Raccontare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

raccontare — to tell — 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 is the verb for telling a story or recounting what happened, and it is completely regular in every tense. It always takes a story, an event or a piece of news as its object, and it is the verb that carries narration in Italian. On this page you will find raccontare 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 raccontare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the raccontare present tense page.

Example sentences with raccontare

In the present tense

  • “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” — “I tell a story”
  • “Tu racconti una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story”
  • “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story”
  • “Noi raccontiamo una storia ogni giorno.” — “We tell a story”
  • “Voi raccontate una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story”
  • “Loro raccontano una storia ogni giorno.” — “They tell a story”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “I have told a story”
  • “Tu hai raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “You have told a story”
  • “Lui ha raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “He has told a story”
  • “Noi abbiamo raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “We have told a story”
  • “Voi avete raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “You have told a story”
  • “Loro hanno raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “They have told a story”

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 raccontavo una storia una volta.” — “I used to tell a story”
  • “Tu racconterai una storia domani.” — “You will tell a story”
  • “Lui racconterebbe una storia un giorno.” — “He would tell a story”
  • “È importante che noi raccontiamo una storia.” — “It is important that we tell a story”
  • “Racconta una storia!” — “Tell a story!”

How raccontare is used

The first thing to know about raccontare is its core meaning: to tell. It is the verb for telling a story or recounting what happened, and it is completely regular in every tense. It always takes a story, an event or a piece of news as its object, and it is the verb that carries narration in Italian. 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 raccontare keeps. The present io form is racconto, 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 raccontato, 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 raccontare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need racconto, never raccontare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho raccontato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle raccontato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Raccontare in context

Io racconto una storia ogni giorno. Tu racconti una storia ogni giorno. Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno. Noi raccontiamo una storia ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of raccontare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — racconto, racconti, racconta, raccontiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to tell. Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana. Tu hai raccontato una storia questa settimana. Lui ha raccontato una storia questa settimana. Noi abbiamo raccontato una storia questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of raccontare 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 tell — 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 raccontare una storia.”

✓ Right: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.”

The infinitive raccontare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form racconto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io racconti una storia.”

✓ Right: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.”

racconti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is racconto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io racconto una storia ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho raccontato here, not the present racconto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono raccontato una storia.”

✓ Right: “Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) racconto
    • B) racconti
    • C) racconta
    • D) raccontiamo

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

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

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

    • A) raccontavo
    • B) raccontavi
    • C) raccontavamo
    • D) raccontava

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

    • A) racconteremo
    • B) racconterò
    • C) racconterai
    • D) racconterà

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

    • A) racconterei
    • B) racconteresti
    • C) racconterebbe
    • D) racconteremmo

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

    • A) raccontasti
    • B) raccontò
    • C) raccontai
    • D) raccontammo

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

    • A) racconti
    • B) raccontiate
    • C) raccontino
    • D) raccontiamo

  8. What is the gerund of raccontare?

    • A) raccontando
    • B) raccontato
    • C) raccontare
    • D) racconto

  9. What is the past participle of raccontare?

    • A) raccontando
    • B) raccontato
    • C) raccontare
    • D) racconto

  10. What does raccontare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) racconti — the correct form is racconti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho raccontato — the correct form is ho raccontato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) raccontava — the correct form is raccontava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) racconteremo — the correct form is racconteremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) racconteresti — the correct form is racconteresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) raccontai — the correct form is raccontai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) raccontiamo — the correct form is raccontiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) raccontando — the correct form is raccontando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) raccontato — the correct form is raccontato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to tell — the correct form is to tell. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does raccontare mean in English?

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

Is raccontare regular or irregular?

raccontare is regular. raccontare 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 raccontare?

The gerund is raccontando and the past participle is raccontato. The perfect tenses use avere + raccontato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of raccontare?

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

Related pages