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Italian fare Conjugation
“to do / to make” · 做 · all seven simple tenses plus the past participle
Present tenseio faccio · tu fai · lui / lei fa · noi facciamo · voi fate · loro fanno
Fare ("to do / to make") is the second most used verb in Italian after essere. It is an irregular -are verb: the first person doubles the c (faccio), the second plural is the bare fate, and the historic past jumps stems between feci and fecero.
Below are the complete fare tables for all seven simple tenses, the irregular past participle fatto, and the expressions built on fare, many of which carry no meaning of their own.
Present indicativeIndicativo presente
States what is true or happening now, plus habits and general facts.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | faccio |
| tu | fai |
| lui / lei | fa |
| noi | facciamo |
| voi | fate |
| loro | fanno |
Example:Studio italiano ogni giorno.
I study Italian every day.
ImperfectIndicativo imperfetto
Describes past background, ongoing states, and repeated behaviour.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | facevo |
| tu | facevi |
| lui / lei | faceva |
| noi | facevamo |
| voi | facevate |
| loro | facevano |
Example:Da piccolo giocavo qui.
I used to play here as a child.
Historic pastIndicativo passato remoto
Narrates a past event seen as complete, mainly in writing; spoken usage varies by region.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | feci |
| tu | facesti |
| lui / lei | fece |
| noi | facemmo |
| voi | faceste |
| loro | fecero |
Example:Dante nacque nel 1265.
Dante was born in 1265.
FutureIndicativo futuro semplice
Refers to the future, and can also express a guess about the present.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | farò |
| tu | farai |
| lui / lei | farà |
| noi | faremo |
| voi | farete |
| loro | faranno |
Example:Domani partirò presto.
Tomorrow I will leave early.
ConditionalCondizionale presente
Used for polite requests and wishes, and for what would happen under a condition.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | farei |
| tu | faresti |
| lui / lei | farebbe |
| noi | faremmo |
| voi | fareste |
| loro | farebbero |
Example:Vorrei un caffè.
I would like a coffee.
Present subjunctiveCongiuntivo presente
Common in clauses after certain verbs and conjunctions to express wishes, judgements and doubts; use depends on the construction.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | faccia |
| tu | faccia |
| lui / lei | faccia |
| noi | facciamo |
| voi | facciate |
| loro | facciano |
Example:Spero che tu stia bene.
I hope you are well.
Imperfect subjunctiveCongiuntivo imperfetto
Follows some past main clauses, and appears in hypothetical conditions.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | facessi |
| tu | facessi |
| lui / lei | facesse |
| noi | facessimo |
| voi | faceste |
| loro | facessero |
Example:Se avessi tempo, leggerei di più.
If I had time, I would read more.
Past participle Participio passato
- masculine singular
- fatto
- feminine singular
- fatta
- masculine plural
- fatti
- feminine plural
- fatte
Auxiliary: Active uses of fare take avere: ho fatto.
How it is used
Fare + noun: the do-it-all verb
In a long list of everyday phrases fare adds no meaning of its own; it just turns a noun into an action: fare colazione (have breakfast), fare la spesa (do the shopping), fare una domanda (ask a question), fare sport (play sport), fare attenzione (be careful), fare un bagno (have a bath). In talk about weather it is impersonal and appears only in the third person: fa caldo, fa freddo, fa bello.
Fare + infinitive: having something done
Fare also builds a causative: faccio riparare la macchina (I am having the car repaired), and with a reflexive pronoun the action is done to the subject: mi faccio tagliare i capelli (I am getting my hair cut). The infinitive follows fare with no preposition in between.
Where learners slip
There is no *facio: it is faccio, and the second plural is the bare fate. The future contracts to far- (farò, farai, farà) while the conditional returns to fare- (farei, farebbe). The tu imperative is fa' with an apostrophe (fa' attenzione!), the participle is fatto, and after a pronoun it contracts: l'ho fatto.
Questions learners ask
What is the past participle of fare?
Fatto, which is irregular: fatto, fatta, fatti, fatte. The compound tenses use avere — ho fatto — and the participle then agrees only with a direct object pronoun placed before it.
Why is it facciamo and not faciamo?
The stem doubles the c before the a to keep the sound short: fac-ci-amo. The same stem reappears in the present subjunctive (che noi facciamo) and in the imperative facci.
What does Facciamo! mean on its own?
"Let's!" The first plural present doubles as a suggestion, exactly like English let's: facciamo presto (let's hurry up), dai, facciamo!
How do I ask "what are you doing?"
Che cosa fai? to one person and che cosa fate? to several. That is fare, not stare: che fai? asks about the activity, come stai? asks how you are.
中文说明
fare：做 · 主动用法通常用 avere：ho fatto。
- 直陈式现在时 · Indicativo presente
- 直陈式未完成过去时 · Indicativo imperfetto
- 直陈式远过去时 · Indicativo passato remoto
- 直陈式简单将来时 · Indicativo futuro semplice
- 条件式现在时 · Condizionale presente
- 虚拟式现在时 · Congiuntivo presente
- 虚拟式未完成过去时 · Congiuntivo imperfetto
Practise fare
Present indicative · io
Practise in the order io, tu, lui / lei, noi, voi, loro, then move on to the next tense.
Put the forms back into sentences
Meet the same verb in real contexts with the grammar notes and the graded reading material.
Italian grammarMore Italian study material