Provare Conjugation in Italian
provare means “to try” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 91 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to try something and to taste food, and it is completely regular. It also means to feel an emotion when it is followed by a noun, so the context tells you whether something is being tried or felt. This page gives you the complete conjugation of provare — 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 provo il dolce ogni giorno.” — “I try the cake.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: provare
- English: to try
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: provando
- Present participle: provante
- Past participle: provato
- 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 provare, 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 provare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about provare
- 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 provato. 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 provante and provato: 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 provare. 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 | provo |
| tu | provi |
| lui/lei | prova |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | provate |
| loro | provano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io provo il dolce ogni giorno.” — “I try the cake”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | provai |
| tu | provasti |
| lui/lei | provò |
| noi | provammo |
| voi | provaste |
| loro | provarono |
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 provai il dolce ieri.” — “I tried the cake”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | provavo |
| tu | provavi |
| lui/lei | provava |
| noi | provavamo |
| voi | provavate |
| loro | provavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io provavo il dolce una volta.” — “I used to try the cake”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | proverò |
| tu | proverai |
| lui/lei | proverà |
| noi | proveremo |
| voi | proverete |
| loro | proveranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io proverò il dolce domani.” — “I will try the cake”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | proverei |
| tu | proveresti |
| lui/lei | proverebbe |
| noi | proveremmo |
| voi | provereste |
| loro | proverebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io proverei il dolce un giorno.” — “I would try the cake”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho provato |
| tu | hai provato |
| lui/lei | ha provato |
| noi | abbiamo provato |
| voi | avete provato |
| loro | hanno provato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha provato il dolce questa settimana.” — “He has tried the cake”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo provato |
| tu | avevi provato |
| lui/lei | aveva provato |
| noi | avevamo provato |
| voi | avevate provato |
| loro | avevano provato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo provato il dolce prima della festa.” — “I had tried the cake”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò provato |
| tu | avrai provato |
| lui/lei | avrà provato |
| noi | avremo provato |
| voi | avrete provato |
| loro | avranno provato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò provato il dolce per domani.” — “I will have tried the cake”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei provato |
| tu | avresti provato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe provato |
| noi | avremmo provato |
| voi | avreste provato |
| loro | avrebbero provato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei provato il dolce ieri.” — “I would have tried the cake”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | provi |
| tu | provi |
| lui/lei | provi |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | proviate |
| loro | provino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io provi il dolce.” — “It is important that I try the cake”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | provassi |
| tu | provassi |
| lui/lei | provasse |
| noi | provassimo |
| voi | provaste |
| loro | provassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io provassi il dolce.” — “It was important that I try the cake”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | prova |
| lui/lei | provi |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | provate |
| loro | provino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Prova il dolce!” — “Try the cake!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | provare |
| lui/lei | provi |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | proviate |
| loro | provino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non provare il dolce.” — “Do not try the cake.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | provando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Provando il dolce, imparo molto.” — “While trying the cake, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | provante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle provante 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 | provato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho provato il dolce questa settimana.” — “I have tried the cake.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with provare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io provo il dolce ogni giorno.” — “I try the cake”
- “Tu provasti il dolce ieri.” — “You tried the cake”
- “Lui provava il dolce una volta.” — “He used to try the cake”
- “Io proverò il dolce domani.” — “I will try the cake”
- “Tu proveresti il dolce un giorno.” — “You would try the cake”
- “Lui ha provato il dolce questa settimana.” — “He has tried the cake”
- “Io avevo provato il dolce prima della festa.” — “I had tried the cake”
- “Tu avrai provato il dolce per domani.” — “You will have tried the cake”
- “È importante che io provi il dolce.” — “It is important that I try the cake”
- “Prova il dolce!” — “Try the cake!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io provare il dolce.”
✓ Right: “Io provo il dolce ogni giorno.”
The infinitive provare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form provo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io provi il dolce.”
✓ Right: “Io provo il dolce ogni giorno.”
provi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with provo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io provo il dolce ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho provato il dolce questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho provato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono provato il dolce.”
✓ Right: “Io ho provato il dolce questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of provare is formed with avere plus the past participle provato: the io form is ho provato. 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 provo il dolce.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io provi il dolce.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use provi here, not the indicative provo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho provando il dolce.”
✓ Right: “Io ho provato il dolce questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle provato, not the gerund provando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on provare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of provare in the Present indicative?
- A) provi
- B) provo
- C) prova
- D) proviamo
What is the lui/lei form of provare in the Passato remoto?
- A) provai
- B) provasti
- C) provò
- D) provammo
What is the noi form of provare in the Imperfect?
- A) provavo
- B) provavi
- C) provava
- D) provavamo
What is the tu form of provare in the Future?
- A) proverai
- B) proverò
- C) proverà
- D) proveremo
What is the io form of provare in the Conditional?
- A) proveresti
- B) proverei
- C) proverebbe
- D) proveremmo
What is the lui/lei form of provare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho provato
- B) hai provato
- C) ha provato
- D) abbiamo provato
What is the lui/lei form of provare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) proviamo
- B) proviate
- C) provino
- D) provi
What is the io form of provare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) provassi
- B) provasse
- C) provassimo
- D) provaste
What is the gerund of provare?
- A) provato
- B) provando
- C) provare
- D) provo
What does provare mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to try
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) provo — the correct form is provo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) provò — the correct form is provò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) provavamo — the correct form is provavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) proverai — the correct form is proverai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) proverei — the correct form is proverei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha provato — the correct form is ha provato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) provi — the correct form is provi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) provassi — the correct form is provassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) provando — the correct form is provando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to try — the correct form is to try. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does provare mean in English?
provare means “to try”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is provare regular or irregular?
provare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is provando and the past participle is provato.
What are the gerund and past participle of provare?
The gerund is provando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is provato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho provato.
Which auxiliary does provare take in the passato prossimo?
provare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho provato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle provato.
How do I say “I try” in Italian?
Say “Io provo il dolce ogni giorno.” — “I try the cake” The io form of the present is provo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of provare — every tense of provare in one place.
- Provare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Provare 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 provare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise provare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise provare with the interactive tool.