The Italian verb abitare translates to English as to live in, to inhabit or to reside. It is a regular verb, and is therefore relatively easy to conjugate because its verb endings follow a regular pattern throughout the conjugation. The verb andare belongs to the Italian first conjugation, where the infinitive form ends in -are.
This article will tell you how to conjugate the verb abitare in all the Italian tenses and moods, and will give you many examples of its usage.
Present indicative conjugation of abitare (indicativo presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the present indicative tense.
| Abitare in the present indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the present indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io abito | I live |
| Tu abiti | You live |
| Lui/ lei abita | He/ she lives |
| Noi abitiamo | We live |
| Voi abitate | You (pl) live |
| Loro abitano | They live |
Use the Italian verb abitare in the present tense to talk about where you, or other people, live currently.
For example:
- To say which town you live in
- Abito a Milano (I live in Milan)
- To tell someone your address
- Abito in Via dei Pini, 24 (I live in Via dei Pini, 24)
- To give someone details about permanence at an address that you still live at
- Abito in Via della Residenza da cinque anni (I’ve lived in Via della Residenza for five years)
- To describe a living situation
- In quella casa non ci abita nessuno (nobody lives in that house)
- To describe the environment you live in
- Abito vicino al mare
Present perfect indicative conjugation of abitare (passato prossimo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the present perfect indicative tense.
| Abitare in the present perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the present perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ho abitato | I lived | I have lived |
| Tu hai abitato | You lived | You have lived |
| Lui/ lei ha abitato | He/ she lived | He/ she has lived |
| Noi abbiamo abitato | We lived | We have lived |
| Voi avete abitato | You (pl.) lived | You (pl.) have lived |
| Loro hanno abitato | They lived | They have lived |
Does abitare want an essere or avere auxiliary?
To be able to form the present perfect tense of abitare, it’s essential to know what auxiliary it goes with, essere or avere.
Abitare takes the avere auxiliary because it is a verb that describes an action carried out onto an object, although it is often followed by a preposition.
How do I use the present perfect tense of abitare?
The Italian verb abitare is used in the present perfect tense to talk about living situations at a certain point in the past. The Italian present perfect tense is used to describe a moment in time, rather than a continuous action.
Use abitare in the present perfect tense:
- To talk about places where you’ve lived
- Durante la mia infanzia ho abitato sia a Roma che a Palermo (during my childhood, I lived both in Rome and Palermo)
- To talk about places where you’ve never lived
- Non hai mai abitato in Toscana? (Have you never lived in Tuscany?)
- To give details about your permanence at an address you used to live at in the past
- Abbiamo abitato in Via della Residenza per cinque anni (we lived in Via della Residenza for five years)
Imperfect indicative conjugation of abitare (imperfetto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the imperfect indicative tense.
| Abitare in the imperfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the imperfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io abitavo | I lived | I used to live |
| Tu abitavi | You lived | You used to live |
| Lui/ lei abitava | He/she lived | He/she used to live |
| Noi abitavamo | We lived | We used to live |
| Voi abitavate | You (pl.) lived | You (pl.) used to live |
| Loro abitavano | They lived | They used to live |
The Italian verb abitare is used in the imperfect tense to describe a living situation that used to be a certain way or that was a certain way over a period of time.
Use abitare in the imperfect tense:
- To say where you used to live over a stretch of time in the past
- Da piccola, abitavo a Roma (as a child, I lived in Rome)
- To give your former address
- L’ anno scorso la mia amica abitava in Via della Residenza, adesso invece abita in Via Muzio Scevola (last year my friend used to live in Via della Residenza but now she lives in Via Musio Scevola)
- To describe living situations over a period of time in the past
- In questa zona trent’anni fa non ci abitava nessuno. Questo quartiere residenziale è stato costruito solo cinque anni fa (nobody lived in this area thirty years ago. This residential neighbourhood was only built five years ago)
Past perfect indicative conjugation of abitare (trapassato prossimo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the past perfect indicative tense.
| Abitare in the past perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the past perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avevo abitato | I had lived |
| Tu avevi abitato | You had lived |
| Lui/ lei aveva abitato | He/ she had lived |
| Noi avevamo abitato | We had lived |
| Voi avevate abitato | You had lived |
| Loro avevano abitato | They had lived |
Within a sentence in the past, use the Italian verb abitare in the past perfect tense to set an event further back in the past than the other event in that sentence.
