Scusare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
scusare — to excuse — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb for excusing someone, and it is completely regular in every tense. Its reflexive partner scusarsi is the verb for apologising, and the two share the same stem and endings. On this page you will find scusare 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 scusare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the scusare present tense page.
Example sentences with scusare
In the present tense
- “Io scuso Maria ogni giorno.” — “I excuse Maria”
- “Tu scusi Maria ogni giorno.” — “You excuse Maria”
- “Lui scusa Maria ogni giorno.” — “He excuses Maria”
- “Noi scusiamo Maria ogni giorno.” — “We excuse Maria”
- “Voi scusate Maria ogni giorno.” — “You excuse Maria”
- “Loro scusano Maria ogni giorno.” — “They excuse Maria”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “I have excused Maria”
- “Tu hai scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have excused Maria”
- “Lui ha scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “He has excused Maria”
- “Noi abbiamo scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “We have excused Maria”
- “Voi avete scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “You have excused Maria”
- “Loro hanno scusato Maria questa settimana.” — “They have excused Maria”
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 scusavo Maria una volta.” — “I used to excuse Maria”
- “Tu scuserai Maria domani.” — “You will excuse Maria”
- “Lui scuserebbe Maria un giorno.” — “He would excuse Maria”
- “È importante che noi scusiamo Maria.” — “It is important that we excuse Maria”
- “Scusa Maria!” — “Excuse Maria!”
How scusare is used
The first thing to know about scusare is its core meaning: to excuse. It is the verb for excusing someone, and it is completely regular in every tense. Its reflexive partner scusarsi is the verb for apologising, and the two share the same stem and 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 scusare keeps. The present io form is scuso, 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 scusato, 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 scusare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need scuso, never scusare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho scusato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle scusato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Scusare in context
Io scuso Maria ogni giorno. Tu scusi Maria ogni giorno. Lui scusa Maria ogni giorno. Noi scusiamo Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of scusare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — scuso, scusi, scusa, scusiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to excuse. Io ho scusato Maria questa settimana. Tu hai scusato Maria questa settimana. Lui ha scusato Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo scusato Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of scusare 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 excuse — 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 scusare Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io scuso Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive scusare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form scuso.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io scusi Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io scuso Maria ogni giorno.”
scusi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is scuso — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io scuso Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho scusato Maria questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho scusato here, not the present scuso.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono scusato Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho scusato Maria questa settimana.”
scusare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho scusato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on scusare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of scusare in the Present indicative?
- A) scuso
- B) scusi
- C) scusa
- D) scusiamo
What is the io form of scusare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai scusato
- B) ha scusato
- C) ho scusato
- D) abbiamo scusato
What is the lui/lei form of scusare in the Imperfect?
- A) scusavo
- B) scusavi
- C) scusavamo
- D) scusava
What is the noi form of scusare in the Future?
- A) scuseremo
- B) scuserò
- C) scuserai
- D) scuserà
What is the tu form of scusare in the Conditional?
- A) scuserei
- B) scuseresti
- C) scuserebbe
- D) scuseremmo
What is the io form of scusare in the Passato remoto?
- A) scusasti
- B) scusò
- C) scusai
- D) scusammo
What is the noi form of scusare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) scusi
- B) scusiate
- C) scusino
- D) scusiamo
What is the gerund of scusare?
- A) scusando
- B) scusato
- C) scusare
- D) scuso
What is the past participle of scusare?
- A) scusando
- B) scusato
- C) scusare
- D) scuso
What does scusare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to excuse
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) scusi — the correct form is scusi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho scusato — the correct form is ho scusato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) scusava — the correct form is scusava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) scuseremo — the correct form is scuseremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) scuseresti — the correct form is scuseresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) scusai — the correct form is scusai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) scusiamo — the correct form is scusiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) scusando — the correct form is scusando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) scusato — the correct form is scusato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to excuse — the correct form is to excuse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does scusare mean in English?
scusare means “to excuse”. You use it whenever you talk about to excuse in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is scusare regular or irregular?
scusare is regular. scusare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.
What are the gerund and past participle of scusare?
The gerund is scusando and the past participle is scusato. The perfect tenses use avere + scusato.
Where can I see the full conjugation of scusare?
On the scusare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The scusare present 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 scusare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- scusare conjugation — full tables
- scusare in the present tense
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Spiegare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Domandare conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise scusare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise scusare with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise scusare with the interactive tool.