How to Use the Verb Servire in Italian

What does ‘servire’ mean?

First, let’s delve into the meaning and usage of “servire” and explore how it differs from other verbs expressing necessity, such as “dovere” or “avere bisogno di.”

Servire means to need something. It should be employed with a noun (referring to an object or a person) and should never be combined with a verb (indicating an action). When you use “servire,” you convey that a particular thing or person is essential or beneficial to you to do something else.

For example,

Mi servono quattro uova	I need four eggs
Ti serve il mio aiuto?	Do you need my help?

In the sentences above, you might need four eggs to prepare a cake or help to assemble a table. The use of ‘servire’ is appropriate in these sentences because it signifies the need for one thing in relation to another.

Servire, dovere, avere bisogno: the difference

In Italian, there are two other verbs that express ‘necessity,’ but they are not interchangeable.

• Dovere = need to do something
• Avere bisogno = urge or pressing need

Dovere is used when you need to do something, so with an action verb.

devo studiare per l’esame	I need to study for the test
dobbiamo comprare dei vestiti nuovi per la bambina	We need to buy new clothes for the baby
ho dovuto portare il cane dal veterinario	I had to take my dog to the vet

Avere bisogno means ‘to need something” too, but is more emphatic than servire. We say ‘ho bisogno di‘ to emphasize the need for something. Avere bisogno di emphasize a pressing need or urge. out that you really need that thing.

ho bisogno di una vacanza al più presto	I need a vacation (it’s urgent for me)
ho bisogno di una pausa da questo lavoro	I need a break (it’s urgent for me)

How to Conjugate ‘Servire’

As you might already have noticed, servire (and a few other verbs that I will list at the end of this post) does not follow a regular conjugation, and it’s used differently from its equivalent in English — I need. 

Servire is conjugated with indirect pronouns and works similarly to the verb piacere. 

The Italian translation for “I need” is NOT “io servo,” but mi serve or mi servono. 

The literal translation of “mi serve” is “it is necessary for me”.

Servire is always conjugated in the 3rd person plural and singular. The person who needs something is denoted with an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli/le, ci, vi, gli) and not with the regular subject pronouns (io, tu, lui, etc..)

The verb ‘servire’ in the present tense 

mi serve	mi servono	I need (something)
ti serve	ti servono	you need (something)
gli serve	gli servono	he needs (something)
le serve	le servono	she needs (something)
ci serve	ci servono	we need (something)
vi serve	vi servono	you need (something)
gli serve	gli servono	they need (something)

What’s the difference between “serve” and “servono”?

Serve is used when the thing we need is a singular entity.

• Mi serve una penna  – I need a pen 
• Ti serve questo documento? – do you need this file? 
• Ci serve un un armadio nuovo  – we need a new closet 

Servono is used when the things or people need is a plural entity.

• Mi servono delle penne – I need some pens
• Ti servono questi documenti? – Do you need these files?
• Ci servono due nuovi armadi – We need two new closets 

Let’s recap…

Italian	English	Singular/Plural
Serve	I need a pen.	Singular
Serve	Do you need this file?	Singular
Serve	We need a new closet.	Singular
Servono	I need some pens.	Plural
Servono	Do you need these files?	Plural
Servono	We need two new closets.	Plural

When you say mi serve in Italian, what you say in English is “something” is needed for me/to you/to him, etc.…

• Mi serve / mi servono = I need → it’s necessary for me 
• Ti serve / ti servono =  you need/ Do you need?→ it’s necessary for you, etc..

So, mi serve del pane means some bread is necessary for me or I need some break 

Why do we say ‘A Maria serve…’ and not ‘Maria serve…’

When the person who needs something is denoted by a noun (and not by a pronoun), the noun must be preceded by the preposition a:

• A Maria serve un tappetino da yoga – Maria needs a yoga mat  
• A Lucia non sono serviti quei documenti  – Lucy didn’t need those files

Servire in the passato prossimo

Like in the present tense, servire uses a different conjugation with the passato prossimo (and the other verbs). 

