Pulire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

pulire — to clean — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -ire verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb for cleaning a house, a room or an object, and it is an -isc- verb: the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative insert -isc- in the singular and third-person plural, so the io form is pulisco. The noi and voi forms keep the plain stem: puliamo, pulite. On this page you will find pulire 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 pulire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the pulire passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with pulire

In the present tense

  • “Io pulisco la casa ogni giorno.” — “I clean the house”
  • “Tu pulisci la casa ogni giorno.” — “You clean the house”
  • “Lui pulisce la casa ogni giorno.” — “He cleans the house”
  • “Noi puliamo la casa ogni giorno.” — “We clean the house”
  • “Voi pulite la casa ogni giorno.” — “You clean the house”
  • “Loro puliscono la casa ogni giorno.” — “They clean the house”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “I have cleaned the house”
  • “Tu hai pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “You have cleaned the house”
  • “Lui ha pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “He has cleaned the house”
  • “Noi abbiamo pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “We have cleaned the house”
  • “Voi avete pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “You have cleaned the house”
  • “Loro hanno pulito la casa questa settimana.” — “They have cleaned the house”

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 pulivo la casa una volta.” — “I used to clean the house”
  • “Tu pulirai la casa domani.” — “You will clean the house”
  • “Lui pulirebbe la casa un giorno.” — “He would clean the house”
  • “È importante che noi puliamo la casa.” — “It is important that we clean the house”
  • “Pulisci la casa!” — “Clean the house!”

How pulire is used

The first thing to know about pulire is its core meaning: to clean. It is the verb for cleaning a house, a room or an object, and it is an -isc- verb: the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative insert -isc- in the singular and third-person plural, so the io form is pulisco. The noi and voi forms keep the plain stem: puliamo, pulite. 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 pulire keeps. The present io form is pulisco, 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 pulito, 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 pulire does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need pulisco, never pulire. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho pulito, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle pulito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Pulire in context

Io pulisco la casa ogni giorno. Tu pulisci la casa ogni giorno. Lui pulisce la casa ogni giorno. Noi puliamo la casa ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of pulire is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — pulisco, pulisci, pulisce, puliamo — while the meaning stays the same: to clean. Io ho pulito la casa questa settimana. Tu hai pulito la casa questa settimana. Lui ha pulito la casa questa settimana. Noi abbiamo pulito la casa questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of pulire 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 clean — 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 pulire la casa.”

✓ Right: “Io pulisco la casa ogni giorno.”

The infinitive pulire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form pulisco.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io pulisci la casa.”

✓ Right: “Io pulisco la casa ogni giorno.”

pulisci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is pulisco — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io pulisco la casa ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pulito la casa questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho pulito here, not the present pulisco.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono pulito la casa.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pulito la casa questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) pulisco
    • B) pulisci
    • C) pulisce
    • D) puliamo

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

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

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

    • A) pulivo
    • B) pulivi
    • C) pulivamo
    • D) puliva

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

    • A) puliremo
    • B) pulirò
    • C) pulirai
    • D) pulirà

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

    • A) pulirei
    • B) puliresti
    • C) pulirebbe
    • D) puliremmo

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

    • A) pulisti
    • B) pulì
    • C) pulii
    • D) pulimmo

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

    • A) pulisca
    • B) puliate
    • C) puliscano
    • D) puliamo

  8. What is the gerund of pulire?

    • A) pulendo
    • B) pulito
    • C) pulire
    • D) pulisco

  9. What is the past participle of pulire?

    • A) pulendo
    • B) pulito
    • C) pulire
    • D) pulisco

  10. What does pulire mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to clean
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) pulisci — the correct form is pulisci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho pulito — the correct form is ho pulito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) puliva — the correct form is puliva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) puliremo — the correct form is puliremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) puliresti — the correct form is puliresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pulii — the correct form is pulii. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) puliamo — the correct form is puliamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) pulendo — the correct form is pulendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) pulito — the correct form is pulito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to clean — the correct form is to clean. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does pulire mean in English?

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

Is pulire regular or irregular?

pulire is regular. pulire is regular: every form follows the standard -ire endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of pulire?

The gerund is pulendo and the past participle is pulito. The perfect tenses use avere + pulito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of pulire?

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

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