Ricevere Conjugation in Italian
ricevere means “to receive” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 460 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to receive a letter, a gift or news, and it is completely regular. Its passato remoto uses the -etti forms — io ricevetti — which is the first-listed form in the standard references. This page gives you the complete conjugation of ricevere — 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 ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.” — “I receive a letter.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ricevere
- English: to receive
- Verb type: Regular -ere verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: ricevendo
- Present participle: ricevente
- Past participle: ricevuto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ricevere, 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 ricevere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about ricevere
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -ere 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 ricevuto. 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 ricevente and ricevuto: 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 ricevere. 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 | ricevo |
| tu | ricevi |
| lui/lei | riceve |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | ricevete |
| loro | ricevono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.” — “I receive a letter”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ricevetti |
| tu | ricevesti |
| lui/lei | ricevette |
| noi | ricevemmo |
| voi | riceveste |
| loro | ricevettero |
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 ricevetti una lettera ieri.” — “I received a letter”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ricevevo |
| tu | ricevevi |
| lui/lei | riceveva |
| noi | ricevevamo |
| voi | ricevevate |
| loro | ricevevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io ricevevo una lettera una volta.” — “I used to receive a letter”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | riceverò |
| tu | riceverai |
| lui/lei | riceverà |
| noi | riceveremo |
| voi | riceverete |
| loro | riceveranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io riceverò una lettera domani.” — “I will receive a letter”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | riceverei |
| tu | riceveresti |
| lui/lei | riceverebbe |
| noi | riceveremmo |
| voi | ricevereste |
| loro | riceverebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io riceverei una lettera un giorno.” — “I would receive a letter”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho ricevuto |
| tu | hai ricevuto |
| lui/lei | ha ricevuto |
| noi | abbiamo ricevuto |
| voi | avete ricevuto |
| loro | hanno ricevuto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.” — “He has received a letter”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo ricevuto |
| tu | avevi ricevuto |
| lui/lei | aveva ricevuto |
| noi | avevamo ricevuto |
| voi | avevate ricevuto |
| loro | avevano ricevuto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo ricevuto una lettera prima della festa.” — “I had received a letter”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò ricevuto |
| tu | avrai ricevuto |
| lui/lei | avrà ricevuto |
| noi | avremo ricevuto |
| voi | avrete ricevuto |
| loro | avranno ricevuto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò ricevuto una lettera per domani.” — “I will have received a letter”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei ricevuto |
| tu | avresti ricevuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ricevuto |
| noi | avremmo ricevuto |
| voi | avreste ricevuto |
| loro | avrebbero ricevuto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei ricevuto una lettera ieri.” — “I would have received a letter”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | riceva |
| tu | riceva |
| lui/lei | riceva |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | riceviate |
| loro | ricevano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io riceva una lettera.” — “It is important that I receive a letter”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ricevessi |
| tu | ricevessi |
| lui/lei | ricevesse |
| noi | ricevessimo |
| voi | riceveste |
| loro | ricevessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io ricevessi una lettera.” — “It was important that I receive a letter”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ricevi |
| lui/lei | riceva |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | ricevete |
| loro | ricevano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Ricevi una lettera!” — “Receive a letter!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ricevere |
| lui/lei | riceva |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | riceviate |
| loro | ricevano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non ricevere una lettera.” — “Do not receive a letter.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | ricevendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Ricevendo una lettera, imparo molto.” — “While receiving a letter, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | ricevente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle ricevente 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 | ricevuto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.” — “I have received a letter.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ricevere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.” — “I receive a letter”
- “Tu ricevesti una lettera ieri.” — “You received a letter”
- “Lui riceveva una lettera una volta.” — “He used to receive a letter”
- “Io riceverò una lettera domani.” — “I will receive a letter”
- “Tu riceveresti una lettera un giorno.” — “You would receive a letter”
- “Lui ha ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.” — “He has received a letter”
- “Io avevo ricevuto una lettera prima della festa.” — “I had received a letter”
- “Tu avrai ricevuto una lettera per domani.” — “You will have received a letter”
- “È importante che io riceva una lettera.” — “It is important that I receive a letter”
- “Ricevi una lettera!” — “Receive a letter!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io ricevere una lettera.”
✓ Right: “Io ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.”
The infinitive ricevere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form ricevo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io ricevi una lettera.”
✓ Right: “Io ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.”
ricevi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with ricevo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io ricevo una lettera ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho ricevuto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono ricevuto una lettera.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of ricevere is formed with avere plus the past participle ricevuto: the io form is ho ricevuto. 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 ricevo una lettera.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io riceva una lettera.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use riceva here, not the indicative ricevo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho ricevendo una lettera.”
✓ Right: “Io ho ricevuto una lettera questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle ricevuto, not the gerund ricevendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on ricevere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of ricevere in the Present indicative?
- A) ricevi
- B) ricevo
- C) riceve
- D) riceviamo
What is the lui/lei form of ricevere in the Passato remoto?
- A) ricevetti
- B) ricevesti
- C) ricevette
- D) ricevemmo
What is the noi form of ricevere in the Imperfect?
- A) ricevevo
- B) ricevevi
- C) riceveva
- D) ricevevamo
What is the tu form of ricevere in the Future?
- A) riceverai
- B) riceverò
- C) riceverà
- D) riceveremo
What is the io form of ricevere in the Conditional?
- A) riceveresti
- B) riceverei
- C) riceverebbe
- D) riceveremmo
What is the lui/lei form of ricevere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho ricevuto
- B) hai ricevuto
- C) ha ricevuto
- D) abbiamo ricevuto
What is the lui/lei form of ricevere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) riceviamo
- B) riceviate
- C) ricevano
- D) riceva
What is the io form of ricevere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) ricevessi
- B) ricevesse
- C) ricevessimo
- D) riceveste
What is the gerund of ricevere?
- A) ricevuto
- B) ricevendo
- C) ricevere
- D) ricevo
What does ricevere mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to receive
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) ricevo — the correct form is ricevo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ricevette — the correct form is ricevette. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ricevevamo — the correct form is ricevevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) riceverai — the correct form is riceverai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) riceverei — the correct form is riceverei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha ricevuto — the correct form is ha ricevuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) riceva — the correct form is riceva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ricevessi — the correct form is ricevessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ricevendo — the correct form is ricevendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to receive — the correct form is to receive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does ricevere mean in English?
ricevere means “to receive”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is ricevere regular or irregular?
ricevere is regular: it follows the ordinary -ere pattern in every tense. The gerund is ricevendo and the past participle is ricevuto.
What are the gerund and past participle of ricevere?
The gerund is ricevendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is ricevuto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho ricevuto.
Which auxiliary does ricevere take in the passato prossimo?
ricevere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho ricevuto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle ricevuto.
How do I say “I receive” in Italian?
Say “Io ricevo una lettera ogni giorno.” — “I receive a letter” The io form of the present is ricevo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of ricevere — every tense of ricevere in one place.
- Ricevere in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Ricevere 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.
- Sedersi conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Tenere 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 ricevere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise ricevere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise ricevere with the interactive tool.