Tornare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

tornare — to return — 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 means to return and to come back, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is the verb for going back to a place you have already been. On this page you will find tornare 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 tornare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the tornare present tense page.

Example sentences with tornare

In the present tense

  • “Io torno a casa ogni giorno.” — “I return home”
  • “Tu torni a casa ogni giorno.” — “You return home”
  • “Lui torna a casa ogni giorno.” — “He returns home”
  • “Noi torniamo a casa ogni giorno.” — “We return home”
  • “Voi tornate a casa ogni giorno.” — “You return home”
  • “Loro tornano a casa ogni giorno.” — “They return home”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “I have returned home”
  • “Tu sei tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have returned home”
  • “Lui è tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “He has returned home”
  • “Noi siamo tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “We have returned home”
  • “Voi siete tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have returned home”
  • “Loro sono tornato a casa questa settimana.” — “They have returned home”

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 tornavo a casa una volta.” — “I used to return home”
  • “Tu tornerai a casa domani.” — “You will return home”
  • “Lui tornerebbe a casa un giorno.” — “He would return home”
  • “È importante che noi torniamo a casa.” — “It is important that we return home”
  • “Torna a casa!” — “Return home!”

How tornare is used

The first thing to know about tornare is its core meaning: to return. It means to return and to come back, and it takes essere in the passato prossimo. It is completely regular, and it is the verb for going back to a place you have already been. 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 tornare keeps. The present io form is torno, 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 sono tornato, 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 tornare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need torno, never tornare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono tornato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle tornato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Tornare in context

Io torno a casa ogni giorno. Tu torni a casa ogni giorno. Lui torna a casa ogni giorno. Noi torniamo a casa ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of tornare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — torno, torni, torna, torniamo — while the meaning stays the same: to return. Io sono tornato a casa questa settimana. Tu sei tornato a casa questa settimana. Lui è tornato a casa questa settimana. Noi siamo tornato a casa questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of tornare 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 return — 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 tornare a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io torno a casa ogni giorno.”

The infinitive tornare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form torno.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io torni a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io torno a casa ogni giorno.”

torni is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is torno — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io torno a casa ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono tornato a casa questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono tornato here, not the present torno.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho tornato a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sono tornato a casa questa settimana.”

tornare takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono tornato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) torno
    • B) torni
    • C) torna
    • D) torniamo

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

    • A) sei tornato
    • B) è tornato
    • C) sono tornato
    • D) siamo tornato

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

    • A) tornavo
    • B) tornavi
    • C) tornavamo
    • D) tornava

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

    • A) torneremo
    • B) tornerò
    • C) tornerai
    • D) tornerà

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

    • A) tornerei
    • B) torneresti
    • C) tornerebbe
    • D) torneremmo

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

    • A) tornasti
    • B) tornò
    • C) tornai
    • D) tornammo

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

    • A) torni
    • B) torniate
    • C) tornino
    • D) torniamo

  8. What is the gerund of tornare?

    • A) tornando
    • B) tornato
    • C) tornare
    • D) torno

  9. What is the past participle of tornare?

    • A) tornando
    • B) tornato
    • C) tornare
    • D) torno

  10. What does tornare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to return
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) torni — the correct form is torni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono tornato — the correct form is sono tornato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) tornava — the correct form is tornava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) torneremo — the correct form is torneremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) torneresti — the correct form is torneresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) tornai — the correct form is tornai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) torniamo — the correct form is torniamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) tornando — the correct form is tornando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) tornato — the correct form is tornato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to return — the correct form is to return. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does tornare mean in English?

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

Is tornare regular or irregular?

tornare is regular. tornare 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 tornare?

The gerund is tornando and the past participle is tornato. The perfect tenses use essere + tornato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of tornare?

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

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