How to conjugate ‘fare’ in Italian: All tenses and moods explained

If you’re learning Italian, you’ve likely come across the verb fare — and quickly realized it’s no ordinary verb. You can use fare to communicate that you’re having breakfast, running late, baking a cake or playing the fool, along with a host of other actions. Yes, it’s that versatile. 

At the same time, fare poses a challenge for learners thanks to its irregular conjugations, which don’t follow the same rules as other Italian verbs. To help you master this all-important verb, let’s explore the Italian conjugation of fare in all tenses and moods, with practical examples and idiomatic expressions.

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What does ‘fare’ mean in Italian?

Fare is one of the most important verbs in Italian, as it means both “to do” and “to make.” It’s used in a variety of contexts, ranging from everyday actions to idiomatic expressions.

‘Presente indicativo’ of ‘fare’ (Present simple)

Conjugated in the Italian present tense, fare is used to describe current states and simple facts.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	faccio	I do
tu	fai	you do
lui/lei	fa	he/she does
noi	facciamo	we do
voi	fate	you do
loro	fano	they do

• Faccio una torta. (I make a cake.)
• Facciamo una passeggiata. (We take a walk.)

‘Passato prossimo’ of ‘fare’ (Present perfect)

The passato prossimo of fare describes recent past actions that still hold relevance in the present. It’s formed by combining the auxiliary verb fare in the present tense with the past participle fatto.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	ho fatto	I did
tu	hai fatto	you did
lui/lei	ha fatto	he/she did
noi	abbiamo fatto	we did
voi	avete fatto	you did
loro	hanno fatto	they did

• Ho fatto i compiti. (I did my homework.)
• Abbiamo fatto una festa. (We had a party.)

‘Trapassato prossimo’ of ‘fare’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato prossimo indicates what happened before another past event. It can add helpful clarity to the timeline of a story.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	avevo fatto	I had done
tu	avevi fatto	you had done
lui/lei	aveva fatto	he/she had done
noi	avevamo fatto	we had done
voi	avevate fatto	you had done
loro	avevano fatto	they had done

• Avevi fatto una promessa. (You had made a promise.)
• Avevamo fatto le valigie. (We had packed our bags.)

‘Trapassato remoto’ of ‘fare’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato remoto describes actions completed before another past action. It is rarely used in spoken Italian, but it appears in historical writing and formal documents.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	ebbi fatto	I had done
tu	avesti fatto	you had done
lui/lei	ebbe fatto	he/she had done
noi	avemmo fatto	we had done
voi	aveste fatto	you had done
loro	ebbero fatto	they had done

• Ebbi fatto il possibile per aiutarlo. (I had done everything possible to help him.)
• Ebbe fatto tardi a causa del traffico. (She had been late because of traffic.)

‘Imperfetto’ of ‘fare’ (Past simple/past continuous)

The imperfetto describes repeated or habitual actions and states in the past. It helps set the background in stories and describe recurring situations.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	facevo	I did
tu	facevi	you did
lui/lei	faceva	he/she did
noi	facevamo	we did
voi	facevate	you did
loro	facevano	they did

• Facevo sport ogni giorno. (I used to do sport every day.)
• Facevamo progetti per il futuro. (We were making plans for the future.)

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‘Passato remoto’ of ‘fare’ (Past simple)

The passato remoto is rarely used in everyday conversation, but it often appears in literature, describing actions or events completed in the distant past.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	feci	I did
tu	facesti	you did
lui/lei	fece	he/she did
noi	facemmo	we did
voi	faceste	you did
loro	fecero	they did

• Facesti un buon lavoro. (You did a good job.)
• Fecero un viaggio memorabile. (They took a memorable trip.)

‘Futuro semplice’ of ‘fare’ (Future simple)

The futuro semplice describes future states or events. It’s the basic form you need for making plans or predictions.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	farò	I will do
tu	farai	you will do
lui/lei	fara	he/she will do
noi	faremo	we will do
voi	farete	you will do
loro	faranno	they will do

• Farò il possibile per aiutarti. (I will do my best to help you.)
• Farai una sorpresa a tua madre? (Will you surprise your mother?)

‘Futuro anteriore’ of ‘fare’ (Future perfect)

The futuro anteriore describes an action that will be completed before another future event. 

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	avrò fatto	I will have done
tu	avrai fatto	you will have done
lui/lei	avrà fatto	he/she will have done
noi	avremo fatto	we will have done
voi	avrete	you will have done
loro	avranno fatto	they will have done

• Avrai fatto i compiti entro sera? (Will you have done your homework by tonight?)
• Avranno fatto pace. (They will have made peace.)

‘Condizionale’ of ‘fare’ (Conditional mood)

The condizionale expresses polite requests or desires. It allows you to talk about what would happen under certain conditions, and it’s often used to make expressions more courteous.

‘Condizionale presente’ of ‘fare’ (Present conditional)

Italian	English
io farei	I would do
tu faresti	you would do
lui/lei farebbe	he/she would do
noi faremmo	we would do
voi fareste	you would do
loro farebbero	they would do

• Farei una passeggiata, ma piove. (I would take a walk, but it’s raining.)

