Sperare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

sperare — to hope — 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 hoping, and it is completely regular in every tense. It is often followed by di plus an infinitive, as in hoping to leave, or by che plus the subjunctive when the hope concerns someone else. On this page you will find sperare 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 sperare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the sperare present tense page.

Example sentences with sperare

In the present tense

  • “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.” — “I hope to leave”
  • “Tu speri di partire ogni giorno.” — “You hope to leave”
  • “Lui spera di partire ogni giorno.” — “He hopes to leave”
  • “Noi speriamo di partire ogni giorno.” — “We hope to leave”
  • “Voi sperate di partire ogni giorno.” — “You hope to leave”
  • “Loro sperano di partire ogni giorno.” — “They hope to leave”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “I have hoped to leave”
  • “Tu hai sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “You have hoped to leave”
  • “Lui ha sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “He has hoped to leave”
  • “Noi abbiamo sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “We have hoped to leave”
  • “Voi avete sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “You have hoped to leave”
  • “Loro hanno sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “They have hoped to leave”

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 speravo di partire una volta.” — “I used to hope to leave”
  • “Tu spererai di partire domani.” — “You will hope to leave”
  • “Lui spererebbe di partire un giorno.” — “He would hope to leave”
  • “È importante che noi speriamo di partire.” — “It is important that we hope to leave”
  • “Spera di partire!” — “Hope to leave!”

How sperare is used

The first thing to know about sperare is its core meaning: to hope. It is the verb for hoping, and it is completely regular in every tense. It is often followed by di plus an infinitive, as in hoping to leave, or by che plus the subjunctive when the hope concerns someone else. 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 sperare keeps. The present io form is spero, 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 sperato, 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 sperare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need spero, never sperare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho sperato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle sperato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Sperare in context

Io spero di partire ogni giorno. Tu speri di partire ogni giorno. Lui spera di partire ogni giorno. Noi speriamo di partire ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of sperare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — spero, speri, spera, speriamo — while the meaning stays the same: to hope. Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana. Tu hai sperato di partire questa settimana. Lui ha sperato di partire questa settimana. Noi abbiamo sperato di partire questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of sperare 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 hope — 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 sperare di partire.”

✓ Right: “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.”

The infinitive sperare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form spero.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io speri di partire.”

✓ Right: “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.”

speri is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is spero — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io spero di partire ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho sperato here, not the present spero.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono sperato di partire.”

✓ Right: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) spero
    • B) speri
    • C) spera
    • D) speriamo

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

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

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

    • A) speravo
    • B) speravi
    • C) speravamo
    • D) sperava

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

    • A) spereremo
    • B) spererò
    • C) spererai
    • D) spererà

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

    • A) spererei
    • B) spereresti
    • C) spererebbe
    • D) spereremmo

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

    • A) sperasti
    • B) sperò
    • C) sperai
    • D) sperammo

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

    • A) speri
    • B) speriate
    • C) sperino
    • D) speriamo

  8. What is the gerund of sperare?

    • A) sperando
    • B) sperato
    • C) sperare
    • D) spero

  9. What is the past participle of sperare?

    • A) sperando
    • B) sperato
    • C) sperare
    • D) spero

  10. What does sperare mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to hope
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) speri — the correct form is speri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho sperato — the correct form is ho sperato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) sperava — the correct form is sperava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) spereremo — the correct form is spereremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) spereresti — the correct form is spereresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sperai — the correct form is sperai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) speriamo — the correct form is speriamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sperando — the correct form is sperando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) sperato — the correct form is sperato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to hope — the correct form is to hope. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sperare mean in English?

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

Is sperare regular or irregular?

sperare is regular. sperare 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 sperare?

The gerund is sperando and the past participle is sperato. The perfect tenses use avere + sperato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sperare?

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

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