Telefonare Conjugation in Italian
telefonare means “to phone” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 406 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb for phoning someone, and it is completely regular in every tense. It takes the person as its object with the preposition a, as in phoning Maria, and it is the verb behind every call you make. This page gives you the complete conjugation of telefonare — 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 telefono a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I phone Maria.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: telefonare
- English: to phone
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: telefonando
- Present participle: telefonante
- Past participle: telefonato
- 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 telefonare, 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 telefonare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about telefonare
- 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 telefonato. 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 telefonante and telefonato: 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 telefonare. 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 | telefono |
| tu | telefoni |
| lui/lei | telefona |
| noi | telefoniamo |
| voi | telefonate |
| loro | telefonano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io telefono a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I phone Maria”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefonai |
| tu | telefonasti |
| lui/lei | telefonò |
| noi | telefonammo |
| voi | telefonaste |
| loro | telefonarono |
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 telefonai a Maria ieri.” — “I phoned Maria”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefonavo |
| tu | telefonavi |
| lui/lei | telefonava |
| noi | telefonavamo |
| voi | telefonavate |
| loro | telefonavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io telefonavo a Maria una volta.” — “I used to phone Maria”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefonerò |
| tu | telefonerai |
| lui/lei | telefonerà |
| noi | telefoneremo |
| voi | telefonerete |
| loro | telefoneranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io telefonerò a Maria domani.” — “I will phone Maria”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefonerei |
| tu | telefoneresti |
| lui/lei | telefonerebbe |
| noi | telefoneremmo |
| voi | telefonereste |
| loro | telefonerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io telefonerei a Maria un giorno.” — “I would phone Maria”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho telefonato |
| tu | hai telefonato |
| lui/lei | ha telefonato |
| noi | abbiamo telefonato |
| voi | avete telefonato |
| loro | hanno telefonato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha telefonato a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has phoned Maria”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo telefonato |
| tu | avevi telefonato |
| lui/lei | aveva telefonato |
| noi | avevamo telefonato |
| voi | avevate telefonato |
| loro | avevano telefonato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo telefonato a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had phoned Maria”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò telefonato |
| tu | avrai telefonato |
| lui/lei | avrà telefonato |
| noi | avremo telefonato |
| voi | avrete telefonato |
| loro | avranno telefonato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò telefonato a Maria per domani.” — “I will have phoned Maria”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei telefonato |
| tu | avresti telefonato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe telefonato |
| noi | avremmo telefonato |
| voi | avreste telefonato |
| loro | avrebbero telefonato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei telefonato a Maria ieri.” — “I would have phoned Maria”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefoni |
| tu | telefoni |
| lui/lei | telefoni |
| noi | telefoniamo |
| voi | telefoniate |
| loro | telefonino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io telefoni a Maria.” — “It is important that I phone Maria”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | telefonassi |
| tu | telefonassi |
| lui/lei | telefonasse |
| noi | telefonassimo |
| voi | telefonaste |
| loro | telefonassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io telefonassi a Maria.” — “It was important that I phone Maria”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | telefona |
| lui/lei | telefoni |
| noi | telefoniamo |
| voi | telefonate |
| loro | telefonino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Telefona a Maria!” — “Phone Maria!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | telefonare |
| lui/lei | telefoni |
| noi | telefoniamo |
| voi | telefoniate |
| loro | telefonino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non telefonare a Maria.” — “Do not phone Maria.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | telefonando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Telefonando a Maria, imparo molto.” — “While phoning Maria, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | telefonante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle telefonante 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 | telefonato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho telefonato a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have phoned Maria.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with telefonare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io telefono a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I phone Maria”
- “Tu telefonasti a Maria ieri.” — “You phoned Maria”
- “Lui telefonava a Maria una volta.” — “He used to phone Maria”
- “Io telefonerò a Maria domani.” — “I will phone Maria”
- “Tu telefoneresti a Maria un giorno.” — “You would phone Maria”
- “Lui ha telefonato a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has phoned Maria”
- “Io avevo telefonato a Maria prima della festa.” — “I had phoned Maria”
- “Tu avrai telefonato a Maria per domani.” — “You will have phoned Maria”
- “È importante che io telefoni a Maria.” — “It is important that I phone Maria”
- “Telefona a Maria!” — “Phone Maria!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io telefonare a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io telefono a Maria ogni giorno.”
The infinitive telefonare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form telefono.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io telefoni a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io telefono a Maria ogni giorno.”
telefoni is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with telefono.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io telefono a Maria ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho telefonato a Maria questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho telefonato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono telefonato a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho telefonato a Maria questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of telefonare is formed with avere plus the past participle telefonato: the io form is ho telefonato. 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 telefono a Maria.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io telefoni a Maria.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use telefoni here, not the indicative telefono.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho telefonando a Maria.”
✓ Right: “Io ho telefonato a Maria questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle telefonato, not the gerund telefonando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on telefonare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of telefonare in the Present indicative?
- A) telefoni
- B) telefono
- C) telefona
- D) telefoniamo
What is the lui/lei form of telefonare in the Passato remoto?
- A) telefonai
- B) telefonasti
- C) telefonò
- D) telefonammo
What is the noi form of telefonare in the Imperfect?
- A) telefonavo
- B) telefonavi
- C) telefonava
- D) telefonavamo
What is the tu form of telefonare in the Future?
- A) telefonerai
- B) telefonerò
- C) telefonerà
- D) telefoneremo
What is the io form of telefonare in the Conditional?
- A) telefoneresti
- B) telefonerei
- C) telefonerebbe
- D) telefoneremmo
What is the lui/lei form of telefonare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho telefonato
- B) hai telefonato
- C) ha telefonato
- D) abbiamo telefonato
What is the lui/lei form of telefonare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) telefoniamo
- B) telefoniate
- C) telefonino
- D) telefoni
What is the io form of telefonare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) telefonassi
- B) telefonasse
- C) telefonassimo
- D) telefonaste
What is the gerund of telefonare?
- A) telefonato
- B) telefonando
- C) telefonare
- D) telefono
What does telefonare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to phone
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) telefono — the correct form is telefono. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) telefonò — the correct form is telefonò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) telefonavamo — the correct form is telefonavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) telefonerai — the correct form is telefonerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) telefonerei — the correct form is telefonerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha telefonato — the correct form is ha telefonato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) telefoni — the correct form is telefoni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) telefonassi — the correct form is telefonassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) telefonando — the correct form is telefonando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to phone — the correct form is to phone. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does telefonare mean in English?
telefonare means “to phone”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is telefonare regular or irregular?
telefonare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is telefonando and the past participle is telefonato.
What are the gerund and past participle of telefonare?
The gerund is telefonando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is telefonato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho telefonato.
Which auxiliary does telefonare take in the passato prossimo?
telefonare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho telefonato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle telefonato.
How do I say “I phone” in Italian?
Say “Io telefono a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I phone Maria” The io form of the present is telefono, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of telefonare — every tense of telefonare in one place.
- Telefonare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Telefonare 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 telefonare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise telefonare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise telefonare with the interactive tool.