Rispondere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

rispondere — to answer — 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 is the verb for answering a question or replying to someone, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is risposto, not a regular -uto form. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair, and the whole perfect system follows. On this page you will find rispondere 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 rispondere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the rispondere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with rispondere

In the present tense

  • “Io rispondo alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “I answer the question”
  • “Tu rispondi alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “You answer the question”
  • “Lui risponde alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “He answers the question”
  • “Noi rispondiamo alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “We answer the question”
  • “Voi rispondete alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “You answer the question”
  • “Loro rispondono alla domanda ogni giorno.” — “They answer the question”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “I have answered the question”
  • “Tu hai risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “You have answered the question”
  • “Lui ha risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “He has answered the question”
  • “Noi abbiamo risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “We have answered the question”
  • “Voi avete risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “You have answered the question”
  • “Loro hanno risposto alla domanda questa settimana.” — “They have answered the question”

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 rispondevo alla domanda una volta.” — “I used to answer the question”
  • “Tu risponderai alla domanda domani.” — “You will answer the question”
  • “Lui risponderebbe alla domanda un giorno.” — “He would answer the question”
  • “È importante che noi rispondiamo alla domanda.” — “It is important that we answer the question”
  • “Rispondi alla domanda!” — “Answer the question!”

How rispondere is used

The first thing to know about rispondere is its core meaning: to answer. It is the verb for answering a question or replying to someone, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is risposto, not a regular -uto form. Learn the participle with the infinitive, as one pair, and the whole perfect system follows. 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 rispondere keeps. The present io form is rispondo, 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 risposto, 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 rispondere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need rispondo, never rispondere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho risposto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle risposto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Rispondere in context

Io rispondo alla domanda ogni giorno. Tu rispondi alla domanda ogni giorno. Lui risponde alla domanda ogni giorno. Noi rispondiamo alla domanda ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of rispondere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — rispondo, rispondi, risponde, rispondiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to answer. Io ho risposto alla domanda questa settimana. Tu hai risposto alla domanda questa settimana. Lui ha risposto alla domanda questa settimana. Noi abbiamo risposto alla domanda questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of rispondere 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 answer — 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 rispondere alla domanda.”

✓ Right: “Io rispondo alla domanda ogni giorno.”

The infinitive rispondere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form rispondo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io rispondi alla domanda.”

✓ Right: “Io rispondo alla domanda ogni giorno.”

rispondi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is rispondo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io rispondo alla domanda ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho risposto alla domanda questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho risposto here, not the present rispondo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono risposto alla domanda.”

✓ Right: “Io ho risposto alla domanda questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) rispondo
    • B) rispondi
    • C) risponde
    • D) rispondiamo

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

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

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

    • A) rispondevo
    • B) rispondevi
    • C) rispondevamo
    • D) rispondeva

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

    • A) risponderemo
    • B) risponderò
    • C) risponderai
    • D) risponderà

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

    • A) risponderei
    • B) risponderesti
    • C) risponderebbe
    • D) risponderemmo

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

    • A) rispondesti
    • B) rispose
    • C) risposi
    • D) rispondemmo

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

    • A) risponda
    • B) rispondiate
    • C) rispondano
    • D) rispondiamo

  8. What is the gerund of rispondere?

    • A) rispondendo
    • B) risposto
    • C) rispondere
    • D) rispondo

  9. What is the past participle of rispondere?

    • A) rispondendo
    • B) risposto
    • C) rispondere
    • D) rispondo

  10. What does rispondere mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to ask
  • C) to answer
  • D) to tell

Answer key

  1. B) rispondi — the correct form is rispondi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho risposto — the correct form is ho risposto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) rispondeva — the correct form is rispondeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) risponderemo — the correct form is risponderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) risponderesti — the correct form is risponderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) risposi — the correct form is risposi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) rispondiamo — the correct form is rispondiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) rispondendo — the correct form is rispondendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) risposto — the correct form is risposto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to answer — the correct form is to answer. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does rispondere mean in English?

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

Is rispondere regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of rispondere?

The gerund is rispondendo and the past participle is risposto. The perfect tenses use avere + risposto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of rispondere?

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

Related pages