Nuotare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

nuotare — to swim — 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 is the verb for swimming, and it is completely regular in every tense. It needs no object, and it appears with places such as the sea and the pool, and with time words such as ogni giorno and d'estate. On this page you will find nuotare 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 nuotare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the nuotare present tense page.

Example sentences with nuotare

In the present tense

  • “Io nuoto ogni giorno.” — “I swim”
  • “Tu nuoti ogni giorno.” — “You swim”
  • “Lui nuota ogni giorno.” — “He swims”
  • “Noi nuotiamo ogni giorno.” — “We swim”
  • “Voi nuotate ogni giorno.” — “You swim”
  • “Loro nuotano ogni giorno.” — “They swim”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho nuotato questa settimana.” — “I have swum”
  • “Tu hai nuotato questa settimana.” — “You have swum”
  • “Lui ha nuotato questa settimana.” — “He has swum”
  • “Noi abbiamo nuotato questa settimana.” — “We have swum”
  • “Voi avete nuotato questa settimana.” — “You have swum”
  • “Loro hanno nuotato questa settimana.” — “They have swum”

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 nuotavo una volta.” — “I used to swim”
  • “Tu nuoterai domani.” — “You will swim”
  • “Lui nuoterebbe un giorno.” — “He would swim”
  • “È importante che noi nuotiamo.” — “It is important that we swim”
  • “Nuota!” — “Swim!”

How nuotare is used

The first thing to know about nuotare is its core meaning: to swim. It is the verb for swimming, and it is completely regular in every tense. It needs no object, and it appears with places such as the sea and the pool, and with time words such as ogni giorno and d'estate. 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 nuotare keeps. The present io form is nuoto, 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 nuotato, 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 nuotare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need nuoto, never nuotare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho nuotato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle nuotato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Nuotare in context

Io nuoto ogni giorno. Tu nuoti ogni giorno. Lui nuota ogni giorno. Noi nuotiamo ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of nuotare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — nuoto, nuoti, nuota, nuotiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to swim. Io ho nuotato questa settimana. Tu hai nuotato questa settimana. Lui ha nuotato questa settimana. Noi abbiamo nuotato questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of nuotare 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 swim — 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 nuotare.”

✓ Right: “Io nuoto ogni giorno.”

The infinitive nuotare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form nuoto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io nuoti.”

✓ Right: “Io nuoto ogni giorno.”

nuoti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is nuoto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io nuoto ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho nuotato questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho nuotato here, not the present nuoto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono nuotato.”

✓ Right: “Io ho nuotato questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) nuoto
    • B) nuoti
    • C) nuota
    • D) nuotiamo

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

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

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

    • A) nuotavo
    • B) nuotavi
    • C) nuotavamo
    • D) nuotava

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

    • A) nuoteremo
    • B) nuoterò
    • C) nuoterai
    • D) nuoterà

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

    • A) nuoterei
    • B) nuoteresti
    • C) nuoterebbe
    • D) nuoteremmo

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

    • A) nuotasti
    • B) nuotò
    • C) nuotai
    • D) nuotammo

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

    • A) nuoti
    • B) nuotiate
    • C) nuotino
    • D) nuotiamo

  8. What is the gerund of nuotare?

    • A) nuotando
    • B) nuotato
    • C) nuotare
    • D) nuoto

  9. What is the past participle of nuotare?

    • A) nuotando
    • B) nuotato
    • C) nuotare
    • D) nuoto

  10. What does nuotare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) nuoti — the correct form is nuoti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho nuotato — the correct form is ho nuotato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) nuotava — the correct form is nuotava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) nuoteremo — the correct form is nuoteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) nuoteresti — the correct form is nuoteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) nuotai — the correct form is nuotai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) nuotiamo — the correct form is nuotiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) nuotando — the correct form is nuotando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) nuotato — the correct form is nuotato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to swim — the correct form is to swim. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does nuotare mean in English?

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

Is nuotare regular or irregular?

nuotare is regular. nuotare 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 nuotare?

The gerund is nuotando and the past participle is nuotato. The perfect tenses use avere + nuotato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of nuotare?

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

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