Sembrare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

sembrare — to seem — 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 means to seem and to look like something, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is often followed by an adjective, as in seeming tired, or by che with a clause. On this page you will find sembrare 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 sembrare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the sembrare present tense page.

Example sentences with sembrare

In the present tense

  • “Io sembro stanco ogni giorno.” — “I seem tired”
  • “Tu sembri stanco ogni giorno.” — “You seem tired”
  • “Lui sembra stanco ogni giorno.” — “He seems tired”
  • “Noi sembriamo stanco ogni giorno.” — “We seem tired”
  • “Voi sembrate stanco ogni giorno.” — “You seem tired”
  • “Loro sembrano stanco ogni giorno.” — “They seem tired”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “I have seemed tired”
  • “Tu sei sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “You have seemed tired”
  • “Lui è sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “He has seemed tired”
  • “Noi siamo sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “We have seemed tired”
  • “Voi siete sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “You have seemed tired”
  • “Loro sono sembrato stanco questa settimana.” — “They have seemed tired”

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 sembravo stanco una volta.” — “I used to seem tired”
  • “Tu sembrerai stanco domani.” — “You will seem tired”
  • “Lui sembrerebbe stanco un giorno.” — “He would seem tired”
  • “È importante che noi sembriamo stanco.” — “It is important that we seem tired”
  • “Sembra stanco!” — “Seem tired!”

How sembrare is used

The first thing to know about sembrare is its core meaning: to seem. It means to seem and to look like something, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is often followed by an adjective, as in seeming tired, or by che with a clause. 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 sembrare keeps. The present io form is sembro, 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 sembrato, 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 sembrare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need sembro, never sembrare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono sembrato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle sembrato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Sembrare in context

Io sembro stanco ogni giorno. Tu sembri stanco ogni giorno. Lui sembra stanco ogni giorno. Noi sembriamo stanco ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of sembrare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sembro, sembri, sembra, sembriamo — while the meaning stays the same: to seem. Io sono sembrato stanco questa settimana. Tu sei sembrato stanco questa settimana. Lui è sembrato stanco questa settimana. Noi siamo sembrato stanco questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of sembrare 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 seem — 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 sembrare stanco.”

✓ Right: “Io sembro stanco ogni giorno.”

The infinitive sembrare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form sembro.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io sembri stanco.”

✓ Right: “Io sembro stanco ogni giorno.”

sembri is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is sembro — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io sembro stanco ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono sembrato stanco questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono sembrato here, not the present sembro.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho sembrato stanco.”

✓ Right: “Io sono sembrato stanco questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sembro
    • B) sembri
    • C) sembra
    • D) sembriamo

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

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

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

    • A) sembravo
    • B) sembravi
    • C) sembravamo
    • D) sembrava

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

    • A) sembreremo
    • B) sembrerò
    • C) sembrerai
    • D) sembrerà

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

    • A) sembrerei
    • B) sembreresti
    • C) sembrerebbe
    • D) sembreremmo

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

    • A) sembrasti
    • B) sembrò
    • C) sembrai
    • D) sembrammo

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

    • A) sembri
    • B) sembriate
    • C) sembrino
    • D) sembriamo

  8. What is the gerund of sembrare?

    • A) sembrando
    • B) sembrato
    • C) sembrare
    • D) sembro

  9. What is the past participle of sembrare?

    • A) sembrando
    • B) sembrato
    • C) sembrare
    • D) sembro

  10. What does sembrare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) sembri — the correct form is sembri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono sembrato — the correct form is sono sembrato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) sembrava — the correct form is sembrava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) sembreremo — the correct form is sembreremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) sembreresti — the correct form is sembreresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sembrai — the correct form is sembrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sembriamo — the correct form is sembriamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sembrando — the correct form is sembrando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) sembrato — the correct form is sembrato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to seem — the correct form is to seem. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sembrare mean in English?

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

Is sembrare regular or irregular?

sembrare is regular. sembrare 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 sembrare?

The gerund is sembrando and the past participle is sembrato. The perfect tenses use essere + sembrato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sembrare?

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

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