‘Condizionale passato’ of ‘fare’ (Past conditional)

Italian	English
io avrei fatto	I would have done
tu avresti fatto	you would have done
lui/lei avrebbe fatto	he/she would have done
noi avremmo fatto	we would have done
voi avreste fatto	you would have done
loro avrebbero fatto	they would have done

• Avresti fatto meglio a tacere. (You would have done better to stay silent.)

‘Congiuntivo’ of ‘fare’ (Subjunctive mood)

The congiuntivo expresses doubts, wishes, emotions or hypothetical scenarios, and it’s usually introduced by che (that) or si (if).

‘Congiuntivo presente’ (Present subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	faccia	(that) I do
(che) tu	faccia	(that) you do
(che) lui/lei	faccia	(that) he/she does
(che) noi	facciamo	(that) we do
(che) voi	facciate	(that) you do
(che) loro	facciano	(that) they do

• Spero che faccia bel tempo domani. (I hope the weather is good tomorrow.)
• È importante che facciamo attenzione. (It’s important that we pay attention.)

‘Congiuntivo passato’ (Present perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	abbia fatto	(that) I did
(che) tu	abbia fatto	(that) you did
(che) lui/lei	abbia fatto	(that) he/she did
(che) noi	abbiamo fatto	(that) we did
(che) voi	abbiate fatto	(that) you did
(che) loro	abbiano fatto	(that) they did

• Non credo che abbiano fatto abbastanza. (I don’t think they did enough.)
• Spero che abbiate fatto i compiti. (I hope you all did your homework.)

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‘Congiuntivo imperfetto’ (Past subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	facessi	(that) I did
(che) tu	facessi	(that) you did
(che) lui/lei	facesse	(that) he/she did
(che) noi	facessimo	(that) we did
(che) voi	faceste	(that) you did
(che) loro	facessero	(that) they did

• Se facessi attenzione, capiresti meglio. (If you paid attention, you would understand better.)
• Volevamo che facessero più sforzi. (We wanted them to make more of an effort.)

‘Congiuntivo trapassato’ (Past perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	avessi fatto	(that) I had done
(che) tu	avessi fatto	(that) you had done
(che) lui/lei	avesse fatto	(that) he/she had done
(che) noi	avessimo fatto	(that) we had done
(che) voi	aveste fatto	(that) you had done
(che) loro	avessero fatto	(that) they had done

• Se avessi fatto più esercizio, saresti in forma. (If you had exercised more, you would be in shape.)
• Speravo che avessero fatto in tempo. (I hoped they had arrived on time.)

‘Imperativo’ of ‘fare’ (Imperative mood)

The imperativo is used to give commands, requests or advice. It can express encouragement, instructions or expectations, depending on the context.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
tu	fai	you do
noi	facciamo	let’s do
voi	fate	you do

• Fai attenzione! (Pay attention!)
• Facciamo una pausa. (Let’s take a break.)

‘Gerundio’ of ‘fare’ (Gerund)

The gerundio describes actions that happen simultaneously with or as a result of another action.

The present gerund of volere is facendo (doing). It’s used for current or ongoing states.

The past gerund of volere is avendo fatto (having done). It’s used to indicate completed actions that influenced a subsequent action.

• Sto facendo una torta. (I am making a cake.)
• Avendo fatto una pausa, ci siamo sentiti meglio. (Having taken a break, we felt better.)

‘Participio’ of ‘fare’ (Participles)

The participio presente, facente (doing), is found in very technical or poetic contexts, and rarely seen in everyday language.

The participio passato, fatto (done), is used in tenses like the passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo. 

Note that the participle fatto agrees with the gender and number of the noun it refers to when used as an adjective. For example:

• Un lavoro ben fatto è apprezzato. (A well-done job is appreciated.)
• Una torta fatta in casa è sempre migliore. (A homemade cake is always better.)

Common expressions and idioms with ‘fare’

Here are some uses of fare in idioms and everyday language:

Italian	English
fare una domanda	to ask a question
fare colazione	to have breakfast
fare finta	to pretend
fare tardi/presto	to be late/early
fare attenzione	to pay attention
fare la spesa	to go grocery shopping
fare la coda	to queue
fare le pulizie	to clean
fare storie	to complain
fare una bella/brutta figura	to make a good/bad impression
fare le ore piccole	to stay up late

FAQs

What is the translation of ‘fare’?

Fare translates to “to do” or “to make.”

Is ‘fare’ an irregular verb?

Yes! Fare is an irregular verb in Italian.

How is ‘fare’ different from ‘creare’ (to create)?

Fare is a verb that describes general actions, while creare (to create) implies making or crafting something original from scratch.

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‘Ben fatto!’ (Well done!) 

From its irregular conjugations to its role in countless expressions, fare is a verb every Italian learner needs to master. We’ve covered all its tenses, moods and everyday uses, giving you the tools to start using this verb confidently. Remember that practicing daily while it’s fresh can go a long way. Try to use fare in common expressions and don’t shy away from speaking — it’s the fastest way to learn!

To solidify your skills, why not join Lingoda? With small group classes, flexible scheduling and native-level teachers, you can practice fare in real conversations and see your Italian soar!

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