Piangere Conjugation in Italian
piangere means “to cry” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 40 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of piangere — 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 piango ogni giorno.” — “I cry.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: piangere
- English: to cry
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: piangendo
- Present participle: piangente
- Past participle: pianto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. 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 piangere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about piangere
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle pianto. 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 piangente and pianto: 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 piangere. 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 | piango |
| tu | piangi |
| lui/lei | piange |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangete |
| loro | piangono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io piango ogni giorno.” — “I cry”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | piansi |
| tu | piangesti |
| lui/lei | pianse |
| noi | piangemmo |
| voi | piangeste |
| loro | piansero |
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 piansi ieri.” — “I cried”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | piangevo |
| tu | piangevi |
| lui/lei | piangeva |
| noi | piangevamo |
| voi | piangevate |
| loro | piangevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io piangevo una volta.” — “I used to cry”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | piangerò |
| tu | piangerai |
| lui/lei | piangerà |
| noi | piangeremo |
| voi | piangerete |
| loro | piangeranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io piangerò domani.” — “I will cry”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | piangerei |
| tu | piangeresti |
| lui/lei | piangerebbe |
| noi | piangeremmo |
| voi | piangereste |
| loro | piangerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io piangerei un giorno.” — “I would cry”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho pianto |
| tu | hai pianto |
| lui/lei | ha pianto |
| noi | abbiamo pianto |
| voi | avete pianto |
| loro | hanno pianto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha pianto questa settimana.” — “He has cried”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo pianto |
| tu | avevi pianto |
| lui/lei | aveva pianto |
| noi | avevamo pianto |
| voi | avevate pianto |
| loro | avevano pianto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo pianto prima della festa.” — “I had cried”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò pianto |
| tu | avrai pianto |
| lui/lei | avrà pianto |
| noi | avremo pianto |
| voi | avrete pianto |
| loro | avranno pianto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò pianto per domani.” — “I will have cried”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei pianto |
| tu | avresti pianto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe pianto |
| noi | avremmo pianto |
| voi | avreste pianto |
| loro | avrebbero pianto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei pianto ieri.” — “I would have cried”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | pianga |
| tu | pianga |
| lui/lei | pianga |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangiate |
| loro | piangano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io pianga.” — “It is important that I cry”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | piangessi |
| tu | piangessi |
| lui/lei | piangesse |
| noi | piangessimo |
| voi | piangeste |
| loro | piangessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io piangessi.” — “It was important that I cry”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | piangi |
| lui/lei | pianga |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangete |
| loro | piangano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Piangi!” — “Cry!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | piangere |
| lui/lei | pianga |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangiate |
| loro | piangano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non piangere.” — “Do not cry.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | piangendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Piangendo, imparo molto.” — “While crying, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | piangente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle piangente 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 | pianto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.” — “I have cried.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with piangere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io piango ogni giorno.” — “I cry”
- “Tu piangesti ieri.” — “You cried”
- “Lui piangeva una volta.” — “He used to cry”
- “Io piangerò domani.” — “I will cry”
- “Tu piangeresti un giorno.” — “You would cry”
- “Lui ha pianto questa settimana.” — “He has cried”
- “Io avevo pianto prima della festa.” — “I had cried”
- “Tu avrai pianto per domani.” — “You will have cried”
- “È importante che io pianga.” — “It is important that I cry”
- “Piangi!” — “Cry!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io piangi.”
✓ Right: “Io piango ogni giorno.”
piangi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with piango.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io piango ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho pianto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono pianto.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of piangere is formed with avere plus the past participle pianto: the io form is ho pianto. 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 piango.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io pianga.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use pianga here, not the indicative piango.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho piangendo.”
✓ Right: “Io ho pianto questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle pianto, not the gerund piangendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on piangere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of piangere in the Present indicative?
- A) piangi
- B) piango
- C) piange
- D) piangiamo
What is the lui/lei form of piangere in the Passato remoto?
- A) piansi
- B) piangesti
- C) pianse
- D) piangemmo
What is the noi form of piangere in the Imperfect?
- A) piangevo
- B) piangevi
- C) piangeva
- D) piangevamo
What is the tu form of piangere in the Future?
- A) piangerai
- B) piangerò
- C) piangerà
- D) piangeremo
What is the io form of piangere in the Conditional?
- A) piangeresti
- B) piangerei
- C) piangerebbe
- D) piangeremmo
What is the lui/lei form of piangere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho pianto
- B) hai pianto
- C) ha pianto
- D) abbiamo pianto
What is the lui/lei form of piangere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) piangiamo
- B) piangiate
- C) piangano
- D) pianga
What is the io form of piangere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) piangessi
- B) piangesse
- C) piangessimo
- D) piangeste
What is the gerund of piangere?
- A) pianto
- B) piangendo
- C) piangere
- D) piango
What does piangere mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to cry
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) piango — the correct form is piango. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) pianse — the correct form is pianse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) piangevamo — the correct form is piangevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) piangerai — the correct form is piangerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) piangerei — the correct form is piangerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha pianto — the correct form is ha pianto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) pianga — the correct form is pianga. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) piangessi — the correct form is piangessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) piangendo — the correct form is piangendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is piangere regular or irregular?
piangere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is piangendo and the past participle is pianto.
What are the gerund and past participle of piangere?
The gerund is piangendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is pianto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho pianto.
Which auxiliary does piangere take in the passato prossimo?
piangere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho pianto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle pianto.
How do I say “I cry” in Italian?
Say “Io piango ogni giorno.” — “I cry” The io form of the present is piango, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of piangere — every tense of piangere in one place.
- Piangere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Piangere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Sedersi conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Tenere 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 piangere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise piangere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise piangere with the interactive tool.