Introduction

Salutare means “to greet”, and this page covers exactly one thing: salutare in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for salutare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about salutare in the present. It is the verb for greeting someone, and it is completely regular in every tense. It covers both saying hello and saying goodbye, and it takes the person as a direct object. For example: “Lui saluta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He greets Maria.” Everything on this page uses the forms of salutare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Salutare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io saluto
tu saluti
lui/lei saluta
noi salutiamo
voi salutate
loro salutano
Gerund: salutando · Past participle: salutato
The gerund is salutando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Salutando Maria, imparo molto.” — “While greeting Maria, I learn a lot.” The past participle is salutato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho salutato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how salutare is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for salutare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the present of salutare is formed

The present tense of salutare has six forms: io saluto, tu saluti, lui saluta, noi salutiamo, voi salutate, loro salutano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. salutare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb.

Two things about the present of salutare are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning salutiamo and salutate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so saluto can mean both “I greet” and “I am greeting” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because salutare is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -are endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -are verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.

When to use the present of salutare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use salutare in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and salutare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” — “I greet Maria.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about salutare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui saluta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He greets Maria.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with salutare in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi salutiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We greet Maria.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu saluti Maria ogni giorno.” — “You greet Maria.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and salutare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro salutano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They greet Maria.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui saluta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He greets Maria”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha salutato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has greeted Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” — “I greet Maria”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho salutato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have greeted Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu saluti Maria ogni giorno.” — “You greet Maria”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai salutato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have greeted Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: salutare in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” — “I greet Maria”
  2. “Tu saluti Maria ogni giorno.” — “You greet Maria”
  3. “Lui saluta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He greets Maria”
  4. “Noi salutiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We greet Maria”
  5. “Voi salutate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You greet Maria”
  6. “Loro salutano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They greet Maria”
  7. “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” — “I greet Maria”
  8. “Lui saluta Maria ogni giorno.” — “He greets Maria”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io saluti Maria.” Right: “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is saluto, not saluti. saluti is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi saluto Maria.” Right: “Noi salutiamo Maria ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form salutiamo. saluto belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho salutato Maria questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho salutato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io salutare Maria.” Right: “Io saluto Maria ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive salutare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form saluto.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the io form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluti
    • B) saluto
    • C) saluta
    • D) salutiamo

  2. What is the tu form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluto
    • B) saluta
    • C) saluti
    • D) salutiamo

  3. What is the lui/lei form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluto
    • B) saluti
    • C) salutiamo
    • D) saluta

  4. What is the noi form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) salutiamo
    • B) saluto
    • C) saluti
    • D) saluta

  5. What is the voi form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluto
    • B) salutate
    • C) saluti
    • D) saluta

  6. What is the loro form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluto
    • B) saluti
    • C) salutano
    • D) saluta

  7. What is the io form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluti
    • B) saluta
    • C) salutiamo
    • D) saluto

  8. What is the tu form of salutare in the Present indicative?

    • A) saluti
    • B) saluto
    • C) saluta
    • D) salutiamo

Answer key

  1. B) saluto — the correct form is saluto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) saluti — the correct form is saluti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) saluta — the correct form is saluta. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) salutiamo — the correct form is salutiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) salutate — the correct form is salutate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) salutano — the correct form is salutano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) saluto — the correct form is saluto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) saluti — the correct form is saluti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does salutare mean in English?

salutare means “to greet”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of salutare formed?

The six present forms are: io saluto, tu saluti, lui saluta, noi salutiamo, voi salutate, loro salutano. salutare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of salutare?

The gerund is salutando and the past participle is salutato.

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