Portare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
portare — to carry — 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 means to carry, to bring and to take something somewhere, and it is completely regular. It also means to wear clothes, so the context tells you whether something is being carried or worn. On this page you will find portare 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 portare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the portare present tense page.
Example sentences with portare
In the present tense
- “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I carry a book to Maria”
- “Tu porti un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You carry a book to Maria”
- “Lui porta un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He carries a book to Maria”
- “Noi portiamo un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We carry a book to Maria”
- “Voi portate un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You carry a book to Maria”
- “Loro portano un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They carry a book to Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have carried a book to Maria”
- “Tu hai portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have carried a book to Maria”
- “Lui ha portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has carried a book to Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have carried a book to Maria”
- “Voi avete portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have carried a book to Maria”
- “Loro hanno portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have carried a book to 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 portavo un libro a Maria una volta.” — “I used to carry a book to Maria”
- “Tu porterai un libro a Maria domani.” — “You will carry a book to Maria”
- “Lui porterebbe un libro a Maria un giorno.” — “He would carry a book to Maria”
- “È importante che noi portiamo un libro a Maria.” — “It is important that we carry a book to Maria”
- “Porta un libro a Maria!” — “Carry a book to Maria!”
How portare is used
The first thing to know about portare is its core meaning: to carry. It means to carry, to bring and to take something somewhere, and it is completely regular. It also means to wear clothes, so the context tells you whether something is being carried or worn. 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 portare keeps. The present io form is porto, 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 portato, 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 portare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need porto, never portare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho portato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle portato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Portare in context
Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Tu porti un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Lui porta un libro a Maria ogni giorno. Noi portiamo un libro a Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of portare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — porto, porti, porta, portiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to carry. Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Tu hai portato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Lui ha portato un libro a Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo portato un libro a Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of portare 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 carry — 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 portare un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive portare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form porto.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io porti un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.”
porti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is porto — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io porto un libro a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho portato here, not the present porto.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono portato un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
portare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho portato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on portare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of portare in the Present indicative?
- A) porto
- B) porti
- C) porta
- D) portiamo
What is the io form of portare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai portato
- B) ha portato
- C) ho portato
- D) abbiamo portato
What is the lui/lei form of portare in the Imperfect?
- A) portavo
- B) portavi
- C) portavamo
- D) portava
What is the noi form of portare in the Future?
- A) porteremo
- B) porterò
- C) porterai
- D) porterà
What is the tu form of portare in the Conditional?
- A) porterei
- B) porteresti
- C) porterebbe
- D) porteremmo
What is the io form of portare in the Passato remoto?
- A) portasti
- B) portò
- C) portai
- D) portammo
What is the noi form of portare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) porti
- B) portiate
- C) portino
- D) portiamo
What is the gerund of portare?
- A) portando
- B) portato
- C) portare
- D) porto
What is the past participle of portare?
- A) portando
- B) portato
- C) portare
- D) porto
What does portare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to carry
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) porti — the correct form is porti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho portato — the correct form is ho portato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) portava — the correct form is portava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) porteremo — the correct form is porteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) porteresti — the correct form is porteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) portai — the correct form is portai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) portiamo — the correct form is portiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) portando — the correct form is portando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) portato — the correct form is portato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to carry — the correct form is to carry. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does portare mean in English?
portare means “to carry”. You use it whenever you talk about to carry in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is portare regular or irregular?
portare is regular. portare 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 portare?
The gerund is portando and the past participle is portato. The perfect tenses use avere + portato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of portare?
On the portare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The portare 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 portare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- portare conjugation — full tables
- portare in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Chiamare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Cercare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise portare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise portare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise portare with the interactive tool.