Parlare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

parlare — to speak — 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 everyday verb for speaking a language and for talking with people, and it is completely regular, so once you know the -are endings you can build every form from the stem. It is the model verb for the whole first conjugation. On this page you will find parlare 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 parlare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the parlare present tense page.

Example sentences with parlare

In the present tense

  • “Io parlo italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “I speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Tu parli italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “You speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Lui parla italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “He speaks Italian with Maria”
  • “Noi parliamo italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “We speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Voi parlate italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “You speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Loro parlano italiano con Maria ogni giorno.” — “They speak Italian with Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “I have spoken Italian with Maria”
  • “Tu hai parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have spoken Italian with Maria”
  • “Lui ha parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “He has spoken Italian with Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “We have spoken Italian with Maria”
  • “Voi avete parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “You have spoken Italian with Maria”
  • “Loro hanno parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.” — “They have spoken Italian with 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 parlavo italiano con Maria una volta.” — “I used to speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Tu parlerai italiano con Maria domani.” — “You will speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Lui parlerebbe italiano con Maria un giorno.” — “He would speak Italian with Maria”
  • “È importante che noi parliamo italiano con Maria.” — “It is important that we speak Italian with Maria”
  • “Parla italiano con Maria!” — “Speak Italian with Maria!”

How parlare is used

The first thing to know about parlare is its core meaning: to speak. It is the everyday verb for speaking a language and for talking with people, and it is completely regular, so once you know the -are endings you can build every form from the stem. It is the model verb for the whole first conjugation. 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 parlare keeps. The present io form is parlo, 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 parlato, 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 parlare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need parlo, never parlare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho parlato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle parlato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Parlare in context

Io parlo italiano con Maria ogni giorno. Tu parli italiano con Maria ogni giorno. Lui parla italiano con Maria ogni giorno. Noi parliamo italiano con Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of parlare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — parlo, parli, parla, parliamo — while the meaning stays the same: to speak. Io ho parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana. Tu hai parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana. Lui ha parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of parlare 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 speak — 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 parlare italiano con Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io parlo italiano con Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive parlare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form parlo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io parli italiano con Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io parlo italiano con Maria ogni giorno.”

parli is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is parlo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io parlo italiano con Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho parlato here, not the present parlo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono parlato italiano con Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho parlato italiano con Maria questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) parlo
    • B) parli
    • C) parla
    • D) parliamo

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

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

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

    • A) parlavo
    • B) parlavi
    • C) parlavamo
    • D) parlava

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

    • A) parleremo
    • B) parlerò
    • C) parlerai
    • D) parlerà

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

    • A) parlerei
    • B) parleresti
    • C) parlerebbe
    • D) parleremmo

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

    • A) parlasti
    • B) parlò
    • C) parlai
    • D) parlammo

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

    • A) parli
    • B) parliate
    • C) parlino
    • D) parliamo

  8. What is the gerund of parlare?

    • A) parlando
    • B) parlato
    • C) parlare
    • D) parlo

  9. What is the past participle of parlare?

    • A) parlando
    • B) parlato
    • C) parlare
    • D) parlo

  10. What does parlare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) parli — the correct form is parli. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho parlato — the correct form is ho parlato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) parlava — the correct form is parlava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) parleremo — the correct form is parleremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) parleresti — the correct form is parleresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) parlai — the correct form is parlai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) parliamo — the correct form is parliamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) parlando — the correct form is parlando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) parlato — the correct form is parlato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to speak — the correct form is to speak. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does parlare mean in English?

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

Is parlare regular or irregular?

parlare is regular. parlare 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 parlare?

The gerund is parlando and the past participle is parlato. The perfect tenses use avere + parlato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of parlare?

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

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