Ridere Conjugation in Italian
ridere means “to laugh” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 39 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of ridere — 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 rido ogni giorno.” — “I laugh.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ridere
- English: to laugh
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: ridendo
- Present participle: ridente
- Past participle: riso
- 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 ridere, 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 ridere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about ridere
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle riso. 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 ridente and riso: 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 ridere. 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 | rido |
| tu | ridi |
| lui/lei | ride |
| noi | ridiamo |
| voi | ridete |
| loro | ridono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io rido ogni giorno.” — “I laugh”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | risi |
| tu | ridesti |
| lui/lei | rise |
| noi | ridemmo |
| voi | rideste |
| loro | risero |
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 risi ieri.” — “I laughed”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ridevo |
| tu | ridevi |
| lui/lei | rideva |
| noi | ridevamo |
| voi | ridevate |
| loro | ridevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io ridevo una volta.” — “I used to laugh”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | riderò |
| tu | riderai |
| lui/lei | riderà |
| noi | rideremo |
| voi | riderete |
| loro | rideranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io riderò domani.” — “I will laugh”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | riderei |
| tu | rideresti |
| lui/lei | riderebbe |
| noi | rideremmo |
| voi | ridereste |
| loro | riderebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io riderei un giorno.” — “I would laugh”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho riso |
| tu | hai riso |
| lui/lei | ha riso |
| noi | abbiamo riso |
| voi | avete riso |
| loro | hanno riso |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha riso questa settimana.” — “He has laughed”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo riso |
| tu | avevi riso |
| lui/lei | aveva riso |
| noi | avevamo riso |
| voi | avevate riso |
| loro | avevano riso |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo riso prima della festa.” — “I had laughed”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò riso |
| tu | avrai riso |
| lui/lei | avrà riso |
| noi | avremo riso |
| voi | avrete riso |
| loro | avranno riso |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò riso per domani.” — “I will have laughed”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei riso |
| tu | avresti riso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe riso |
| noi | avremmo riso |
| voi | avreste riso |
| loro | avrebbero riso |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei riso ieri.” — “I would have laughed”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | rida |
| tu | rida |
| lui/lei | rida |
| noi | ridiamo |
| voi | ridiate |
| loro | ridano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io rida.” — “It is important that I laugh”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ridessi |
| tu | ridessi |
| lui/lei | ridesse |
| noi | ridessimo |
| voi | rideste |
| loro | ridessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io ridessi.” — “It was important that I laugh”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ridi |
| lui/lei | rida |
| noi | ridiamo |
| voi | ridete |
| loro | ridano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Ridi!” — “Laugh!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ridere |
| lui/lei | rida |
| noi | ridiamo |
| voi | ridiate |
| loro | ridano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non ridere.” — “Do not laugh.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | ridendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Ridendo, imparo molto.” — “While laughing, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | ridente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle ridente 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 | riso |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho riso questa settimana.” — “I have laughed.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ridere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io rido ogni giorno.” — “I laugh”
- “Tu ridesti ieri.” — “You laughed”
- “Lui rideva una volta.” — “He used to laugh”
- “Io riderò domani.” — “I will laugh”
- “Tu rideresti un giorno.” — “You would laugh”
- “Lui ha riso questa settimana.” — “He has laughed”
- “Io avevo riso prima della festa.” — “I had laughed”
- “Tu avrai riso per domani.” — “You will have laughed”
- “È importante che io rida.” — “It is important that I laugh”
- “Ridi!” — “Laugh!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io ridi.”
✓ Right: “Io rido ogni giorno.”
ridi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with rido.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io rido ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho riso questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho riso for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono riso.”
✓ Right: “Io ho riso questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of ridere is formed with avere plus the past participle riso: the io form is ho riso. 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 rido.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io rida.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use rida here, not the indicative rido.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho ridendo.”
✓ Right: “Io ho riso questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle riso, not the gerund ridendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on ridere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of ridere in the Present indicative?
- A) ridi
- B) rido
- C) ride
- D) ridiamo
What is the lui/lei form of ridere in the Passato remoto?
- A) risi
- B) ridesti
- C) rise
- D) ridemmo
What is the noi form of ridere in the Imperfect?
- A) ridevo
- B) ridevi
- C) rideva
- D) ridevamo
What is the tu form of ridere in the Future?
- A) riderai
- B) riderò
- C) riderà
- D) rideremo
What is the io form of ridere in the Conditional?
- A) rideresti
- B) riderei
- C) riderebbe
- D) rideremmo
What is the lui/lei form of ridere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho riso
- B) hai riso
- C) ha riso
- D) abbiamo riso
What is the lui/lei form of ridere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) ridiamo
- B) ridiate
- C) ridano
- D) rida
What is the io form of ridere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) ridessi
- B) ridesse
- C) ridessimo
- D) rideste
What is the gerund of ridere?
- A) riso
- B) ridendo
- C) ridere
- D) rido
What does ridere mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to laugh
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) rido — the correct form is rido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) rise — the correct form is rise. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ridevamo — the correct form is ridevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) riderai — the correct form is riderai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) riderei — the correct form is riderei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha riso — the correct form is ha riso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) rida — the correct form is rida. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) ridessi — the correct form is ridessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) ridendo — the correct form is ridendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is ridere regular or irregular?
ridere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is ridendo and the past participle is riso.
What are the gerund and past participle of ridere?
The gerund is ridendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is riso — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho riso.
Which auxiliary does ridere take in the passato prossimo?
ridere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho riso. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle riso.
How do I say “I laugh” in Italian?
Say “Io rido ogni giorno.” — “I laugh” The io form of the present is rido, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of ridere — every tense of ridere in one place.
- Ridere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Ridere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- 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 ridere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise ridere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise ridere with the interactive tool.