Servire Conjugation in Italian
servire means “to serve” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 112 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to serve food and to serve someone, and it takes avere in the passato prossimo in the tables on this page — io ho servito — as in serving dinner. When servire means to be of use, as in 'it was useful for something', Italian uses essere instead, so the meaning decides the auxiliary. This page gives you the complete conjugation of servire — 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 servo la cena ogni giorno.” — “I serve dinner.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: servire
- English: to serve
- Verb type: Regular -ire verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: servendo
- Present participle: servente
- Past participle: servito
- 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 servire, 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 servire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about servire
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -ire pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle servito. 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 servente and servito: 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.
A note on servire
A note on the auxiliary: the tables on this page use avere, the auxiliary for servire as a transitive verb — io ho servito la cena — as in serving dinner. When servire means to be of use, as in being useful for something, Italian uses essere instead, so the meaning decides the auxiliary.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for servire. 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 | servo |
| tu | servi |
| lui/lei | serve |
| noi | serviamo |
| voi | servite |
| loro | servono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io servo la cena ogni giorno.” — “I serve dinner”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | servii |
| tu | servisti |
| lui/lei | servì |
| noi | servimmo |
| voi | serviste |
| loro | servirono |
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 servii la cena ieri.” — “I served dinner”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | servivo |
| tu | servivi |
| lui/lei | serviva |
| noi | servivamo |
| voi | servivate |
| loro | servivano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io servivo la cena una volta.” — “I used to serve dinner”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | servirò |
| tu | servirai |
| lui/lei | servirà |
| noi | serviremo |
| voi | servirete |
| loro | serviranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io servirò la cena domani.” — “I will serve dinner”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | servirei |
| tu | serviresti |
| lui/lei | servirebbe |
| noi | serviremmo |
| voi | servireste |
| loro | servirebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io servirei la cena un giorno.” — “I would serve dinner”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho servito |
| tu | hai servito |
| lui/lei | ha servito |
| noi | abbiamo servito |
| voi | avete servito |
| loro | hanno servito |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo servito |
| tu | avevi servito |
| lui/lei | aveva servito |
| noi | avevamo servito |
| voi | avevate servito |
| loro | avevano servito |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo servito la cena prima della festa.” — “I had served dinner”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò servito |
| tu | avrai servito |
| lui/lei | avrà servito |
| noi | avremo servito |
| voi | avrete servito |
| loro | avranno servito |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò servito la cena per domani.” — “I will have served dinner”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei servito |
| tu | avresti servito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe servito |
| noi | avremmo servito |
| voi | avreste servito |
| loro | avrebbero servito |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei servito la cena ieri.” — “I would have served dinner”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | serva |
| tu | serva |
| lui/lei | serva |
| noi | serviamo |
| voi | serviate |
| loro | servano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io serva la cena.” — “It is important that I serve dinner”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | servissi |
| tu | servissi |
| lui/lei | servisse |
| noi | servissimo |
| voi | serviste |
| loro | servissero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io servissi la cena.” — “It was important that I serve dinner”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | servi |
| lui/lei | serva |
| noi | serviamo |
| voi | servite |
| loro | servano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Servi la cena!” — “Serve dinner!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | servire |
| lui/lei | serva |
| noi | serviamo |
| voi | serviate |
| loro | servano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non servire la cena.” — “Do not serve dinner.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | servendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Servendo la cena, imparo molto.” — “While serving dinner, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | servente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle servente 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 | servito |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho servito la cena questa settimana.” — “I have served dinner.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with servire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io servo la cena ogni giorno.” — “I serve dinner”
- “Tu servisti la cena ieri.” — “You served dinner”
- “Lui serviva la cena una volta.” — “He used to serve dinner”
- “Io servirò la cena domani.” — “I will serve dinner”
- “Tu serviresti la cena un giorno.” — “You would serve dinner”
- “Lui ha servito la cena questa settimana.” — “He has served dinner”
- “Io avevo servito la cena prima della festa.” — “I had served dinner”
- “Tu avrai servito la cena per domani.” — “You will have served dinner”
- “È importante che io serva la cena.” — “It is important that I serve dinner”
- “Servi la cena!” — “Serve dinner!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io servire la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io servo la cena ogni giorno.”
The infinitive servire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form servo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io servi la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io servo la cena ogni giorno.”
servi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with servo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io servo la cena ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho servito la cena questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho servito for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono servito la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io ho servito la cena questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of servire is formed with avere plus the past participle servito: the io form is ho servito. 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 servo la cena.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io serva la cena.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use serva here, not the indicative servo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho servendo la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io ho servito la cena questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle servito, not the gerund servendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on servire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of servire in the Present indicative?
- A) servi
- B) servo
- C) serve
- D) serviamo
What is the lui/lei form of servire in the Passato remoto?
- A) servii
- B) servisti
- C) servì
- D) servimmo
What is the noi form of servire in the Imperfect?
- A) servivo
- B) servivi
- C) serviva
- D) servivamo
What is the tu form of servire in the Future?
- A) servirai
- B) servirò
- C) servirà
- D) serviremo
What is the io form of servire in the Conditional?
- A) serviresti
- B) servirei
- C) servirebbe
- D) serviremmo
What is the lui/lei form of servire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho servito
- B) hai servito
- C) ha servito
- D) abbiamo servito
What is the lui/lei form of servire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) serviamo
- B) serviate
- C) servano
- D) serva
What is the io form of servire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) servissi
- B) servisse
- C) servissimo
- D) serviste
What is the gerund of servire?
- A) servito
- B) servendo
- C) servire
- D) servo
What does servire mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to serve
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) servo — the correct form is servo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) servì — the correct form is servì. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) servivamo — the correct form is servivamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) servirai — the correct form is servirai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) servirei — the correct form is servirei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha servito — the correct form is ha servito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) serva — the correct form is serva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) servissi — the correct form is servissi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) servendo — the correct form is servendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to serve — the correct form is to serve. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does servire mean in English?
servire means “to serve”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is servire regular or irregular?
servire is regular: it follows the ordinary -ire pattern in every tense. The gerund is servendo and the past participle is servito.
What are the gerund and past participle of servire?
The gerund is servendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is servito — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho servito.
Which auxiliary does servire take in the passato prossimo?
servire takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho servito. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle servito.
How do I say “I serve” in Italian?
Say “Io servo la cena ogni giorno.” — “I serve dinner” The io form of the present is servo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of servire — every tense of servire in one place.
- Servire in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Servire 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.
- Vestirsi conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Seguire 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 servire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise servire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise servire with the interactive tool.