Volere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

volere — to want — 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 expresses wishes, wants and polite requests, and it is the verb behind invitations and offers. It can take a noun or an infinitive, and its present and future forms are irregular. On this page you will find volere 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 volere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the volere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with volere

In the present tense

  • “Io voglio un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I want a coffee”
  • “Tu vuoi un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You want a coffee”
  • “Lui vuole un caffè ogni giorno.” — “He wants a coffee”
  • “Noi vogliamo un caffè ogni giorno.” — “We want a coffee”
  • “Voi volete un caffè ogni giorno.” — “You want a coffee”
  • “Loro vogliono un caffè ogni giorno.” — “They want a coffee”

In the passato prossimo

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

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 volevo un caffè una volta.” — “I used to want a coffee”
  • “Tu vorrai un caffè domani.” — “You will want a coffee”
  • “Lui vorrebbe un caffè un giorno.” — “He would want a coffee”
  • “È importante che noi vogliamo un caffè.” — “It is important that we want a coffee”
  • “Vogli un caffè!” — “Want a coffee!”

How volere is used

The first thing to know about volere is its core meaning: to want. It expresses wishes, wants and polite requests, and it is the verb behind invitations and offers. It can take a noun or an infinitive, and its present and future forms are irregular. 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 volere keeps. The present io form is voglio, 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 voluto, 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 volere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need voglio, never volere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho voluto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle voluto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Volere in context

Io voglio un caffè ogni giorno. Tu vuoi un caffè ogni giorno. Lui vuole un caffè ogni giorno. Noi vogliamo un caffè ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of volere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo — while the meaning stays the same: to want. Io ho voluto un caffè questa settimana. Tu hai voluto un caffè questa settimana. Lui ha voluto un caffè questa settimana. Noi abbiamo voluto un caffè questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of volere 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 want — 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 volere un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io voglio un caffè ogni giorno.”

The infinitive volere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form voglio.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io vuoi un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io voglio un caffè ogni giorno.”

vuoi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is voglio — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io voglio un caffè ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho voluto un caffè questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho voluto here, not the present voglio.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono voluto un caffè.”

✓ Right: “Io ho voluto un caffè questa settimana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) voglio
    • B) vuoi
    • C) vuole
    • D) vogliamo

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

    • A) hai voluto
    • B) ha voluto
    • C) ho voluto
    • D) abbiamo voluto

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

    • A) volevo
    • B) volevi
    • C) volevamo
    • D) voleva

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

    • A) vorremo
    • B) vorrò
    • C) vorrai
    • D) vorrà

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

    • A) vorrei
    • B) vorresti
    • C) vorrebbe
    • D) vorremmo

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

    • A) volesti
    • B) volle
    • C) volli
    • D) volemmo

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

    • A) voglia
    • B) vogliate
    • C) vogliano
    • D) vogliamo

  8. What is the gerund of volere?

    • A) volendo
    • B) voluto
    • C) volere
    • D) voglio

  9. What is the past participle of volere?

    • A) volendo
    • B) voluto
    • C) volere
    • D) voglio

  10. What does volere mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) vuoi — the correct form is vuoi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho voluto — the correct form is ho voluto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) voleva — the correct form is voleva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) vorremo — the correct form is vorremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) vorresti — the correct form is vorresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) volli — the correct form is volli. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) vogliamo — the correct form is vogliamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) volendo — the correct form is volendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) voluto — the correct form is voluto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to want — the correct form is to want. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does volere mean in English?

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

Is volere regular or irregular?

volere is irregular. volere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of volere?

The gerund is volendo and the past participle is voluto. The perfect tenses use avere + voluto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of volere?

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

Related pages