Use abitare in the past perfect tense in the following scenarios:
- To talk about where you’d lived before a certain event which happened in the past
- Nel 1970 mi sono trasferita a Roma. Prima, avevo abitato sia a Milano che a Palermo (In 1970 I moved to Rome. Before that, I had lived both in Milan and Palermo).
- To talk about living situations which happened further back than past living situations
- In questa casa adesso abitiamo noi. Negli anni novanta ci hanno abitato i nostri genitori, ma, prima di loro, ci avevano abitato i nonni e i bisnonni (We live in this house now. In the nineties our parents lived here, but, before them, the grandparents and great-grandparents had lived here)
Remote past indicative conjugation of abitare (passato remoto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the remote past indicative tense.
| Abitare in the remote past indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the remote past indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io abitai | I lived |
| Tu abitasti | You lived |
| Lui/ lei abitò | He/ she lived |
| Noi abitammo | We lived |
| Voi abitaste | You (pl.) lived |
| Loro abitarono | They lived |
Use of the Italian remote past indicative verb abitare is more suited to written language, such as novels, articles and essays, and is rarely used in today’s spoken Italian. The Italian remote past indicative is to talk about actions which took place in the past and are now completed, such as facts in history or facts within a story.
Use the remote past tense of abitare:
- For actions about living or inhabiting which took place in history
- Napoleone abitò all’ isola d’ Elba per dieci mesi dal 26 Febbraio 1815 (Napoleon lived in Elba island for ten months from 26th February 1815)
- To talk about living or inhabiting within a story
- Si sposarono e abitarono felici in quella casa per il resto della loro vita (they got married and lived happily in that house for the rest of their lives)
Preterite perfect indicative conjugation of abitare (trapassato remoto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the preterite perfect indicative tense.
| Abitare in the preterite perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the preterite perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ebbi abitato | I had lived |
| Tu avesti abitato | You had lived |
| Lui/ lei ebbe abitato | He/ she had lived |
| Noi avemmo abitato | We had lived |
| Voi aveste abitato | You (pl.) had lived |
| Loro ebbero abitato | They had lived |
The preterite perfect tense of the verb abitare is rarely used in spoken Italian today, but is instead more suited to written language such as novels, articles and essays. The Italian preterite perfect is used to set an action further back in the past than another action in the remote past. It is used for facts in history or to tell a story.
Use the preterite perfect indicative of abitare:
- For actions about living or inhabiting which took place in history and happened prior to other actions in history
- Dopo che ebbe abitato ad Elba per dieci mesi, Napoleone lasciò l’ isola (after living in Elba for ten months, Napoleon left the island)
- To talk about living or inhabiting within a story which happened prior to other actions in that story
- Ebbero abitato felici in quella casa per molti anni prima che si sposarono (they had lived happily in that house for many years before they got married)
Simple future indicative conjugation of abitare (futuro semplice)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the simple future indicative tense.
| Abitare in the simple future indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the simple future indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io abiterò | I will live |
| Tu abiterai | You will live |
| Lui/ lei abiterà | He/ she will live |
| Noi abiteremo | We will live |
| Voi abiterete | You (pl.) will live |
| Loro abiteranno | They will live |
The simple future tense of the verb abitare in Italian is used to describe living situations which will, with certainty, take place in the future.
Use the simple future tense of abitare:
- To say what your future address will be
- A partire dal 10 Marzo, abiterò in Via Nazzario Sauro, numero 4 (from the 10th of March, I’ll be living at Via Nazzario Sauro, number 4).
