Vedere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

vedere — to see — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of seeing and watching, used for films, people and anything that meets the eye. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present and imperfect are regular. On this page you will find vedere 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 vedere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the vedere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with vedere

In the present tense

  • “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.” — “I see a film”
  • “Tu vedi un film ogni giorno.” — “You see a film”
  • “Lui vede un film ogni giorno.” — “He sees a film”
  • “Noi vediamo un film ogni giorno.” — “We see a film”
  • “Voi vedete un film ogni giorno.” — “You see a film”
  • “Loro vedono un film ogni giorno.” — “They see a film”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film”
  • “Tu hai visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film”
  • “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
  • “Noi abbiamo visto un film questa settimana.” — “We have seen a film”
  • “Voi avete visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film”
  • “Loro hanno visto un film questa settimana.” — “They have seen a film”

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 vedevo un film una volta.” — “I used to see a film”
  • “Tu vedrai un film domani.” — “You will see a film”
  • “Lui vedrebbe un film un giorno.” — “He would see a film”
  • “È importante che noi vediamo un film.” — “It is important that we see a film”
  • “Vedi un film!” — “See a film!”

How vedere is used

The first thing to know about vedere is its core meaning: to see. It is the verb of seeing and watching, used for films, people and anything that meets the eye. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present and imperfect are regular. 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 vedere keeps. The present io form is vedo, 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 visto, 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 vedere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need vedo, never vedere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho visto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle visto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Vedere in context

Io vedo un film ogni giorno. Tu vedi un film ogni giorno. Lui vede un film ogni giorno. Noi vediamo un film ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of vedere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — vedo, vedi, vede, vediamo — while the meaning stays the same: to see. Io ho visto un film questa settimana. Tu hai visto un film questa settimana. Lui ha visto un film questa settimana. Noi abbiamo visto un film questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of vedere 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 see — 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 vedere un film.”

✓ Right: “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.”

The infinitive vedere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form vedo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io vedi un film.”

✓ Right: “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.”

vedi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is vedo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io vedo un film ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho visto here, not the present vedo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono visto un film.”

✓ Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) vedo
    • B) vedi
    • C) vede
    • D) vediamo
  2. What is the io form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai visto
    • B) ha visto
    • C) ho visto
    • D) abbiamo visto
  3. What is the lui/lei form of vedere in the Imperfect?

    • A) vedevo
    • B) vedevi
    • C) vedevamo
    • D) vedeva
  4. What is the noi form of vedere in the Future?

    • A) vedremo
    • B) vedrò
    • C) vedrai
    • D) vedrà
  5. What is the tu form of vedere in the Conditional?

    • A) vedrei
    • B) vedresti
    • C) vedrebbe
    • D) vedremmo
  6. What is the io form of vedere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) vedesti
    • B) vide
    • C) vidi
    • D) vedemmo
  7. What is the noi form of vedere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) veda
    • B) vediate
    • C) vedano
    • D) vediamo
  8. What is the gerund of vedere?

    • A) vedendo
    • B) visto
    • C) vedere
    • D) vedo
  9. What is the past participle of vedere?

    • A) vedendo
    • B) visto
    • C) vedere
    • D) vedo
  10. What does vedere mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) vedi — the correct form is vedi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho visto — the correct form is ho visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) vedeva — the correct form is vedeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) vedremo — the correct form is vedremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) vedresti — the correct form is vedresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) vidi — the correct form is vidi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) vediamo — the correct form is vediamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) vedendo — the correct form is vedendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) visto — the correct form is visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to see — the correct form is to see. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does vedere mean in English?

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

Is vedere regular or irregular?

vedere is irregular. vedere is irregular in passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of vedere?

The gerund is vedendo and the past participle is visto. The perfect tenses use avere + visto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of vedere?

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

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