Sentire Conjugation in Italian
sentire means “to hear, to feel” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 30 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of sentire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.” — “I hear the music.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sentire
- English: to hear, to feel
- Verb type: Irregular in the verb data, but no tense is listed as irregular in the verified dump
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: sentendo
- Present participle: senziente
- Past participle: sentito
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ire verbs; pattern ire in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read sentire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about sentire
- It is irregular in 0 tense(s): none — regular in every tense. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle sentito. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are senziente and sentito: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for sentire. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sento |
| tu | senti |
| lui/lei | sente |
| noi | sentiamo |
| voi | sentite |
| loro | sentono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.” — “I hear the music”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sentii |
| tu | sentisti |
| lui/lei | sentì |
| noi | sentimmo |
| voi | sentiste |
| loro | sentirono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io sentii la musica ieri.” — “I heard the music”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sentivo |
| tu | sentivi |
| lui/lei | sentiva |
| noi | sentivamo |
| voi | sentivate |
| loro | sentivano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io sentivo la musica una volta.” — “I used to hear the music”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sentirò |
| tu | sentirai |
| lui/lei | sentirà |
| noi | sentiremo |
| voi | sentirete |
| loro | sentiranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io sentirò la musica domani.” — “I will hear the music”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sentirei |
| tu | sentiresti |
| lui/lei | sentirebbe |
| noi | sentiremmo |
| voi | sentireste |
| loro | sentirebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io sentirei la musica un giorno.” — “I would hear the music”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho sentito |
| tu | hai sentito |
| lui/lei | ha sentito |
| noi | abbiamo sentito |
| voi | avete sentito |
| loro | hanno sentito |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo sentito |
| tu | avevi sentito |
| lui/lei | aveva sentito |
| noi | avevamo sentito |
| voi | avevate sentito |
| loro | avevano sentito |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo sentito la musica prima della festa.” — “I had heard the music”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò sentito |
| tu | avrai sentito |
| lui/lei | avrà sentito |
| noi | avremo sentito |
| voi | avrete sentito |
| loro | avranno sentito |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò sentito la musica per domani.” — “I will have heard the music”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei sentito |
| tu | avresti sentito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sentito |
| noi | avremmo sentito |
| voi | avreste sentito |
| loro | avrebbero sentito |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei sentito la musica ieri.” — “I would have heard the music”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | senta |
| tu | senta |
| lui/lei | senta |
| noi | sentiamo |
| voi | sentiate |
| loro | sentano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io senta la musica.” — “It is important that I hear the music”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sentissi |
| tu | sentissi |
| lui/lei | sentisse |
| noi | sentissimo |
| voi | sentiste |
| loro | sentissero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io sentissi la musica.” — “It was important that I hear the music”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | senti |
| lui/lei | senta |
| noi | sentiamo |
| voi | sentite |
| loro | sentano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Senti la musica!” — “Hear the music!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sentire |
| lui/lei | senta |
| noi | sentiamo |
| voi | sentiate |
| loro | sentano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non sentire la musica.” — “Do not hear the music.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | sentendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Sentendo la musica, imparo molto.” — “While hearing the music, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | senziente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle senziente is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | sentito |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “I have heard the music.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sentire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.” — “I hear the music”
- “Tu sentisti la musica ieri.” — “You heard the music”
- “Lui sentiva la musica una volta.” — “He used to hear the music”
- “Io sentirò la musica domani.” — “I will hear the music”
- “Tu sentiresti la musica un giorno.” — “You would hear the music”
- “Lui ha sentito la musica questa settimana.” — “He has heard the music”
- “Io avevo sentito la musica prima della festa.” — “I had heard the music”
- “Tu avrai sentito la musica per domani.” — “You will have heard the music”
- “È importante che io senta la musica.” — “It is important that I hear the music”
- “Senti la musica!” — “Hear the music!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io senti la musica.”
✓ Right: “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.”
senti is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with sento.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io sento la musica ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho sentito for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono sentito la musica.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of sentire is formed with avere plus the past participle sentito: the io form is ho sentito. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io sento la musica.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io senta la musica.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use senta here, not the indicative sento.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho sentendo la musica.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sentito la musica questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle sentito, not the gerund sentendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sentire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of sentire in the Present indicative?
- A) senti
- B) sento
- C) sente
- D) sentiamo
What is the lui/lei form of sentire in the Passato remoto?
- A) sentii
- B) sentisti
- C) sentì
- D) sentimmo
What is the noi form of sentire in the Imperfect?
- A) sentivo
- B) sentivi
- C) sentiva
- D) sentivamo
What is the tu form of sentire in the Future?
- A) sentirai
- B) sentirò
- C) sentirà
- D) sentiremo
What is the io form of sentire in the Conditional?
- A) sentiresti
- B) sentirei
- C) sentirebbe
- D) sentiremmo
What is the lui/lei form of sentire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho sentito
- B) hai sentito
- C) ha sentito
- D) abbiamo sentito
What is the lui/lei form of sentire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sentiamo
- B) sentiate
- C) sentano
- D) senta
What is the io form of sentire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) sentissi
- B) sentisse
- C) sentissimo
- D) sentiste
What is the gerund of sentire?
- A) sentito
- B) sentendo
- C) sentire
- D) sento
What does sentire mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to hear, to feel
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) sento — the correct form is sento. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) sentì — the correct form is sentì. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sentivamo — the correct form is sentivamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sentirai — the correct form is sentirai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sentirei — the correct form is sentirei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha sentito — the correct form is ha sentito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) senta — the correct form is senta. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sentissi — the correct form is sentissi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sentendo — the correct form is sentendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sentire regular or irregular?
sentire is irregular: it is irregular in none — regular in every tense. The gerund is sentendo and the past participle is sentito.
What are the gerund and past participle of sentire?
The gerund is sentendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is sentito — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho sentito.
Which auxiliary does sentire take in the passato prossimo?
sentire takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho sentito. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle sentito.
How do I say “I hear” in Italian?
Say “Io sento la musica ogni giorno.” — “I hear the music” The io form of the present is sento, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sentire — every tense of sentire in one place.
- Sentire in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Sentire examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Dire conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Venire conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise sentire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise sentire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise sentire with the interactive tool.