta.” — “He used to eat a pizza”
- “Io mangerò una pizza domani.” — “I will eat a pizza”
- “Tu mangeresti una pizza un giorno.” — “You would eat a pizza”
- “Lui ha mangiato una pizza questa settimana.” — “He has eaten a pizza”
- “Io avevo mangiato una pizza prima della festa.” — “I had eaten a pizza”
- “Tu avrai mangiato una pizza per domani.” — “You will have eaten a pizza”
- “È importante che io mangi una pizza.” — “It is important that I eat a pizza”
- “Mangia una pizza!” — “Eat a pizza!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io mangiare una pizza.”
✓ Right: “Io mangio una pizza ogni giorno.”
The infinitive mangiare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form mangio.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io mangi una pizza.”
✓ Right: “Io mangio una pizza ogni giorno.”
mangi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with mangio.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io mangio una pizza ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho mangiato una pizza questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho mangiato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono mangiato una pizza.”
✓ Right: “Io ho mangiato una pizza questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of mangiare is formed with avere plus the past participle mangiato: the io form is ho mangiato. 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 mangio una pizza.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io mangi una pizza.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use mangi here, not the indicative mangio.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho mangiando una pizza.”
✓ Right: “Io ho mangiato una pizza questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle mangiato, not the gerund mangiando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on mangiare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of mangiare in the Present indicative?
- A) mangi
- B) mangio
- C) mangia
- D) mangiamo
What is the lui/lei form of mangiare in the Passato remoto?
- A) mangiai
- B) mangiasti
- C) mangiò
- D) mangiammo
What is the noi form of mangiare in the Imperfect?
- A) mangiavo
- B) mangiavi
- C) mangiava
- D) mangiavamo
What is the tu form of mangiare in the Future?
- A) mangerai
- B) mangerò
- C) mangerà
- D) mangeremo
What is the io form of mangiare in the Conditional?
- A) mangeresti
- B) mangerei
- C) mangerebbe
- D) mangeremmo
What is the lui/lei form of mangiare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho mangiato
- B) hai mangiato
- C) ha mangiato
- D) abbiamo mangiato
What is the lui/lei form of mangiare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) mangiamo
- B) mangiate
- C) mangino
- D) mangi
What is the io form of mangiare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) mangiassi
- B) mangiasse
- C) mangiassimo
- D) mangiaste
What is the gerund of mangiare?
- A) mangiato
- B) mangiando
- C) mangiare
- D) mangio
What does mangiare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to eat
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) mangio — the correct form is mangio. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) mangiò — the correct form is mangiò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) mangiavamo — the correct form is mangiavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) mangerai — the correct form is mangerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) mangerei — the correct form is mangerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha mangiato — the correct form is ha mangiato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) mangi — the correct form is mangi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) mangiassi — the correct form is mangiassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) mangiando — the correct form is mangiando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to eat — the correct form is to eat. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does mangiare mean in English?
mangiare means “to eat”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is mangiare regular or irregular?
mangiare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is mangiando and the past participle is mangiato.
What are the gerund and past participle of mangiare?
The gerund is mangiando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is mangiato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho mangiato.
Which auxiliary does mangiare take in the passato prossimo?
mangiare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho mangiato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle mangiato.
How do I say “I eat” in Italian?
Say “Io mangio una pizza ogni giorno.” — “I eat a pizza” The io form of the present is mangio, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of mangiare — every tense of mangiare in one place.
- Mangiare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Mangiare 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.
- Fare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Andare 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 mangiare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise mangiare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise mangiare with the interactive tool.