Scendere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

scendere — to go down — 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 going down, getting off a train or coming downstairs, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is sceso and the remoto is scesi. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its opposite is salire. On this page you will find scendere 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 scendere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the scendere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with scendere

In the present tense

  • “Io scendo ogni giorno.” — “I go down”
  • “Tu scendi ogni giorno.” — “You go down”
  • “Lui scende ogni giorno.” — “He goes down”
  • “Noi scendiamo ogni giorno.” — “We go down”
  • “Voi scendete ogni giorno.” — “You go down”
  • “Loro scendono ogni giorno.” — “They go down”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono sceso questa settimana.” — “I have gone down”
  • “Tu sei sceso questa settimana.” — “You have gone down”
  • “Lui è sceso questa settimana.” — “He has gone down”
  • “Noi siamo sceso questa settimana.” — “We have gone down”
  • “Voi siete sceso questa settimana.” — “You have gone down”
  • “Loro sono sceso questa settimana.” — “They have gone down”

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 scendevo una volta.” — “I used to go down”
  • “Tu scenderai domani.” — “You will go down”
  • “Lui scenderebbe un giorno.” — “He would go down”
  • “È importante che noi scendiamo.” — “It is important that we go down”
  • “Scendi!” — “Go down!”

How scendere is used

The first thing to know about scendere is its core meaning: to go down. It is the verb for going down, getting off a train or coming downstairs, and its present is regular while its passato remoto and past participle are irregular: the participle is sceso and the remoto is scesi. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its opposite is salire. 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 scendere keeps. The present io form is scendo, 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 sono sceso, 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 scendere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need scendo, never scendere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono sceso, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle sceso is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Scendere in context

Io scendo ogni giorno. Tu scendi ogni giorno. Lui scende ogni giorno. Noi scendiamo ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of scendere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — scendo, scendi, scende, scendiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to go down. Io sono sceso questa settimana. Tu sei sceso questa settimana. Lui è sceso questa settimana. Noi siamo sceso questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of scendere 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 go down — 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 scendere.”

✓ Right: “Io scendo ogni giorno.”

The infinitive scendere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form scendo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io scendi.”

✓ Right: “Io scendo ogni giorno.”

scendi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is scendo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io scendo ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono sceso questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono sceso here, not the present scendo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho sceso.”

✓ Right: “Io sono sceso questa settimana.”

scendere takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono sceso — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) scendo
    • B) scendi
    • C) scende
    • D) scendiamo

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

    • A) sei sceso
    • B) è sceso
    • C) sono sceso
    • D) siamo sceso

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

    • A) scendevo
    • B) scendevi
    • C) scendevamo
    • D) scendeva

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

    • A) scenderemo
    • B) scenderò
    • C) scenderai
    • D) scenderà

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

    • A) scenderei
    • B) scenderesti
    • C) scenderebbe
    • D) scenderemmo

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

    • A) scendesti
    • B) scese
    • C) scesi
    • D) scendemmo

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

    • A) scenda
    • B) scendiate
    • C) scendano
    • D) scendiamo

  8. What is the gerund of scendere?

    • A) scendendo
    • B) sceso
    • C) scendere
    • D) scendo

  9. What is the past participle of scendere?

    • A) scendendo
    • B) sceso
    • C) scendere
    • D) scendo

  10. What does scendere mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to go down
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) scendi — the correct form is scendi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono sceso — the correct form is sono sceso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) scendeva — the correct form is scendeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) scenderemo — the correct form is scenderemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) scenderesti — the correct form is scenderesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) scesi — the correct form is scesi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) scendiamo — the correct form is scendiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) scendendo — the correct form is scendendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) sceso — the correct form is sceso. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to go down — the correct form is to go down. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does scendere mean in English?

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

Is scendere regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of scendere?

The gerund is scendendo and the past participle is sceso. The perfect tenses use essere + sceso.

Where can I see the full conjugation of scendere?

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

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