Vedere Conjugation in Italian
vedere means “to see” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 11 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of vedere — 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 vedo un film ogni giorno.” — “I see a film.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: vedere
- English: to see
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: vedendo
- Present participle: vedente
- Past participle: visto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. 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 vedere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about vedere
- It is irregular in 8 tense(s): passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle visto. 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 vedente and visto: 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 vedere. 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 | vedo |
| tu | vedi |
| lui/lei | vede |
| noi | vediamo |
| voi | vedete |
| loro | vedono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.” — “I see a film”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vidi |
| tu | vedesti |
| lui/lei | vide |
| noi | vedemmo |
| voi | vedeste |
| loro | videro |
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 vidi un film ieri.” — “I saw a film”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vedevo |
| tu | vedevi |
| lui/lei | vedeva |
| noi | vedevamo |
| voi | vedevate |
| loro | vedevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io vedevo un film una volta.” — “I used to see a film”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vedrò |
| tu | vedrai |
| lui/lei | vedrà |
| noi | vedremo |
| voi | vedrete |
| loro | vedranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io vedrò un film domani.” — “I will see a film”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vedrei |
| tu | vedresti |
| lui/lei | vedrebbe |
| noi | vedremmo |
| voi | vedreste |
| loro | vedrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io vedrei un film un giorno.” — “I would see a film”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho visto |
| tu | hai visto |
| lui/lei | ha visto |
| noi | abbiamo visto |
| voi | avete visto |
| loro | hanno visto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo visto |
| tu | avevi visto |
| lui/lei | aveva visto |
| noi | avevamo visto |
| voi | avevate visto |
| loro | avevano visto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo visto un film prima della festa.” — “I had seen a film”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò visto |
| tu | avrai visto |
| lui/lei | avrà visto |
| noi | avremo visto |
| voi | avrete visto |
| loro | avranno visto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò visto un film per domani.” — “I will have seen a film”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei visto |
| tu | avresti visto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe visto |
| noi | avremmo visto |
| voi | avreste visto |
| loro | avrebbero visto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei visto un film ieri.” — “I would have seen a film”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | veda |
| tu | veda |
| lui/lei | veda |
| noi | vediamo |
| voi | vediate |
| loro | vedano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io veda un film.” — “It is important that I see a film”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vedessi |
| tu | vedessi |
| lui/lei | vedesse |
| noi | vedessimo |
| voi | vedeste |
| loro | vedessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io vedessi un film.” — “It was important that I see a film”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vedi |
| lui/lei | veda |
| noi | vediamo |
| voi | vedete |
| loro | vedano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Vedi un film!” — “See a film!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vedere |
| lui/lei | veda |
| noi | vediamo |
| voi | vediate |
| loro | vedano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non vedere un film.” — “Do not see a film.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | vedendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Vedendo un film, imparo molto.” — “While seeing a film, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | vedente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle vedente 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 | visto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with vedere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.” — “I see a film”
- “Tu vedesti un film ieri.” — “You saw a film”
- “Lui vedeva un film una volta.” — “He used to see a film”
- “Io vedrò un film domani.” — “I will see a film”
- “Tu vedresti un film un giorno.” — “You would see a film”
- “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
- “Io avevo visto un film prima della festa.” — “I had seen a film”
- “Tu avrai visto un film per domani.” — “You will have seen a film”
- “È importante che io veda un film.” — “It is important that I see a film”
- “Vedi un film!” — “See a film!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io vedi un film.”
✓ Right: “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.”
vedi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with vedo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io vedo un film ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho visto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono visto un film.”
✓ Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of vedere is formed with avere plus the past participle visto: the io form is ho visto. 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 vedo un film.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io veda un film.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use veda here, not the indicative vedo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho vedendo un film.”
✓ Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle visto, not the gerund vedendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on vedere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of vedere in the Present indicative?
- A) vedi
- B) vedo
- C) vede
- D) vediamo
What is the lui/lei form of vedere in the Passato remoto?
- A) vidi
- B) vedesti
- C) vide
- D) vedemmo
What is the noi form of vedere in the Imperfect?
- A) vedevo
- B) vedevi
- C) vedeva
- D) vedevamo
What is the tu form of vedere in the Future?
- A) vedrai
- B) vedrò
- C) vedrà
- D) vedremo
What is the io form of vedere in the Conditional?
- A) vedresti
- B) vedrei
- C) vedrebbe
- D) vedremmo
What is the lui/lei form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho visto
- B) hai visto
- C) ha visto
- D) abbiamo visto
What is the lui/lei form of vedere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) vediamo
- B) vediate
- C) vedano
- D) veda
What is the io form of vedere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) vedessi
- B) vedesse
- C) vedessimo
- D) vedeste
What is the gerund of vedere?
- A) visto
- B) vedendo
- C) vedere
- D) vedo
What does vedere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to see
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) vedo — the correct form is vedo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) vide — the correct form is vide. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) vedevamo — the correct form is vedevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) vedrai — the correct form is vedrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vedrei — the correct form is vedrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha visto — the correct form is ha visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) veda — the correct form is veda. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) vedessi — the correct form is vedessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vedendo — the correct form is vedendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is vedere regular or irregular?
vedere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is vedendo and the past participle is visto.
What are the gerund and past participle of vedere?
The gerund is vedendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is visto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho visto.
Which auxiliary does vedere take in the passato prossimo?
vedere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho visto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle visto.
How do I say “I see” in Italian?
Say “Io vedo un film ogni giorno.” — “I see a film” The io form of the present is vedo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of vedere — every tense of vedere in one place.
- Vedere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Vedere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Avere 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 vedere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise vedere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise vedere with the interactive tool.