Pensare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

pensare — to think — 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 of thinking and of having an opinion, used with the preposition a for thinking about someone or something, and with di for thinking of doing something. It is completely regular. On this page you will find pensare 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 pensare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the pensare present tense page.

Example sentences with pensare

In the present tense

  • “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I think about Maria”
  • “Tu pensi a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You think about Maria”
  • “Lui pensa a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He thinks about Maria”
  • “Noi pensiamo a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We think about Maria”
  • “Voi pensate a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You think about Maria”
  • “Loro pensano a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They think about Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have thought about Maria”
  • “Tu hai pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have thought about Maria”
  • “Lui ha pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has thought about Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have thought about Maria”
  • “Voi avete pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have thought about Maria”
  • “Loro hanno pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have thought about 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 pensavo a Maria una volta.” — “I used to think about Maria”
  • “Tu penserai a Maria domani.” — “You will think about Maria”
  • “Lui penserebbe a Maria un giorno.” — “He would think about Maria”
  • “È importante che noi pensiamo a Maria.” — “It is important that we think about Maria”
  • “Pensa a Maria!” — “Think about Maria!”

How pensare is used

The first thing to know about pensare is its core meaning: to think. It is the verb of thinking and of having an opinion, used with the preposition a for thinking about someone or something, and with di for thinking of doing something. It is completely 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 pensare keeps. The present io form is penso, 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 pensato, 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 pensare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need penso, never pensare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho pensato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle pensato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Pensare in context

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

✓ Right: “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive pensare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form penso.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io pensi a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.”

pensi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is penso — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io penso a Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho pensato here, not the present penso.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono pensato a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) penso
    • B) pensi
    • C) pensa
    • D) pensiamo

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

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

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

    • A) pensavo
    • B) pensavi
    • C) pensavamo
    • D) pensava

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

    • A) penseremo
    • B) penserò
    • C) penserai
    • D) penserà

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

    • A) penserei
    • B) penseresti
    • C) penserebbe
    • D) penseremmo

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

    • A) pensasti
    • B) pensò
    • C) pensai
    • D) pensammo

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

    • A) pensi
    • B) pensiate
    • C) pensino
    • D) pensiamo

  8. What is the gerund of pensare?

    • A) pensando
    • B) pensato
    • C) pensare
    • D) penso

  9. What is the past participle of pensare?

    • A) pensando
    • B) pensato
    • C) pensare
    • D) penso

  10. What does pensare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) pensi — the correct form is pensi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho pensato — the correct form is ho pensato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) pensava — the correct form is pensava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) penseremo — the correct form is penseremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) penseresti — the correct form is penseresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pensai — the correct form is pensai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) pensiamo — the correct form is pensiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) pensando — the correct form is pensando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) pensato — the correct form is pensato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to think — the correct form is to think. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does pensare mean in English?

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

Is pensare regular or irregular?

pensare is regular. pensare 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 pensare?

The gerund is pensando and the past participle is pensato. The perfect tenses use avere + pensato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of pensare?

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

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