Salire Conjugation in Italian
salire means “to go up” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 60 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb for going up, climbing stairs or getting on a train, and its present is irregular: the io form is salgo, the tu form is sali and the loro form is salgono, while noi saliamo and voi salite keep the plain stem. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its opposite is scendere. This page gives you the complete conjugation of salire — 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 salgo ogni giorno.” — “I go up.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: salire
- English: to go up
- Verb type: Irregular -ire verb
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: salendo
- Present participle: salente
- Past participle: salito
- Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ire verbs; pattern ire in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for salire, 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 salire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about salire
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts. Its present is irregular: the io form is salgo, the tu form is sali, the lui form is sale and the loro form is salgono, while noi saliamo and voi salite keep the plain stem.
- The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle salito. 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 salente and salito: 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.
A note on salire
A note on the pattern: salire is irregular in the present — io salgo, tu sali, lui sale, loro salgono — while noi saliamo and voi salite keep the plain stem. It takes essere in the passato prossimo — io sono salito — and its opposite is scendere, to go down.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for salire. 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 | salgo |
| tu | sali |
| lui/lei | sale |
| noi | saliamo |
| voi | salite |
| loro | salgono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io salgo ogni giorno.” — “I go up”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salii |
| tu | salisti |
| lui/lei | salì |
| noi | salimmo |
| voi | saliste |
| loro | salirono |
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 salii ieri.” — “I went up”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salivo |
| tu | salivi |
| lui/lei | saliva |
| noi | salivamo |
| voi | salivate |
| loro | salivano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io salivo una volta.” — “I used to go up”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salirò |
| tu | salirai |
| lui/lei | salirà |
| noi | saliremo |
| voi | salirete |
| loro | saliranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io salirò domani.” — “I will go up”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salirei |
| tu | saliresti |
| lui/lei | salirebbe |
| noi | saliremmo |
| voi | salireste |
| loro | salirebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io salirei un giorno.” — “I would go up”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sono salito |
| tu | sei salito |
| lui/lei | è salito |
| noi | siamo salito |
| voi | siete salito |
| loro | sono salito |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui è salito questa settimana.” — “He has gone up”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ero salito |
| tu | eri salito |
| lui/lei | era salito |
| noi | eravamo salito |
| voi | eravate salito |
| loro | erano salito |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io ero salito prima della festa.” — “I had gone up”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarò salito |
| tu | sarai salito |
| lui/lei | sarà salito |
| noi | saremo salito |
| voi | sarete salito |
| loro | saranno salito |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io sarò salito per domani.” — “I will have gone up”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sarei salito |
| tu | saresti salito |
| lui/lei | sarebbe salito |
| noi | saremmo salito |
| voi | sareste salito |
| loro | sarebbero salito |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io sarei salito ieri.” — “I would have gone up”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salga |
| tu | salga |
| lui/lei | salga |
| noi | saliamo |
| voi | saliate |
| loro | salgano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io salga.” — “It is important that I go up”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | salissi |
| tu | salissi |
| lui/lei | salisse |
| noi | salissimo |
| voi | saliste |
| loro | salissero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io salissi.” — “It was important that I go up”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sali |
| lui/lei | salga |
| noi | saliamo |
| voi | salite |
| loro | salgano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Sali!” — “Go up!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | salire |
| lui/lei | salga |
| noi | saliamo |
| voi | saliate |
| loro | salgano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non salire.” — “Do not go up.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | salendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Salendo, imparo molto.” — “While going up, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | salente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle salente 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 | salito |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io sono salito questa settimana.” — “I have gone up.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with salire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io salgo ogni giorno.” — “I go up”
- “Tu salisti ieri.” — “You went up”
- “Lui saliva una volta.” — “He used to go up”
- “Io salirò domani.” — “I will go up”
- “Tu saliresti un giorno.” — “You would go up”
- “Lui è salito questa settimana.” — “He has gone up”
- “Io ero salito prima della festa.” — “I had gone up”
- “Tu sarai salito per domani.” — “You will have gone up”
- “È importante che io salga.” — “It is important that I go up”
- “Sali!” — “Go up!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io salire.”
✓ Right: “Io salgo ogni giorno.”
The infinitive salire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form salgo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io sali.”
✓ Right: “Io salgo ogni giorno.”
sali is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with salgo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io salgo ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io sono salito questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo sono salito for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io ho salito.”
✓ Right: “Io sono salito questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of salire is formed with essere plus the past participle salito: the io form is sono salito. 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 salgo.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io salga.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use salga here, not the indicative salgo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io sono salendo.”
✓ Right: “Io sono salito questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle salito, not the gerund salendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on salire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of salire in the Present indicative?
- A) sali
- B) salgo
- C) sale
- D) saliamo
What is the lui/lei form of salire in the Passato remoto?
- A) salii
- B) salisti
- C) salì
- D) salimmo
What is the noi form of salire in the Imperfect?
- A) salivo
- B) salivi
- C) saliva
- D) salivamo
What is the tu form of salire in the Future?
- A) salirai
- B) salirò
- C) salirà
- D) saliremo
What is the io form of salire in the Conditional?
- A) saliresti
- B) salirei
- C) salirebbe
- D) saliremmo
What is the lui/lei form of salire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) sono salito
- B) sei salito
- C) è salito
- D) siamo salito
What is the lui/lei form of salire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) saliamo
- B) saliate
- C) salgano
- D) salga
What is the io form of salire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) salissi
- B) salisse
- C) salissimo
- D) saliste
What is the gerund of salire?
- A) salito
- B) salendo
- C) salire
- D) salgo
What does salire mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to go up
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) salgo — the correct form is salgo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) salì — the correct form is salì. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) salivamo — the correct form is salivamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) salirai — the correct form is salirai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) salirei — the correct form is salirei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) è salito — the correct form is è salito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) salga — the correct form is salga. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) salissi — the correct form is salissi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) salendo — the correct form is salendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to go up — the correct form is to go up. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does salire mean in English?
salire means “to go up”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is salire regular or irregular?
salire is irregular: it is irregular in present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is salendo and the past participle is salito.
What are the gerund and past participle of salire?
The gerund is salendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is salito — use it with essere for the perfect tenses, as in sono salito.
Which auxiliary does salire take in the passato prossimo?
salire takes essere in the passato prossimo: the io form is sono salito. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with essere plus the past participle salito.
How do I say “I go up” in Italian?
Say “Io salgo ogni giorno.” — “I go up” The io form of the present is salgo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of salire — every tense of salire in one place.
- Salire in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Salire 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.
- Pulire conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Preferire 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 salire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise salire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise salire with the interactive tool.