Scegliere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

scegliere — to choose — 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 means to choose and to pick, and it belongs to the -gliere family: the passato remoto and the past participle are irregular, with the participle scelto, while the present is regular apart from the stem-final i dropping before i-initial endings. On this page you will find scegliere 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 scegliere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the scegliere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with scegliere

In the present tense

  • “Io sceglo un libro ogni giorno.” — “I choose a book”
  • “Tu scegli un libro ogni giorno.” — “You choose a book”
  • “Lui sceglie un libro ogni giorno.” — “He chooses a book”
  • “Noi scegliamo un libro ogni giorno.” — “We choose a book”
  • “Voi scegliete un libro ogni giorno.” — “You choose a book”
  • “Loro sceglono un libro ogni giorno.” — “They choose a book”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have chosen a book”
  • “Tu hai scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have chosen a book”
  • “Lui ha scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has chosen a book”
  • “Noi abbiamo scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “We have chosen a book”
  • “Voi avete scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have chosen a book”
  • “Loro hanno scelto un libro questa settimana.” — “They have chosen a book”

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 sceglievo un libro una volta.” — “I used to choose a book”
  • “Tu sceglierai un libro domani.” — “You will choose a book”
  • “Lui sceglierebbe un libro un giorno.” — “He would choose a book”
  • “È importante che noi scegliamo un libro.” — “It is important that we choose a book”
  • “Scegli un libro!” — “Choose a book!”

How scegliere is used

The first thing to know about scegliere is its core meaning: to choose. It means to choose and to pick, and it belongs to the -gliere family: the passato remoto and the past participle are irregular, with the participle scelto, while the present is regular apart from the stem-final i dropping before i-initial endings. 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 scegliere keeps. The present io form is sceglo, 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 scelto, 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 scegliere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need sceglo, never scegliere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho scelto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle scelto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Scegliere in context

Io sceglo un libro ogni giorno. Tu scegli un libro ogni giorno. Lui sceglie un libro ogni giorno. Noi scegliamo un libro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of scegliere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sceglo, scegli, sceglie, scegliamo — while the meaning stays the same: to choose. Io ho scelto un libro questa settimana. Tu hai scelto un libro questa settimana. Lui ha scelto un libro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo scelto un libro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of scegliere 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 choose — 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 scegliere un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io sceglo un libro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive scegliere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form sceglo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io scegli un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io sceglo un libro ogni giorno.”

scegli is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is sceglo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io sceglo un libro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho scelto un libro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho scelto here, not the present sceglo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono scelto un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho scelto un libro questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sceglo
    • B) scegli
    • C) sceglie
    • D) scegliamo

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

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

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

    • A) sceglievo
    • B) sceglievi
    • C) sceglievamo
    • D) sceglieva

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

    • A) sceglieremo
    • B) sceglierò
    • C) sceglierai
    • D) sceglierà

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

    • A) sceglierei
    • B) sceglieresti
    • C) sceglierebbe
    • D) sceglieremmo

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

    • A) scegliesti
    • B) scelse
    • C) scelsi
    • D) scegliemmo

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

    • A) scelga
    • B) scegliate
    • C) scelgano
    • D) scegliamo

  8. What is the gerund of scegliere?

    • A) scegliendo
    • B) scelto
    • C) scegliere
    • D) sceglo

  9. What is the past participle of scegliere?

    • A) scegliendo
    • B) scelto
    • C) scegliere
    • D) sceglo

  10. What does scegliere mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to choose
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) scegli — the correct form is scegli. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho scelto — the correct form is ho scelto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) sceglieva — the correct form is sceglieva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) sceglieremo — the correct form is sceglieremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) sceglieresti — the correct form is sceglieresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) scelsi — the correct form is scelsi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) scegliamo — the correct form is scegliamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) scegliendo — the correct form is scegliendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) scelto — the correct form is scelto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to choose — the correct form is to choose. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does scegliere mean in English?

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

Is scegliere regular or irregular?

scegliere is irregular. scegliere is irregular in passato-remoto, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of scegliere?

The gerund is scegliendo and the past participle is scelto. The perfect tenses use avere + scelto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of scegliere?

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

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