Muoversi Conjugation in Italian

muoversi means “to move” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 764 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the reflexive verb for moving, as in moving around a room, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is mosso and the remoto is mossi. Every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere. This page gives you the complete conjugation of muoversi — 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 muovo ogni giorno.” — “I move.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: muoversi
  • English: to move
  • Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
  • Irregular in: passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
  • Gerund: muovendosi
  • Present participle: muovente
  • Past participle: mosso
  • Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
  • Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables

Pronunciation

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

Three things to remember about muoversi

  1. It is irregular in 4 tense(s): passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is mosso and the remoto io form is mossi. It is reflexive, so every form carries its reflexive pronoun.
  2. The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle mosso. 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 muoversi 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 muovente and mosso: 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 muoversi

A note on the construction: muoversi is the reflexive form of muovere, to move something, and it means to move oneself. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular — the participle is mosso and the remoto io form is mossi — and the passato prossimo is formed with essere, as it is for all reflexive verbs.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for muoversi. 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 muovo
tu ti muovi
lui/lei si muove
noi ci muoviamo
voi vi muovete
loro si muovono

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

Passato remoto

Person Form
io mi mossi
tu ti muovesti
lui/lei si mosse
noi ci muovemmo
voi vi muoveste
loro si mossero

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 mossi ieri.” — “I moved”

Imperfect (imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi muovevo
tu ti muovevi
lui/lei si muoveva
noi ci muovevamo
voi vi muovevate
loro si muovevano

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

Future (futuro semplice)

Person Form
io mi muoverò
tu ti muoverai
lui/lei si muoverà
noi ci muoveremo
voi vi muoverete
loro si muoveranno

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

Conditional (condizionale)

Person Form
io mi muoverei
tu ti muoveresti
lui/lei si muoverebbe
noi ci muoveremmo
voi vi muovereste
loro si muoverebbero

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

Present perfect (passato prossimo)

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

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

Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)

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

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

Future perfect (futuro anteriore)

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

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

Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)

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

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

Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)

Person Form
io mi muova
tu ti muova
lui/lei si muova
noi ci muoviamo
voi vi muoviate
loro si muovano

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

Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi muovessi
tu ti muovessi
lui/lei si muovesse
noi ci muovessimo
voi vi muoveste
loro si muovessero

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 muovessi.” — “It was important that I move”

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu muoviti
lui/lei si muova
noi muoviamoci
voi muovetevi
loro si muovano

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

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu non ti muovere
lui/lei non si muova
noi non ci muoviamo
voi non vi muoviate
loro non si muovano

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

Gerund

Form Italian
Gerund muovendosi

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

Present participle

Form Italian
Present participle muovente

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

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

Example sentences

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

  1. “Io mi muovo ogni giorno.” — “I move”
  2. “Tu ti muovesti ieri.” — “You moved”
  3. “Lui si muoveva una volta.” — “He used to move”
  4. “Io mi muoverò domani.” — “I will move”
  5. “Tu ti muoveresti un giorno.” — “You would move”
  6. “Lui si è mosso questa settimana.” — “He has moved”
  7. “Io mi ero mosso prima della festa.” — “I had moved”
  8. “Tu ti sarai mosso per domani.” — “You will have moved”
  9. “È importante che io mi muova.” — “It is important that I move”
  10. “Muoviti!” — “Move!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io muoversi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi muovo ogni giorno.”

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

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Io ti muovi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi muovo ogni giorno.”

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

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mi muovo ieri.”

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

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

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo

✗ Wrong: “Io ho mosso.”

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

The passato prossimo of muoversi is formed with essere plus the past participle mosso: the io form is mi sono mosso. 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 muovo.”

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

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

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

✗ Wrong: “Io sono muovendosi.”

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

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ti muovi
    • B) mi muovo
    • C) si muove
    • D) ci muoviamo

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

    • A) mi mossi
    • B) ti muovesti
    • C) si mosse
    • D) ci muovemmo

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

    • A) mi muovevo
    • B) ti muovevi
    • C) si muoveva
    • D) ci muovevamo

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

    • A) ti muoverai
    • B) mi muoverò
    • C) si muoverà
    • D) ci muoveremo

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

    • A) ti muoveresti
    • B) mi muoverei
    • C) si muoverebbe
    • D) ci muoveremmo

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

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

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

    • A) mi muova
    • B) ti muova
    • C) ci muoviamo
    • D) si muova

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

    • A) mi muovessi
    • B) ti muovessi
    • C) si muovesse
    • D) ci muovessimo

  9. What is the gerund of muoversi?

    • A) mosso
    • B) muovendosi
    • C) muoversi
    • D) mi muovo

  10. What does muoversi mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) mi muovo — the correct form is mi muovo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) si mosse — the correct form is si mosse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ci muovevamo — the correct form is ci muovevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ti muoverai — the correct form is ti muoverai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) mi muoverei — the correct form is mi muoverei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) si è mosso — the correct form is si è mosso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) si muova — the correct form is si muova. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mi muovessi — the correct form is mi muovessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) muovendosi — the correct form is muovendosi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to move — the correct form is to move. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does muoversi mean in English?

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

Is muoversi regular or irregular?

muoversi is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is muovendosi and the past participle is mosso.

What are the gerund and past participle of muoversi?

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

Which auxiliary does muoversi take in the passato prossimo?

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

How do I say “I move” in Italian?

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

Where does the reflexive pronoun go with muoversi?

Before the conjugated verb in most tenses — mi muovo 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 mosso.

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