The Italian for ‘I needed’ is mi è servito/a or mi sono serviti/e

The passato prossimo of ‘servire’ combines three elements:

the indirect pronouns + the auxiliary essere + the past participle of servire (servito/a/i/e)

Ti è servito il consiglio?	Was my advice useful to you? (Did you need my advice?)
Ti sono serviti i consigli?	Were my tips useful to you? (Did you need my tips?)

The auxiliary and the past participles always agree in terms of gender and number with the thing that is being needed. So, if the entity being liked is a feminine noun, you will need to make sure that the participle makes the correct agreement with the subject.

The conjugation of ‘servire’ with the passato prossimo

Italian Singular	Italian Plural	English Singular	English Plural
Mi è servito/a	Mi sono serviti/e	I needed it	I needed them
Ti è servito/a	Ti sono serviti/e	You needed it	You needed them
Gli-le è servito/a	Gli-le sono serviti/e	He/She needed it	They needed them
Ci è servito/a	Ci sono serviti/e	We needed it	We needed them
Vi è servito/a	Vi sono serviti/e	You (plural) needed it	You (plural) needed them
Gli è servito/a	Gli sono serviti/e	They needed it	They needed them

The conjugation of “servire” with the imperfetto

Italian Singular	Italian Plural	English Singular	English Plural
Mi serviva	Mi servivano	I needed	We needed
Ti serviva	Ti servivano	You needed	You needed
Gli-le serviva	Gli-le servivano	He/She needed	They needed
Ci serviva	Ci servivano	We needed	We needed
Vi serviva	Vi servivano	You (plural) needed	You (plural) needed
Gli serviva	Gli servivano	They needed	They needed

The conjugation of “servire” with the future simple 

Italian Singular	Italian Plural	English Singular	English Plural
Mi servirà	Mi serviranno	I will need	We will need
Ti servirà	Ti serviranno	You will need	You will need
Gli-le servirà	Gli-le serviranno	He/She will need	They will need
Ci servirà	Ci serviranno	We will need	We will need
Vi servirà	Vi serviranno	You (plural) will need	You (plural) will need
Gli servirà	Gli serviranno	They will need	They will need

The conjugation of “servire” with the present conditional 

Italian Singular	Italian Plural	English Singular	English Plural
Mi servirebbe	Mi servirebbero	I would need	We would need
Ti servirebbe	Ti servirebbero	You would need	You would need
Gli-le servirebbe	Gli-le servirebbero	He/She would need	They would need
Ci servirebbe	Ci servirebbero	We would need	We would need
Vi servirebbe	Vi servirebbero	You (plural) would need	You (plural) would need
Gli servirebbe	Gli servirebbero	They would need	They would need

 

Other verbs working similarly to servire

Servire is not the only verb using a different conjugation pattern, also known as impersonal conjugation. These above verbs, like ‘servire‘, have a different conjugation pattern that can be challenging for learners. They often use the third person singular or plural forms to express the idea that something is pleasing, missing, interesting, sufficient, happening, seeming, bothering, saddening, or making someone nervous.

piacere	to like, to please
mancare	to miss
interessare	to be interested in
bastare	to be enough
succedere	to happen
sembrare	to seem
infastidire	to bother
rattristare	to sadden
innervosire	to make nervous

Examples:

• Mi piace il gelato. (I like ice cream.) – Literally: “Ice cream is pleasing to me.”
• Ci mancano i tuoi consigli. (We miss your advice.) – Literally: “Your advice is missing to us.”
• Ti interessa la musica classica? (Are you interested in classical music?) – Literally: “Classical music is interesting to you?”
• Non basta il tempo. (Time is not enough.) – Literally: “Time is not enough.”
• Mi sembra un buon film. (It seems like a good movie to me.) – Literally: “It seems a good movie to me.”