Portare Conjugation in Italian
portare means “to carry” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 86 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of portare — 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 porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I carry a book to Maria.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: portare
- English: to carry
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: portando
- Present participle: portante
- Past participle: portato
- 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 portare, 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 portare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about portare
- 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 portato. 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 portante and portato: 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 portare. 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 | porto |
| tu | porti |
| lui/lei | porta |
| noi | portiamo |
| voi | portate |
| loro | portano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I carry a book to Maria”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | portai |
| tu | portasti |
| lui/lei | portò |
| noi | portammo |
| voi | portaste |
| loro | portarono |
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 portai un libro a Maria ieri.” — “I carried a book to Maria”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | portavo |
| tu | portavi |
| lui/lei | portava |
| noi | portavamo |
| voi | portavate |
| loro | portavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io portavo un libro a Maria una volta.” — “I used to carry a book to Maria”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | porterò |
| tu | porterai |
| lui/lei | porterà |
| noi | porteremo |
| voi | porterete |
| loro | porteranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io porterò un libro a Maria domani.” — “I will carry a book to Maria”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | porterei |
| tu | porteresti |
| lui/lei | porterebbe |
| noi | porteremmo |
| voi | portereste |
| loro | porterebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io porterei un libro a Maria un giorno.” — “I would carry a book to Maria”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho portato |
| tu | hai portato |
| lui/lei | ha portato |
| noi | abbiamo portato |
| voi | avete portato |
| loro | hanno portato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has carried a book to Maria”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo portato |
| tu | avevi portato |
| lui/lei | aveva portato |
| noi | avevamo portato |
| voi | avevate portato |
| loro | avevano portato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo portato un libro a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had carried a book to Maria”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò portato |
| tu | avrai portato |
| lui/lei | avrà portato |
| noi | avremo portato |
| voi | avrete portato |
| loro | avranno portato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò portato un libro a Maria per domani.” — “I will have carried a book to Maria”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei portato |
| tu | avresti portato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe portato |
| noi | avremmo portato |
| voi | avreste portato |
| loro | avrebbero portato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei portato un libro a Maria ieri.” — “I would have carried a book to Maria”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | porti |
| tu | porti |
| lui/lei | porti |
| noi | portiamo |
| voi | portiate |
| loro | portino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io porti un libro a Maria.” — “It is important that I carry a book to Maria”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | portassi |
| tu | portassi |
| lui/lei | portasse |
| noi | portassimo |
| voi | portaste |
| loro | portassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io portassi un libro a Maria.” — “It was important that I carry a book to Maria”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | porta |
| lui/lei | porti |
| noi | portiamo |
| voi | portate |
| loro | portino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Porta un libro a Maria!” — “Carry a book to Maria!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | portare |
| lui/lei | porti |
| noi | portiamo |
| voi | portiate |
| loro | portino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non portare un libro a Maria.” — “Do not carry a book to Maria.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | portando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Portando un libro a Maria, imparo molto.” — “While carrying a book to Maria, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | portante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle portante 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 | portato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have carried a book to Maria.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with portare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I carry a book to Maria”
- “Tu portasti un libro a Maria ieri.” — “You carried a book to Maria”
- “Lui portava un libro a Maria una volta.” — “He used to carry a book to Maria”
- “Io porterò un libro a Maria domani.” — “I will carry a book to Maria”
- “Tu porteresti un libro a Maria un giorno.” — “You would carry a book to Maria”
- “Lui ha portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has carried a book to Maria”
- “Io avevo portato un libro a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had carried a book to Maria”
- “Tu avrai portato un libro a Maria per domani.” — “You will have carried a book to Maria”
- “È importante che io porti un libro a Maria.” — “It is important that I carry a book to Maria”
- “Porta un libro a Maria!” — “Carry a book to Maria!”
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’s form
✗ 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. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with porto.
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.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho portato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono portato un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of portare is formed with avere plus the past participle portato: the io form is ho portato. 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 porto un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io porti un libro a Maria.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use porti here, not the indicative porto.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho portando un libro a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho portato un libro a Maria questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle portato, not the gerund portando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on portare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of portare in the Present indicative?
- A) porti
- B) porto
- C) porta
- D) portiamo
What is the lui/lei form of portare in the Passato remoto?
- A) portai
- B) portasti
- C) portò
- D) portammo
What is the noi form of portare in the Imperfect?
- A) portavo
- B) portavi
- C) portava
- D) portavamo
What is the tu form of portare in the Future?
- A) porterai
- B) porterò
- C) porterà
- D) porteremo
What is the io form of portare in the Conditional?
- A) porteresti
- B) porterei
- C) porterebbe
- D) porteremmo
What is the lui/lei form of portare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho portato
- B) hai portato
- C) ha portato
- D) abbiamo portato
What is the lui/lei form of portare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) portiamo
- B) portiate
- C) portino
- D) porti
What is the io form of portare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) portassi
- B) portasse
- C) portassimo
- D) portaste
What is the gerund of portare?
- A) portato
- B) portando
- 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) porto — the correct form is porto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) portò — the correct form is portò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) portavamo — the correct form is portavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) porterai — the correct form is porterai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) porterei — the correct form is porterei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha portato — the correct form is ha portato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) porti — the correct form is porti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) portassi — the correct form is portassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) portando — the correct form is portando. 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is portare regular or irregular?
portare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is portando and the past participle is portato.
What are the gerund and past participle of portare?
The gerund is portando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is portato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho portato.
Which auxiliary does portare take in the passato prossimo?
portare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho portato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle portato.
How do I say “I carry” in Italian?
Say “Io porto un libro a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I carry a book to Maria” The io form of the present is porto, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of portare — every tense of portare in one place.
- Portare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Portare 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.
- Chiamare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Cercare 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 portare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise portare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise portare with the interactive tool.