Vivere Conjugation in Italian
vivere means “to live” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 19 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It means to live somewhere and to live a life, and the tables on this page use avere as the auxiliary, the auxiliary for its transitive and general uses, as in having lived in a city for years. Its passato remoto and future are irregular, with the stem shortening to vivr- in the future and conditional. This page gives you the complete conjugation of vivere — 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 vivo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “I live in Rome.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: vivere
- English: to live
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect
- Gerund: vivendo
- Present participle: vivente
- Past participle: vissuto
- 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 vivere, 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 vivere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about vivere
- 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 vissuto. 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 vivente and vissuto: 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 vivere. 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 | vivo |
| tu | vivi |
| lui/lei | vive |
| noi | viviamo |
| voi | vivete |
| loro | vivono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io vivo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “I live in Rome”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vissi |
| tu | vivesti |
| lui/lei | visse |
| noi | vivemmo |
| voi | viveste |
| loro | vissero |
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 vissi a Roma ieri.” — “I lived in Rome”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vivevo |
| tu | vivevi |
| lui/lei | viveva |
| noi | vivevamo |
| voi | vivevate |
| loro | vivevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io vivevo a Roma una volta.” — “I used to live in Rome”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vivrò |
| tu | vivrai |
| lui/lei | vivrà |
| noi | vivremo |
| voi | vivrete |
| loro | vivranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io vivrò a Roma domani.” — “I will live in Rome”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vivrei |
| tu | vivresti |
| lui/lei | vivrebbe |
| noi | vivremmo |
| voi | vivreste |
| loro | vivrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io vivrei a Roma un giorno.” — “I would live in Rome”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho vissuto |
| tu | hai vissuto |
| lui/lei | ha vissuto |
| noi | abbiamo vissuto |
| voi | avete vissuto |
| loro | hanno vissuto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha vissuto a Roma questa settimana.” — “He has lived in Rome”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo vissuto |
| tu | avevi vissuto |
| lui/lei | aveva vissuto |
| noi | avevamo vissuto |
| voi | avevate vissuto |
| loro | avevano vissuto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo vissuto a Roma prima della festa.” — “I had lived in Rome”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò vissuto |
| tu | avrai vissuto |
| lui/lei | avrà vissuto |
| noi | avremo vissuto |
| voi | avrete vissuto |
| loro | avranno vissuto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò vissuto a Roma per domani.” — “I will have lived in Rome”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei vissuto |
| tu | avresti vissuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe vissuto |
| noi | avremmo vissuto |
| voi | avreste vissuto |
| loro | avrebbero vissuto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei vissuto a Roma ieri.” — “I would have lived in Rome”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | viva |
| tu | viva |
| lui/lei | viva |
| noi | viviamo |
| voi | viviate |
| loro | vivano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io viva a Roma.” — “It is important that I live in Rome”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vivessi |
| tu | vivessi |
| lui/lei | vivesse |
| noi | vivessimo |
| voi | viveste |
| loro | vivessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io vivessi a Roma.” — “It was important that I live in Rome”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vivi |
| lui/lei | viva |
| noi | viviamo |
| voi | vivete |
| loro | vivano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Vivi a Roma!” — “Live in Rome!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vivere |
| lui/lei | viva |
| noi | viviamo |
| voi | viviate |
| loro | vivano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non vivere a Roma.” — “Do not live in Rome.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | vivendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Vivendo a Roma, imparo molto.” — “While living in Rome, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | vivente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle vivente 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 | vissuto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho vissuto a Roma questa settimana.” — “I have lived in Rome.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with vivere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io vivo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “I live in Rome”
- “Tu vivesti a Roma ieri.” — “You lived in Rome”
- “Lui viveva a Roma una volta.” — “He used to live in Rome”
- “Io vivrò a Roma domani.” — “I will live in Rome”
- “Tu vivresti a Roma un giorno.” — “You would live in Rome”
- “Lui ha vissuto a Roma questa settimana.” — “He has lived in Rome”
- “Io avevo vissuto a Roma prima della festa.” — “I had lived in Rome”
- “Tu avrai vissuto a Roma per domani.” — “You will have lived in Rome”
- “È importante che io viva a Roma.” — “It is important that I live in Rome”
- “Vivi a Roma!” — “Live in Rome!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io vivere a Roma.”
✓ Right: “Io vivo a Roma ogni giorno.”
The infinitive vivere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form vivo.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io vivi a Roma.”
✓ Right: “Io vivo a Roma ogni giorno.”
vivi is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with vivo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io vivo a Roma ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho vissuto a Roma questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho vissuto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono vissuto a Roma.”
✓ Right: “Io ho vissuto a Roma questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of vivere is formed with avere plus the past participle vissuto: the io form is ho vissuto. 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 vivo a Roma.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io viva a Roma.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use viva here, not the indicative vivo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho vivendo a Roma.”
✓ Right: “Io ho vissuto a Roma questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle vissuto, not the gerund vivendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on vivere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of vivere in the Present indicative?
- A) vivi
- B) vivo
- C) vive
- D) viviamo
What is the lui/lei form of vivere in the Passato remoto?
- A) vissi
- B) vivesti
- C) visse
- D) vivemmo
What is the noi form of vivere in the Imperfect?
- A) vivevo
- B) vivevi
- C) viveva
- D) vivevamo
What is the tu form of vivere in the Future?
- A) vivrai
- B) vivrò
- C) vivrà
- D) vivremo
What is the io form of vivere in the Conditional?
- A) vivresti
- B) vivrei
- C) vivrebbe
- D) vivremmo
What is the lui/lei form of vivere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho vissuto
- B) hai vissuto
- C) ha vissuto
- D) abbiamo vissuto
What is the lui/lei form of vivere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) viviamo
- B) viviate
- C) vivano
- D) viva
What is the io form of vivere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) vivessi
- B) vivesse
- C) vivessimo
- D) viveste
What is the gerund of vivere?
- A) vissuto
- B) vivendo
- C) vivere
- D) vivo
What does vivere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to live
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) vivo — the correct form is vivo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) visse — the correct form is visse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) vivevamo — the correct form is vivevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) vivrai — the correct form is vivrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vivrei — the correct form is vivrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha vissuto — the correct form is ha vissuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) viva — the correct form is viva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) vivessi — the correct form is vivessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vivendo — the correct form is vivendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to live — the correct form is to live. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does vivere mean in English?
vivere means “to live”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is vivere regular or irregular?
vivere is irregular: it is irregular in passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect. The gerund is vivendo and the past participle is vissuto.
What are the gerund and past participle of vivere?
The gerund is vivendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is vissuto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho vissuto.
Which auxiliary does vivere take in the passato prossimo?
vivere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho vissuto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle vissuto.
How do I say “I live” in Italian?
Say “Io vivo a Roma ogni giorno.” — “I live in Rome” The io form of the present is vivo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of vivere — every tense of vivere in one place.
- Vivere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Vivere 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 vivere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise vivere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise vivere with the interactive tool.