Introduction

Spiegare means “to explain”, and this page covers exactly one thing: spiegare in the present tense. The present is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for spiegare, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passato prossimo, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about spiegare in the present. 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. For example: “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson.” Everything on this page uses the forms of spiegare exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Spiegare in the Present — full table

Person Form
io spiego
tu spieghi
lui/lei spiega
noi spieghiamo
voi spiegate
loro spiegano
Gerund: spiegando · Past participle: spiegato
The gerund is spiegando, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Spiegando la lezione, imparo molto.” — “While explaining the lesson, I learn a lot.” The past participle is spiegato, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho spiegato is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how spiegare is used.
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.

How the present of spiegare is formed

The present tense of spiegare has six forms: io spiego, tu spieghi, lui spiega, noi spieghiamo, voi spiegate, loro spiegano. Say them in order — io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. spiegare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb. Because spiegare is a -gare verb, the stem keeps its hard g by inserting h before e and i: tu spieghi, and the future is spiegherò.

Two things about the present of spiegare are worth noticing. First, the noi and voi forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the same stem, and the present subjunctive takes its noi and voi forms from the same stem, so learning spieghiamo and spiegate pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense Italian uses where English would often use the continuous form, so spiego can mean both “I explain” and “I am explaining” — context tells the listener which one you mean.

Because spiegare is regular in the present, the six forms follow the standard -are endings exactly. Once you know the pattern for one regular -are verb, you know it for all of them — only the stem changes. That is why the present of a regular verb is the cheapest tense to learn in the whole language.

When to use the present of spiegare

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use spiegare in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and spiegare is no exception. Use time expressions such as ogni giorno, sempre or ogni settimana to make the routine explicit. Example: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I explain the lesson.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about spiegare does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. Italian often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with spiegare in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Noi spieghiamo la lezione ogni giorno.” — “We explain the lesson.”

4. Scheduled future events

Italian uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu spieghi la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and spiegare in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Loro spiegano la lezione ogni giorno.” — “They explain the lesson.”

Present Tense vs Passato Prossimo: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passato prossimo, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passato prossimo describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as ogni giorno or sempre, while the passato prossimo sentences use ieri or la settimana scorsa. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “He has explained the lesson”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I explain the lesson”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “I have explained the lesson”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.
  • Present Tense: “Tu spieghi la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson”
  • Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” — “You have explained the lesson”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passato prossimo sentence is one finished event. Ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

Example sentences: spiegare in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I explain the lesson”
  2. “Tu spieghi la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson”
  3. “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson”
  4. “Noi spieghiamo la lezione ogni giorno.” — “We explain the lesson”
  5. “Voi spiegate la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You explain the lesson”
  6. “Loro spiegano la lezione ogni giorno.” — “They explain the lesson”
  7. “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I explain the lesson”
  8. “Lui spiega la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He explains the lesson”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Io spieghi la lezione.” Right: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” Why: The io form is spiego, not spieghi. spieghi is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Noi spiego la lezione.” Right: “Noi spieghiamo la lezione ogni giorno.” Why: Noi needs the noi form spieghiamo. spiego belongs with io only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno ieri.” Right: “Io ho spiegato la lezione questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho spiegato for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Io spiegare la lezione.” Right: “Io spiego la lezione ogni giorno.” Why: The infinitive spiegare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated form spiego.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. What is the noi form of spiegare in the Present indicative?

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

  5. What is the voi form of spiegare in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the loro form of spiegare in the Present indicative?

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

  7. What is the io form of spiegare in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. B) spiego — the correct form is spiego. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) spieghi — the correct form is spieghi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) spiega — the correct form is spiega. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) spieghiamo — the correct form is spieghiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) spiegate — the correct form is spiegate. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) spiegano — the correct form is spiegano. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) spiego — the correct form is spiego. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) spieghi — the correct form is spieghi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does spiegare mean in English?

spiegare means “to explain”. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb.

How is the present tense of spiegare formed?

The six present forms are: io spiego, tu spieghi, lui spiega, noi spieghiamo, voi spiegate, loro spiegano. spiegare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

When do I use the present instead of the passato prossimo?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: ogni giorno points to the present, ieri points to the passato prossimo.

What are the gerund and past participle of spiegare?

The gerund is spiegando and the past participle is spiegato.

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