Pensare Conjugation in Italian
pensare means “to think” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 93 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pensare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I think about Maria.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pensare
- English: to think
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: pensando
- Present participle: pensante
- Past participle: pensato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read pensare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about pensare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle pensato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are pensante and pensato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pensare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | penso |
| tu | pensi |
| lui/lei | pensa |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensate |
| loro | pensano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I think about Maria”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | pensai |
| tu | pensasti |
| lui/lei | pensò |
| noi | pensammo |
| voi | pensaste |
| loro | pensarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io pensai a Maria ieri.” — “I thought about Maria”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | pensavo |
| tu | pensavi |
| lui/lei | pensava |
| noi | pensavamo |
| voi | pensavate |
| loro | pensavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io pensavo a Maria una volta.” — “I used to think about Maria”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | penserò |
| tu | penserai |
| lui/lei | penserà |
| noi | penseremo |
| voi | penserete |
| loro | penseranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io penserò a Maria domani.” — “I will think about Maria”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | penserei |
| tu | penseresti |
| lui/lei | penserebbe |
| noi | penseremmo |
| voi | pensereste |
| loro | penserebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io penserei a Maria un giorno.” — “I would think about Maria”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho pensato |
| tu | hai pensato |
| lui/lei | ha pensato |
| noi | abbiamo pensato |
| voi | avete pensato |
| loro | hanno pensato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has thought about Maria”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo pensato |
| tu | avevi pensato |
| lui/lei | aveva pensato |
| noi | avevamo pensato |
| voi | avevate pensato |
| loro | avevano pensato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo pensato a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had thought about Maria”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò pensato |
| tu | avrai pensato |
| lui/lei | avrà pensato |
| noi | avremo pensato |
| voi | avrete pensato |
| loro | avranno pensato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò pensato a Maria per domani.” — “I will have thought about Maria”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei pensato |
| tu | avresti pensato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe pensato |
| noi | avremmo pensato |
| voi | avreste pensato |
| loro | avrebbero pensato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei pensato a Maria ieri.” — “I would have thought about Maria”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | pensi |
| tu | pensi |
| lui/lei | pensi |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensiate |
| loro | pensino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io pensi a Maria.” — “It is important that I think about Maria”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | pensassi |
| tu | pensassi |
| lui/lei | pensasse |
| noi | pensassimo |
| voi | pensaste |
| loro | pensassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io pensassi a Maria.” — “It was important that I think about Maria”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pensa |
| lui/lei | pensi |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensate |
| loro | pensino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Pensa a Maria!” — “Think about Maria!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pensare |
| lui/lei | pensi |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensiate |
| loro | pensino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non pensare a Maria.” — “Do not think about Maria.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | pensando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Pensando a Maria, imparo molto.” — “While thinking about Maria, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | pensante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle pensante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | pensato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have thought about Maria.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pensare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I think about Maria”
- “Tu pensasti a Maria ieri.” — “You thought about Maria”
- “Lui pensava a Maria una volta.” — “He used to think about Maria”
- “Io penserò a Maria domani.” — “I will think about Maria”
- “Tu penseresti a Maria un giorno.” — “You would think about Maria”
- “Lui ha pensato a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has thought about Maria”
- “Io avevo pensato a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had thought about Maria”
- “Tu avrai pensato a Maria per domani.” — “You will have thought about Maria”
- “È importante che io pensi a Maria.” — “It is important that I think about Maria”
- “Pensa a Maria!” — “Think about Maria!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io pensi a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.”
pensi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with penso.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io penso a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho pensato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono pensato a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of pensare is formed with avere plus the past participle pensato: the io form is ho pensato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io penso a Maria.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io pensi a Maria.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use pensi here, not the indicative penso.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho pensando a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pensato a Maria questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle pensato, not the gerund pensando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pensare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of pensare in the Present indicative?
- A) pensi
- B) penso
- C) pensa
- D) pensiamo
What is the lui/lei form of pensare in the Passato remoto?
- A) pensai
- B) pensasti
- C) pensò
- D) pensammo
What is the noi form of pensare in the Imperfect?
- A) pensavo
- B) pensavi
- C) pensava
- D) pensavamo
What is the tu form of pensare in the Future?
- A) penserai
- B) penserò
- C) penserà
- D) penseremo
What is the io form of pensare in the Conditional?
- A) penseresti
- B) penserei
- C) penserebbe
- D) penseremmo
What is the lui/lei form of pensare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho pensato
- B) hai pensato
- C) ha pensato
- D) abbiamo pensato
What is the lui/lei form of pensare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pensiamo
- B) pensiate
- C) pensino
- D) pensi
What is the io form of pensare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) pensassi
- B) pensasse
- C) pensassimo
- D) pensaste
What is the gerund of pensare?
- A) pensato
- B) pensando
- C) pensare
- D) penso
What does pensare mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to think
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) penso — the correct form is penso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) pensò — the correct form is pensò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) pensavamo — the correct form is pensavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) penserai — the correct form is penserai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) penserei — the correct form is penserei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha pensato — the correct form is ha pensato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) pensi — the correct form is pensi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) pensassi — the correct form is pensassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) pensando — the correct form is pensando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pensare regular or irregular?
pensare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is pensando and the past participle is pensato.
What are the gerund and past participle of pensare?
The gerund is pensando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is pensato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho pensato.
Which auxiliary does pensare take in the passato prossimo?
pensare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho pensato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle pensato.
How do I say “I think” in Italian?
Say “Io penso a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I think about Maria” The io form of the present is penso, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of pensare — every tense of pensare in one place.
- Pensare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Pensare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Fare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Andare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pensare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise pensare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise pensare with the interactive tool.