Nascere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

nascere — to be born — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to be born, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present and imperfect are regular. On this page you will find nascere 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 nascere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the nascere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with nascere

In the present tense

  • “Io nasco a Roma.” — “I be born in Rome”
  • “Tu nasci a Roma.” — “You be born in Rome”
  • “Lui nasce a Roma.” — “He is born in Rome”
  • “Noi nasciamo a Roma.” — “We be born in Rome”
  • “Voi nascete a Roma.” — “You be born in Rome”
  • “Loro nascono a Roma.” — “They be born in Rome”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “I have been born in Rome”
  • “Tu sei nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “You have been born in Rome”
  • “Lui è nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “He has been born in Rome”
  • “Noi siamo nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “We have been born in Rome”
  • “Voi siete nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “You have been born in Rome”
  • “Loro sono nato a Roma questa settimana.” — “They have been born in Rome”

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 nascevo a Roma una volta.” — “I used to be born in Rome”
  • “Tu nascerai a Roma.” — “You will be born in Rome”
  • “Lui nascerebbe a Roma.” — “He would be born in Rome”
  • “È bello che noi nasciamo a Roma.” — “It is nice that we be born in Rome”
  • “Nasci a Roma!” — “Be born in Rome!”

How nascere is used

The first thing to know about nascere is its core meaning: to be born. It means to be born, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present and imperfect are regular. 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 nascere keeps. The present io form is nasco, 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 sono nato, 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 nascere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need nasco, never nascere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono nato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle nato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Nascere in context

Io nasco a Roma. Tu nasci a Roma. Lui nasce a Roma. Noi nasciamo a Roma. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of nascere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — nasco, nasci, nasce, nasciamo — while the meaning stays the same: to be born. Io sono nato a Roma questa settimana. Tu sei nato a Roma questa settimana. Lui è nato a Roma questa settimana. Noi siamo nato a Roma questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of nascere 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 be born — 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 nascere a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io nasco a Roma.”

The infinitive nascere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form nasco.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io nasci a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io nasco a Roma.”

nasci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is nasco — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io nasco a Roma ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono nato a Roma questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono nato here, not the present nasco.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho nato a Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io sono nato a Roma questa settimana.”

nascere takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono nato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) nasco
    • B) nasci
    • C) nasce
    • D) nasciamo

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

    • A) sei nato
    • B) è nato
    • C) sono nato
    • D) siamo nato

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

    • A) nascevo
    • B) nascevi
    • C) nascevamo
    • D) nasceva

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

    • A) nasceremo
    • B) nascerò
    • C) nascerai
    • D) nascerà

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

    • A) nascerei
    • B) nasceresti
    • C) nascerebbe
    • D) nasceremmo

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

    • A) nascesti
    • B) nacque
    • C) nacqui
    • D) nascemmo

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

    • A) nasca
    • B) nasciate
    • C) nascano
    • D) nasciamo

  8. What is the gerund of nascere?

    • A) nascendo
    • B) nato
    • C) nascere
    • D) nasco

  9. What is the past participle of nascere?

    • A) nascendo
    • B) nato
    • C) nascere
    • D) nasco

  10. What does nascere mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to be born
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) nasci — the correct form is nasci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono nato — the correct form is sono nato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) nasceva — the correct form is nasceva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) nasceremo — the correct form is nasceremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) nasceresti — the correct form is nasceresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) nacqui — the correct form is nacqui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) nasciamo — the correct form is nasciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) nascendo — the correct form is nascendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) nato — the correct form is nato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be born — the correct form is to be born. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does nascere mean in English?

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

Is nascere regular or irregular?

nascere is irregular. nascere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of nascere?

The gerund is nascendo and the past participle is nato. The perfect tenses use essere + nato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of nascere?

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

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