Sapere Conjugation in Italian
sapere means “to know” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 10 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to know a fact, or to know how to do something, and it is different from conoscere, which means to know a person or a place. Its present and passato remoto are irregular, so learn the io and lui forms carefully. This page gives you the complete conjugation of sapere — 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 so la risposta ogni giorno.” — “I know the answer.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sapere
- English: to know
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: sapendo
- Present participle: sapiente
- Past participle: saputo
- 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 sapere, 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 sapere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about sapere
- It is irregular in 9 tense(s): present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, 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.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle saputo. 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 sapiente and saputo: 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 sapere. 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 | so |
| tu | sai |
| lui/lei | sa |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sapete |
| loro | sanno |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io so la risposta ogni giorno.” — “I know the answer”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | seppi |
| tu | sapesti |
| lui/lei | seppe |
| noi | sapemmo |
| voi | sapeste |
| loro | seppero |
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 seppi la risposta ieri.” — “I knew the answer”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sapevo |
| tu | sapevi |
| lui/lei | sapeva |
| noi | sapevamo |
| voi | sapevate |
| loro | sapevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io sapevo la risposta una volta.” — “I used to know the answer”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | saprò |
| tu | saprai |
| lui/lei | saprà |
| noi | sapremo |
| voi | saprete |
| loro | sapranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io saprò la risposta domani.” — “I will know the answer”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | saprei |
| tu | sapresti |
| lui/lei | saprebbe |
| noi | sapremmo |
| voi | sapreste |
| loro | saprebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io saprei la risposta un giorno.” — “I would know the answer”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho saputo |
| tu | hai saputo |
| lui/lei | ha saputo |
| noi | abbiamo saputo |
| voi | avete saputo |
| loro | hanno saputo |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha saputo la risposta questa settimana.” — “He has known the answer”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo saputo |
| tu | avevi saputo |
| lui/lei | aveva saputo |
| noi | avevamo saputo |
| voi | avevate saputo |
| loro | avevano saputo |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo saputo la risposta prima della festa.” — “I had known the answer”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò saputo |
| tu | avrai saputo |
| lui/lei | avrà saputo |
| noi | avremo saputo |
| voi | avrete saputo |
| loro | avranno saputo |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò saputo la risposta per domani.” — “I will have known the answer”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei saputo |
| tu | avresti saputo |
| lui/lei | avrebbe saputo |
| noi | avremmo saputo |
| voi | avreste saputo |
| loro | avrebbero saputo |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei saputo la risposta ieri.” — “I would have known the answer”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sappia |
| tu | sappia |
| lui/lei | sappia |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sappiate |
| loro | sappiano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io sappia la risposta.” — “It is important that I know the answer”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sapessi |
| tu | sapessi |
| lui/lei | sapesse |
| noi | sapessimo |
| voi | sapeste |
| loro | sapessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io sapessi la risposta.” — “It was important that I know the answer”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sappi |
| lui/lei | sappia |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sappiate |
| loro | sappiano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Sappi la risposta!” — “Know the answer!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sapere |
| lui/lei | sappia |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sappiate |
| loro | sappiano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non sapere la risposta.” — “Do not know the answer.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | sapendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Sapendo la risposta, imparo molto.” — “While knowing the answer, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | sapiente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle sapiente 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 | saputo |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho saputo la risposta questa settimana.” — “I have known the answer.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sapere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io so la risposta ogni giorno.” — “I know the answer”
- “Tu sapesti la risposta ieri.” — “You knew the answer”
- “Lui sapeva la risposta una volta.” — “He used to know the answer”
- “Io saprò la risposta domani.” — “I will know the answer”
- “Tu sapresti la risposta un giorno.” — “You would know the answer”
- “Lui ha saputo la risposta questa settimana.” — “He has known the answer”
- “Io avevo saputo la risposta prima della festa.” — “I had known the answer”
- “Tu avrai saputo la risposta per domani.” — “You will have known the answer”
- “È importante che io sappia la risposta.” — “It is important that I know the answer”
- “Sappi la risposta!” — “Know the answer!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io sapere la risposta.”
✓ Right: “Io so la risposta ogni giorno.”
The infinitive sapere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form so.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io sai la risposta.”
✓ Right: “Io so la risposta ogni giorno.”
sai is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with so.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io so la risposta ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho saputo la risposta questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho saputo for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono saputo la risposta.”
✓ Right: “Io ho saputo la risposta questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of sapere is formed with avere plus the past participle saputo: the io form is ho saputo. 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 so la risposta.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io sappia la risposta.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use sappia here, not the indicative so.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho sapendo la risposta.”
✓ Right: “Io ho saputo la risposta questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle saputo, not the gerund sapendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sapere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of sapere in the Present indicative?
- A) sai
- B) so
- C) sa
- D) sappiamo
What is the lui/lei form of sapere in the Passato remoto?
- A) seppi
- B) sapesti
- C) seppe
- D) sapemmo
What is the noi form of sapere in the Imperfect?
- A) sapevo
- B) sapevi
- C) sapeva
- D) sapevamo
What is the tu form of sapere in the Future?
- A) saprai
- B) saprò
- C) saprà
- D) sapremo
What is the io form of sapere in the Conditional?
- A) sapresti
- B) saprei
- C) saprebbe
- D) sapremmo
What is the lui/lei form of sapere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho saputo
- B) hai saputo
- C) ha saputo
- D) abbiamo saputo
What is the lui/lei form of sapere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sappiamo
- B) sappiate
- C) sappiano
- D) sappia
What is the io form of sapere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) sapessi
- B) sapesse
- C) sapessimo
- D) sapeste
What is the gerund of sapere?
- A) saputo
- B) sapendo
- C) sapere
- D) so
What does sapere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to know
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) so — the correct form is so. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) seppe — the correct form is seppe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sapevamo — the correct form is sapevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) saprai — the correct form is saprai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) saprei — the correct form is saprei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha saputo — the correct form is ha saputo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sappia — the correct form is sappia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sapessi — the correct form is sapessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sapendo — the correct form is sapendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to know — the correct form is to know. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does sapere mean in English?
sapere means “to know”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sapere regular or irregular?
sapere is irregular: it is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is sapendo and the past participle is saputo.
What are the gerund and past participle of sapere?
The gerund is sapendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is saputo — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho saputo.
Which auxiliary does sapere take in the passato prossimo?
sapere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho saputo. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle saputo.
How do I say “I know” in Italian?
Say “Io so la risposta ogni giorno.” — “I know the answer” The io form of the present is so, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sapere — every tense of sapere in one place.
- Sapere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Sapere 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.
- Essere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Avere 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 sapere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise sapere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise sapere with the interactive tool.