Sentire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

sentire — to hear, to feel — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ire verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to hear, to feel and to listen, and one verb covers all three senses in Italian, where English splits them. Its present participle is senziente, but every conjugated form in the tables follows the regular -ire pattern. On this page you will find sentire 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 sentire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the sentire passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with sentire

In the present tense

  • “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.” — “I hear the music”
  • “Tu senti la musica ogni giorno.” — “You hear the music”
  • “Lui sente la musica ogni giorno.” — “He hears the music”
  • “Noi sentiamo la musica ogni giorno.” — “We hear the music”
  • “Voi sentite la musica ogni giorno.” — “You hear the music”
  • “Loro sentono la musica ogni giorno.” — “They hear the music”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music”
  • “Tu hai sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music”
  • “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”
  • “Noi abbiamo sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “We have heard the music”
  • “Voi avete sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “You have heard the music”
  • “Loro hanno sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “They have heard the music”

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 sentivo la musica una volta.” — “I used to hear the music”
  • “Tu sentirai la musica domani.” — “You will hear the music”
  • “Lui sentirebbe la musica un giorno.” — “He would hear the music”
  • “È importante che noi sentiamo la musica.” — “It is important that we hear the music”
  • “Senti la musica!” — “Hear the music!”

How sentire is used

The first thing to know about sentire is its core meaning: to hear, to feel. It means to hear, to feel and to listen, and one verb covers all three senses in Italian, where English splits them. Its present participle is senziente, but every conjugated form in the tables follows the regular -ire pattern. 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 sentire keeps. The present io form is sento, 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 sentito, 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 sentire does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need sento, never sentire. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho sentito, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle sentito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Sentire in context

Io sento la musica ogni giorno. Tu senti la musica ogni giorno. Lui sente la musica ogni giorno. Noi sentiamo la musica ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of sentire is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sento, senti, sente, sentiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to hear, to feel. Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana. Tu hai sentito la musica questa settimana. Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana. Noi abbiamo sentito la musica questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of sentire 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 hear, to feel — 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 sentire la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.”

The infinitive sentire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form sento.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io senti la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.”

senti is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is sento — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io sento la musica ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho sentito here, not the present sento.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono sentito la musica.”

✓ Right: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sento
    • B) senti
    • C) sente
    • D) sentiamo

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

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

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

    • A) sentivo
    • B) sentivi
    • C) sentivamo
    • D) sentiva

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

    • A) sentiremo
    • B) sentirò
    • C) sentirai
    • D) sentirà

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

    • A) sentirei
    • B) sentiresti
    • C) sentirebbe
    • D) sentiremmo

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

    • A) sentisti
    • B) sentì
    • C) sentii
    • D) sentimmo

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

    • A) senta
    • B) sentiate
    • C) sentano
    • D) sentiamo

  8. What is the gerund of sentire?

    • A) sentendo
    • B) sentito
    • C) sentire
    • D) sento

  9. What is the past participle of sentire?

    • A) sentendo
    • B) sentito
    • C) sentire
    • D) sento

  10. What does sentire mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to hear, to feel
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) senti — the correct form is senti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho sentito — the correct form is ho sentito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) sentiva — the correct form is sentiva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) sentiremo — the correct form is sentiremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) sentiresti — the correct form is sentiresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sentii — the correct form is sentii. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sentiamo — the correct form is sentiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sentendo — the correct form is sentendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) sentito — the correct form is sentito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to hear, to feel — the correct form is to hear, to feel. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sentire mean in English?

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

Is sentire regular or irregular?

sentire is irregular. sentire is irregular in the verb data — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of sentire?

The gerund is sentendo and the past participle is sentito. The perfect tenses use avere + sentito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sentire?

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

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