Spiegare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

spiegare — to explain — 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 everyday verb for explaining something to someone, and it is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -gare stem keeps its hard g by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is spieghi and the future is spiegherò. Use it whenever you make something clear to another person, in class, at work or at home. On this page you will find spiegare 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 spiegare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the spiegare present tense page.

Example sentences with spiegare

In the present tense

  • “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I explain the lesson”
  • “Tu spieghi la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson”
  • “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson”
  • “Noi spieghiamo la lezione ogni giorno.” — “We explain the lesson”
  • “Voi spiegate la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson”
  • “Loro spiegano la lezione ogni giorno.” — “They explain the lesson”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “I have explained the lesson”
  • “Tu hai spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “You have explained the lesson”
  • “Lui ha spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “He has explained the lesson”
  • “Noi abbiamo spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “We have explained the lesson”
  • “Voi avete spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “You have explained the lesson”
  • “Loro hanno spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “They have explained the lesson”

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 spiegavo la lezione una volta.” — “I used to explain the lesson”
  • “Tu spiegherai la lezione domani.” — “You will explain the lesson”
  • “Lui spiegherebbe la lezione un giorno.” — “He would explain the lesson”
  • “È importante che noi spieghiamo la lezione.” — “It is important that we explain the lesson”
  • “Spiega la lezione!” — “Explain the lesson!”

How spiegare is used

The first thing to know about spiegare is its core meaning: to explain. It is the everyday verb for explaining something to someone, and it is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -gare stem keeps its hard g by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is spieghi and the future is spiegherò. Use it whenever you make something clear to another person, in class, at work or at home. 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 spiegare keeps. The present io form is spiego, 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 spiegato, 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 spiegare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need spiego, never spiegare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho spiegato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle spiegato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Spiegare in context

Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno. Tu spieghi la lezione ogni giorno. Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno. Noi spieghiamo la lezione ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of spiegare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — spiego, spieghi, spiega, spieghiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to explain. Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana. Tu hai spiegato la lezione questa settimana. Lui ha spiegato la lezione questa settimana. Noi abbiamo spiegato la lezione questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of spiegare 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 explain — 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 spiegare la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.”

The infinitive spiegare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form spiego.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io spieghi la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.”

spieghi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is spiego — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io spiego la lezione ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho spiegato here, not the present spiego.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono spiegato la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) spiego
    • B) spieghi
    • C) spiega
    • D) spieghiamo

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

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

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

    • A) spiegavo
    • B) spiegavi
    • C) spiegavamo
    • D) spiegava

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

    • A) spiegheremo
    • B) spiegherò
    • C) spiegherai
    • D) spiegherà

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

    • A) spiegherei
    • B) spiegheresti
    • C) spiegherebbe
    • D) spiegheremmo

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

    • A) spiegasti
    • B) spiegò
    • C) spiegai
    • D) spiegammo

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

    • A) spieghi
    • B) spieghiate
    • C) spieghino
    • D) spieghiamo

  8. What is the gerund of spiegare?

    • A) spiegando
    • B) spiegato
    • C) spiegare
    • D) spiego

  9. What is the past participle of spiegare?

    • A) spiegando
    • B) spiegato
    • C) spiegare
    • D) spiego

  10. What does spiegare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) spieghi — the correct form is spieghi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho spiegato — the correct form is ho spiegato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) spiegava — the correct form is spiegava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) spiegheremo — the correct form is spiegheremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) spiegheresti — the correct form is spiegheresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) spiegai — the correct form is spiegai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) spieghiamo — the correct form is spieghiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) spiegando — the correct form is spiegando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) spiegato — the correct form is spiegato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to explain — the correct form is to explain. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does spiegare mean in English?

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

Is spiegare regular or irregular?

spiegare is regular. spiegare 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 spiegare?

The gerund is spiegando and the past participle is spiegato. The perfect tenses use avere + spiegato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of spiegare?

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

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