Ricordare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

ricordare — to remember — 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 means to remember someone or something, and it is completely regular. Do not confuse it with dimenticare, which means to forget: ricordare keeps a memory, dimenticare loses it. On this page you will find ricordare 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 ricordare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ricordare present tense page.

Example sentences with ricordare

In the present tense

  • “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.” — “I remember Maria”
  • “Tu ricordi Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria”
  • “Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno.” — “He remembers Maria”
  • “Noi ricordiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We remember Maria”
  • “Voi ricordate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You remember Maria”
  • “Loro ricordano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They remember Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have remembered Maria”
  • “Tu hai ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have remembered Maria”
  • “Lui ha ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has remembered Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have remembered Maria”
  • “Voi avete ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have remembered Maria”
  • “Loro hanno ricordato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have remembered Maria”

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 ricordavo Maria una volta.” — “I used to remember Maria”
  • “Tu ricorderai Maria domani.” — “You will remember Maria”
  • “Lui ricorderebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would remember Maria”
  • “È importante che noi ricordiamo Maria.” — “It is important that we remember Maria”
  • “Ricorda Maria!” — “Remember Maria!”

How ricordare is used

The first thing to know about ricordare is its core meaning: to remember. It means to remember someone or something, and it is completely regular. Do not confuse it with dimenticare, which means to forget: ricordare keeps a memory, dimenticare loses it. 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 ricordare keeps. The present io form is ricordo, 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 ricordato, 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 ricordare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need ricordo, never ricordare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho ricordato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ricordato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ricordare in context

Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno. Tu ricordi Maria ogni giorno. Lui ricorda Maria ogni giorno. Noi ricordiamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ricordare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ricordo, ricordi, ricorda, ricordiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to remember. Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai ricordato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha ricordato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo ricordato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of ricordare 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 remember — 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 ricordare Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive ricordare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form ricordo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io ricordi Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ricordo Maria ogni giorno.”

ricordi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is ricordo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io ricordo Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho ricordato here, not the present ricordo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono ricordato Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho ricordato Maria questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ricordo
    • B) ricordi
    • C) ricorda
    • D) ricordiamo

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

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

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

    • A) ricordavo
    • B) ricordavi
    • C) ricordavamo
    • D) ricordava

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

    • A) ricorderemo
    • B) ricorderò
    • C) ricorderai
    • D) ricorderà

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

    • A) ricorderei
    • B) ricorderesti
    • C) ricorderebbe
    • D) ricorderemmo

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

    • A) ricordasti
    • B) ricordò
    • C) ricordai
    • D) ricordammo

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

    • A) ricordi
    • B) ricordiate
    • C) ricordino
    • D) ricordiamo

  8. What is the gerund of ricordare?

    • A) ricordando
    • B) ricordato
    • C) ricordare
    • D) ricordo

  9. What is the past participle of ricordare?

    • A) ricordando
    • B) ricordato
    • C) ricordare
    • D) ricordo

  10. What does ricordare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to remember
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) ricordi — the correct form is ricordi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho ricordato — the correct form is ho ricordato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ricordava — the correct form is ricordava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ricorderemo — the correct form is ricorderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ricorderesti — the correct form is ricorderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ricordai — the correct form is ricordai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ricordiamo — the correct form is ricordiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ricordando — the correct form is ricordando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ricordato — the correct form is ricordato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to remember — the correct form is to remember. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ricordare mean in English?

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

Is ricordare regular or irregular?

ricordare is regular. ricordare 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 ricordare?

The gerund is ricordando and the past participle is ricordato. The perfect tenses use avere + ricordato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ricordare?

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

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