Sperare Conjugation in Italian
sperare means “to hope” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 403 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of sperare — 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 spero di partire ogni giorno.” — “I hope to leave.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sperare
- English: to hope
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: sperando
- Present participle: sperante
- Past participle: sperato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
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. 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 sperare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about sperare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are 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 sperato. 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 sperante and sperato: 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 sperare. 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 | spero |
| tu | speri |
| lui/lei | spera |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | sperate |
| loro | sperano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.” — “I hope to leave”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sperai |
| tu | sperasti |
| lui/lei | sperò |
| noi | sperammo |
| voi | speraste |
| loro | sperarono |
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 sperai di partire ieri.” — “I hoped to leave”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | speravo |
| tu | speravi |
| lui/lei | sperava |
| noi | speravamo |
| voi | speravate |
| loro | speravano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io speravo di partire una volta.” — “I used to hope to leave”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | spererò |
| tu | spererai |
| lui/lei | spererà |
| noi | spereremo |
| voi | spererete |
| loro | spereranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io spererò di partire domani.” — “I will hope to leave”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | spererei |
| tu | spereresti |
| lui/lei | spererebbe |
| noi | spereremmo |
| voi | sperereste |
| loro | spererebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io spererei di partire un giorno.” — “I would hope to leave”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho sperato |
| tu | hai sperato |
| lui/lei | ha sperato |
| noi | abbiamo sperato |
| voi | avete sperato |
| loro | hanno sperato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “He has hoped to leave”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo sperato |
| tu | avevi sperato |
| lui/lei | aveva sperato |
| noi | avevamo sperato |
| voi | avevate sperato |
| loro | avevano sperato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo sperato di partire prima della festa.” — “I had hoped to leave”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò sperato |
| tu | avrai sperato |
| lui/lei | avrà sperato |
| noi | avremo sperato |
| voi | avrete sperato |
| loro | avranno sperato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò sperato di partire per domani.” — “I will have hoped to leave”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei sperato |
| tu | avresti sperato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sperato |
| noi | avremmo sperato |
| voi | avreste sperato |
| loro | avrebbero sperato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei sperato di partire ieri.” — “I would have hoped to leave”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | speri |
| tu | speri |
| lui/lei | speri |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | speriate |
| loro | sperino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io speri di partire.” — “It is important that I hope to leave”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sperassi |
| tu | sperassi |
| lui/lei | sperasse |
| noi | sperassimo |
| voi | speraste |
| loro | sperassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io sperassi di partire.” — “It was important that I hope to leave”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | spera |
| lui/lei | speri |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | sperate |
| loro | sperino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Spera di partire!” — “Hope to leave!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sperare |
| lui/lei | speri |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | speriate |
| loro | sperino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non sperare di partire.” — “Do not hope to leave.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | sperando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Sperando di partire, imparo molto.” — “While hoping to leave, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | sperante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle sperante 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 | sperato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “I have hoped to leave.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sperare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.” — “I hope to leave”
- “Tu sperasti di partire ieri.” — “You hoped to leave”
- “Lui sperava di partire una volta.” — “He used to hope to leave”
- “Io spererò di partire domani.” — “I will hope to leave”
- “Tu spereresti di partire un giorno.” — “You would hope to leave”
- “Lui ha sperato di partire questa settimana.” — “He has hoped to leave”
- “Io avevo sperato di partire prima della festa.” — “I had hoped to leave”
- “Tu avrai sperato di partire per domani.” — “You will have hoped to leave”
- “È importante che io speri di partire.” — “It is important that I hope to leave”
- “Spera di partire!” — “Hope to leave!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io speri di partire.”
✓ Right: “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.”
speri is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with spero.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io spero di partire ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho sperato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono sperato di partire.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of sperare is formed with avere plus the past participle sperato: the io form is ho sperato. 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 spero di partire.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io speri di partire.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use speri here, not the indicative spero.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho sperando di partire.”
✓ Right: “Io ho sperato di partire questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle sperato, not the gerund sperando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sperare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of sperare in the Present indicative?
- A) speri
- B) spero
- C) spera
- D) speriamo
What is the lui/lei form of sperare in the Passato remoto?
- A) sperai
- B) sperasti
- C) sperò
- D) sperammo
What is the noi form of sperare in the Imperfect?
- A) speravo
- B) speravi
- C) sperava
- D) speravamo
What is the tu form of sperare in the Future?
- A) spererai
- B) spererò
- C) spererà
- D) spereremo
What is the io form of sperare in the Conditional?
- A) spereresti
- B) spererei
- C) spererebbe
- D) spereremmo
What is the lui/lei form of sperare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho sperato
- B) hai sperato
- C) ha sperato
- D) abbiamo sperato
What is the lui/lei form of sperare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) speriamo
- B) speriate
- C) sperino
- D) speri
What is the io form of sperare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) sperassi
- B) sperasse
- C) sperassimo
- D) speraste
What is the gerund of sperare?
- A) sperato
- B) sperando
- C) sperare
- D) spero
What does sperare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to hope
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) spero — the correct form is spero. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) sperò — the correct form is sperò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) speravamo — the correct form is speravamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) spererai — the correct form is spererai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) spererei — the correct form is spererei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha sperato — the correct form is ha sperato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) speri — the correct form is speri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sperassi — the correct form is sperassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sperando — the correct form is sperando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sperare regular or irregular?
sperare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is sperando and the past participle is sperato.
What are the gerund and past participle of sperare?
The gerund is sperando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is sperato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho sperato.
Which auxiliary does sperare take in the passato prossimo?
sperare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho sperato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle sperato.
How do I say “I hope” in Italian?
Say “Io spero di partire ogni giorno.” — “I hope to leave” The io form of the present is spero, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sperare — every tense of sperare in one place.
- Sperare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Sperare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Spiegare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Domandare 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 sperare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise sperare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise sperare with the interactive tool.