Mastering Italian: Most Common Phrases with the Verb ‘Fare’

Besides being an irregular verb, the verb ‘fare’ is used in Italian in numerous useful expressions. Let’s explore some of them:

Fare i compiti: to do the homework

Fare le pulizie: to do the chores

Fare un biglietto: to buy a ticket

Fare una passeggiata: to go for a walk

Fare un giro: to go around

Fare una fotografia: to take a picture

Fare colazione: to eat breakfast

Fare la spesa: to buy groceries

Fare shopping: to go shopping

Fare la valigia (le valigie): to pack

Fare pace: to make peace

Fare il compleanno: to have a birthday

Fare il pieno: to tank up

Fare una domanda: to ask a question

Fare la la fila: to stand in a line

Fare soldi: to become rich, to make money

Far male: to be painful, to ache

Fare una vacanza: to go on vacation (holiday)

Fare una prenotazione: to make a reservation

Fare un errore (o sbaglio): to make a mistake

Fare tardi: to be late

FARE is also the verb used to ask information about the weather and to answer about it. In Italian, we say CHE TEMPO FA? And we answer FA bel/cattivo tempo o FA caldo/freddo.

tempo

As I mentioned earlier, ‘fare’ does not follow the regular pattern of the second conjugation; it is irregular.

Here are the most common ‘fare’ conjugations.

Tense/MoodVerb Forms
Presente Indicativo– io faccio- tu fai- lui fa- noi facciamo- voi fate- loro fanno
Imperfetto– io facevo- tu facevi- lui/lei faceva- noi facevamo- voi facevate- loro facevano
Passato Prossimo– io ho fatto- tu hai fatto- lui/lei ha fatto- noi abbiamo fatto- voi avete fatto- loro hanno fatto
Futuro Semplice– io farò- tu farai- lui/lei farà- noi faremo- voi farete- loro faranno
Condizionale Semplice– io farei- tu faresti- lui/lei farebbe- noi faremmo- voi fareste- loro farebbero
Gerundio– facendo
conjugations of the verb ‘fare’

Test Your Italian

Not sure what your Italian level is? I’ve created a free online Italian test to help you determine it.

Ciao! I'm Serena, a certified Italian teacher and author, born in Sicily and based in Rome. I learned to speak seven languages through stories and context — not by memorizing endless rules — and since 2022 I've written easy readers to help others do the same, with 25,000+ copies sold on Amazon now out in the world. My mission? To help Italian learners truly thrive.

Serena Capilli

Ciao! I’m Serena, a certified Italian teacher and author, born in Sicily and based in Rome. I learned to speak seven languages through stories and context — not by memorizing endless rules — and since 2022 I’ve written easy readers to help others do the same, with 25,000+ copies now out in the world.

My latest book releases 

Le Avventure di Paul a Roma

Incontri in Sicilia

Gioielli, Caffè e Firenze

Join over 10,000 people learning Italian with me