Piangere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

piangere — to cry — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to cry and to weep, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is pianto, while the present is regular. On this page you will find piangere 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 piangere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the piangere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with piangere

In the present tense

  • “Io piango ogni giorno.” — “I cry”
  • “Tu piangi ogni giorno.” — “You cry”
  • “Lui piange ogni giorno.” — “He cries”
  • “Noi piangiamo ogni giorno.” — “We cry”
  • “Voi piangete ogni giorno.” — “You cry”
  • “Loro piangono ogni giorno.” — “They cry”

In the passato prossimo

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

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 piangevo una volta.” — “I used to cry”
  • “Tu piangerai domani.” — “You will cry”
  • “Lui piangerebbe un giorno.” — “He would cry”
  • “È importante che noi piangiamo.” — “It is important that we cry”
  • “Piangi!” — “Cry!”

How piangere is used

The first thing to know about piangere is its core meaning: to cry. It means to cry and to weep, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is pianto, while the present is 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 piangere keeps. The present io form is piango, 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 pianto, 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 piangere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need piango, never piangere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho pianto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle pianto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Piangere in context

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

✓ Right: “Io piango ogni giorno.”

The infinitive piangere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form piango.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io piangi.”

✓ Right: “Io piango ogni giorno.”

piangi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is piango — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io piango ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho pianto here, not the present piango.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono pianto.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) piango
    • B) piangi
    • C) piange
    • D) piangiamo

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

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

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

    • A) piangevo
    • B) piangevi
    • C) piangevamo
    • D) piangeva

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

    • A) piangeremo
    • B) piangerò
    • C) piangerai
    • D) piangerà

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

    • A) piangerei
    • B) piangeresti
    • C) piangerebbe
    • D) piangeremmo

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

    • A) piangesti
    • B) pianse
    • C) piansi
    • D) piangemmo

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

    • A) pianga
    • B) piangiate
    • C) piangano
    • D) piangiamo

  8. What is the gerund of piangere?

    • A) piangendo
    • B) pianto
    • C) piangere
    • D) piango

  9. What is the past participle of piangere?

    • A) piangendo
    • B) pianto
    • C) piangere
    • D) piango

  10. What does piangere mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to cry
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) piangi — the correct form is piangi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho pianto — the correct form is ho pianto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) piangeva — the correct form is piangeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) piangeremo — the correct form is piangeremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) piangeresti — the correct form is piangeresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) piansi — the correct form is piansi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) piangiamo — the correct form is piangiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) piangendo — the correct form is piangendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) pianto — the correct form is pianto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to cry — the correct form is to cry. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does piangere mean in English?

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

Is piangere regular or irregular?

piangere is irregular. piangere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of piangere?

The gerund is piangendo and the past participle is pianto. The perfect tenses use avere + pianto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of piangere?

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

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