- To describe where you, or someone else, will live in the future
- Hanno comprato una casa in Italia e quindi durante la pensione abiteranno lì (they bought a house in Italy, and so they’ll live there during their retirement)
- To talk about a future living situation
- Quando le mie due amiche cominciano il college, affitteremo una casa e abiteremo insieme (when my two friends start college, we’ll rent a house and live together)
Future perfect indicative conjugation of abitare (futuro anteriore)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the future perfect indicative tense.
| Abitare in the future perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the future perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrò abitato | I will have lived |
| Tu avrai abitato | You will have lived |
| Lui/ lei avrà abitato | He/ she will have lived |
| Noi avremo abitato | We will have lived |
| Voi avrete abitato | You (pl.) will have lived |
| Loro avranno abitato | They will have lived |
Use the future perfect tense of abitare in Italian to describe future living situations which will happen before other future actions or events. These can either be spelled out in the sentence as a verb, or just implied by the context.
Use the future perfect tense of abitare:
- To talk about a future living situation seen from the perspective of a time in the future
- Per quando arriva Marzo 2026, avrò abitato in Via Nazzario Sauro per tre anni (by the time March 2026 comes, I’ll have lived at Via Nazzario Sauro for three years)
Present conditional conjugation of abitare (condizionale presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the present conditional tense.
| Abitare in the present conditional tense (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the present conditional tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io abiterei | I would live |
| Tu abiteresti | You would live |
| Lui/ lei abiterebbe | He/ she would live |
| Noi abiteremmo | We would live |
| Voi abitereste | You would live |
| Loro abiterebbero | They would live |
Use the present conditional tense of abitare in Italian to describe possible living situations (in English, “would live”) and to make if clauses about living situations. For if clauses in Italian, the present conditional tense is used in combination with the present subjunctive.
Here is how you can use the present conditional tense of abitare:
- To talk about a hypothetical living situation (as part of an if clause)
- Se avessi abbastanza soldi, abiterei sulla costa (if I had enough money, I would live on the coast)
- To talk about a possible living situation (not explicitly as part of an if clause)
- Abiteremmo pure insieme ai nonni, ma la casa è troppo piccola (we would live with the grandparents, but the house is too small
Past perfect conditional conjugation of abitare (condizionale passato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the past perfect conditional tense.
| Abitare in the past perfect conditional tense (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the past perfect conditional tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrei abitato | I would have lived |
| Tu avresti abitato | You would have lived |
| Lui/ lei avrebbe abitato | He/ she would have lived |
| Noi avremmo abitato | We would have lived |
| Voi avreste abitato | You would have lived |
| Loro avrebbero abitato | They would have lived |
Use the past perfect conditional tense of abitare in Italian to describe living situations which could have existed in the past (in English, “would have lived”), to indicate a potential future action within a sentence in the past, and to make if clauses about living situations in the past. For if clauses in the past, the past perfect conditional tense is used in combination with the past perfect subjunctive.
Here is how you can use the past perfect conditional tense of abitare:
- To talk about a living situation which could have taken place in the past (as part of an if clause)
- Quando ero giovane, se avessi avuto abbastanza soldi, avrei abitato sulla costa (when I was young, if I had had enough money, I would have lived on the coast)
- To talk about a possible living situation (not explicitly as part of an if clause)
- Quando eravamo piccoli, avremmo pure abitato insieme ai nonni, ma la casa era troppo piccola (when we were kids, we would have lived with the grandparents, but the house was too small
Imperative conjugation of abitare (imperativo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the imperative mood.
| Abitare in the imperative mood (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the imperative mood (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Tu) abita | Live |
| (Noi) abitiamo | Let’s live |
| (Voi) abitate | Live (pl) |
You can use the imperative mood of the verb abitare in Italian to make an invitation (“let’s” in English) or give an order.
For example:
- To suggest a living situation
- