Introduction

Raccontare means “to tell”, and this page covers exactly one thing: raccontare in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for raccontare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about raccontare in the present. 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. For example: “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story.” Everything on this page uses the forms of raccontare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Raccontare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io racconto
tu racconti
lui/lei racconta
noi raccontiamo
voi raccontate
loro raccontano
Gerund: raccontando · Past participle: raccontato
The gerund is raccontando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Raccontando una storia, imparo molto.” — “While telling a story, I learn a lot.” The past participle is raccontato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho raccontato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how raccontare is used.
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.

How the present of raccontare is formed

The present tense of raccontare has six forms: io racconto, tu racconti, lui racconta, noi raccontiamo, voi raccontate, loro raccontano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. raccontare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb.

Two things about the present of raccontare are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning raccontiamo and raccontate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so racconto can mean both “I tell” and “I am telling” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because raccontare is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -are endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -are verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.

When to use the present of raccontare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use raccontare in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and raccontare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” — “I tell a story.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about raccontare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with raccontare in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi raccontiamo una storia ogni giorno.” — “We tell a story.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu racconti una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and raccontare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro raccontano una storia ogni giorno.” — “They tell a story.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “He has told a story”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” — “I tell a story”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “I have told a story”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu racconti una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai raccontato una storia questa settimana.” — “You have told a story”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: raccontare in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” — “I tell a story”
  2. “Tu racconti una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story”
  3. “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story”
  4. “Noi raccontiamo una storia ogni giorno.” — “We tell a story”
  5. “Voi raccontate una storia ogni giorno.” — “You tell a story”
  6. “Loro raccontano una storia ogni giorno.” — “They tell a story”
  7. “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” — “I tell a story”
  8. “Lui racconta una storia ogni giorno.” — “He tells a story”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io racconti una storia.” Right: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is racconto, not racconti. racconti is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi racconto una storia.” Right: “Noi raccontiamo una storia ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form raccontiamo. racconto belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho raccontato una storia questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho raccontato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io raccontare una storia.” Right: “Io racconto una storia ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive raccontare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form racconto.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. What is the noi form of raccontare in the Present indicative?

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

  5. What is the voi form of raccontare in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the loro form of raccontare in the Present indicative?

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

  7. What is the io form of raccontare in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. B) racconto — the correct form is racconto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) racconti — the correct form is racconti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) racconta — the correct form is racconta. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) raccontiamo — the correct form is raccontiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) raccontate — the correct form is raccontate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) raccontano — the correct form is raccontano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) racconto — the correct form is racconto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) racconti — the correct form is racconti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does raccontare mean in English?

raccontare means “to tell”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of raccontare formed?

The six present forms are: io racconto, tu racconti, lui racconta, noi raccontiamo, voi raccontate, loro raccontano. raccontare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of raccontare?

The gerund is raccontando and the past participle is raccontato.

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