Partire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

partire — to leave — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -ire verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to leave and to depart, especially on a journey, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is different from lasciare, which means to leave something behind. On this page you will find partire 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 partire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the partire passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with partire

In the present tense

  • “Io parto per Roma ogni giorno.” — “I leave for Rome”
  • “Tu parti per Roma ogni giorno.” — “You leave for Rome”
  • “Lui parte per Roma ogni giorno.” — “He leaves for Rome”
  • “Noi partiamo per Roma ogni giorno.” — “We leave for Rome”
  • “Voi partite per Roma ogni giorno.” — “You leave for Rome”
  • “Loro partono per Roma ogni giorno.” — “They leave for Rome”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “I have left for Rome”
  • “Tu sei partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “You have left for Rome”
  • “Lui è partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “He has left for Rome”
  • “Noi siamo partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “We have left for Rome”
  • “Voi siete partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “You have left for Rome”
  • “Loro sono partito per Roma questa settimana.” — “They have left for 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 partivo per Roma una volta.” — “I used to leave for Rome”
  • “Tu partirai per Roma domani.” — “You will leave for Rome”
  • “Lui partirebbe per Roma un giorno.” — “He would leave for Rome”
  • “È importante che noi partiamo per Roma.” — “It is important that we leave for Rome”
  • “Parti per Roma!” — “Leave for Rome!”

How partire is used

The first thing to know about partire is its core meaning: to leave. It means to leave and to depart, especially on a journey, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is different from lasciare, which means to leave something behind. 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 partire keeps. The present io form is parto, 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 partito, 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 partire does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need parto, never partire. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono partito, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle partito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Partire in context

Io parto per Roma ogni giorno. Tu parti per Roma ogni giorno. Lui parte per Roma ogni giorno. Noi partiamo per Roma ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of partire is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — parto, parti, parte, partiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to leave. Io sono partito per Roma questa settimana. Tu sei partito per Roma questa settimana. Lui è partito per Roma questa settimana. Noi siamo partito per Roma questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of partire 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 leave — 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 partire per Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io parto per Roma ogni giorno.”

The infinitive partire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form parto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io parti per Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io parto per Roma ogni giorno.”

parti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is parto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io parto per Roma ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono partito per Roma questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono partito here, not the present parto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho partito per Roma.”

✓ Right: “Io sono partito per Roma questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) parto
    • B) parti
    • C) parte
    • D) partiamo

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

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

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

    • A) partivo
    • B) partivi
    • C) partivamo
    • D) partiva

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

    • A) partiremo
    • B) partirò
    • C) partirai
    • D) partirà

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

    • A) partirei
    • B) partiresti
    • C) partirebbe
    • D) partiremmo

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

    • A) partisti
    • B) partì
    • C) partii
    • D) partimmo

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

    • A) parta
    • B) partiate
    • C) partano
    • D) partiamo

  8. What is the gerund of partire?

    • A) partendo
    • B) partito
    • C) partire
    • D) parto

  9. What is the past participle of partire?

    • A) partendo
    • B) partito
    • C) partire
    • D) parto

  10. What does partire mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) parti — the correct form is parti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono partito — the correct form is sono partito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) partiva — the correct form is partiva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) partiremo — the correct form is partiremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) partiresti — the correct form is partiresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) partii — the correct form is partii. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) partiamo — the correct form is partiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) partendo — the correct form is partendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) partito — the correct form is partito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to leave — the correct form is to leave. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does partire mean in English?

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

Is partire regular or irregular?

partire is regular. partire is regular: every form follows the standard -ire endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of partire?

The gerund is partendo and the past participle is partito. The perfect tenses use essere + partito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of partire?

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

Related pages