Ridere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

ridere — to laugh — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to laugh, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is riso, while the present is regular. On this page you will find ridere 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 ridere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ridere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with ridere

In the present tense

  • “Io rido ogni giorno.” — “I laugh”
  • “Tu ridi ogni giorno.” — “You laugh”
  • “Lui ride ogni giorno.” — “He laughs”
  • “Noi ridiamo ogni giorno.” — “We laugh”
  • “Voi ridete ogni giorno.” — “You laugh”
  • “Loro ridono ogni giorno.” — “They laugh”

In the passato prossimo

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

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 ridevo una volta.” — “I used to laugh”
  • “Tu riderai domani.” — “You will laugh”
  • “Lui riderebbe un giorno.” — “He would laugh”
  • “È importante che noi ridiamo.” — “It is important that we laugh”
  • “Ridi!” — “Laugh!”

How ridere is used

The first thing to know about ridere is its core meaning: to laugh. It means to laugh, and it is irregular in the passato remoto and the past participle: the participle is riso, while the present is regular. 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 ridere keeps. The present io form is rido, 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 riso, 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 ridere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need rido, never ridere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho riso, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle riso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ridere in context

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

✓ Right: “Io rido ogni giorno.”

The infinitive ridere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form rido.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io ridi.”

✓ Right: “Io rido ogni giorno.”

ridi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is rido — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io rido ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho riso questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho riso here, not the present rido.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono riso.”

✓ Right: “Io ho riso questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) rido
    • B) ridi
    • C) ride
    • D) ridiamo

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

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

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

    • A) ridevo
    • B) ridevi
    • C) ridevamo
    • D) rideva

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

    • A) rideremo
    • B) riderò
    • C) riderai
    • D) riderà

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

    • A) riderei
    • B) rideresti
    • C) riderebbe
    • D) rideremmo

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

    • A) ridesti
    • B) rise
    • C) risi
    • D) ridemmo

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

    • A) rida
    • B) ridiate
    • C) ridano
    • D) ridiamo

  8. What is the gerund of ridere?

    • A) ridendo
    • B) riso
    • C) ridere
    • D) rido

  9. What is the past participle of ridere?

    • A) ridendo
    • B) riso
    • C) ridere
    • D) rido

  10. What does ridere mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) ridi — the correct form is ridi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho riso — the correct form is ho riso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) rideva — the correct form is rideva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) rideremo — the correct form is rideremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) rideresti — the correct form is rideresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) risi — the correct form is risi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ridiamo — the correct form is ridiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ridendo — the correct form is ridendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) riso — the correct form is riso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to laugh — the correct form is to laugh. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ridere mean in English?

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

Is ridere regular or irregular?

ridere is irregular. ridere is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of ridere?

The gerund is ridendo and the past participle is riso. The perfect tenses use avere + riso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ridere?

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

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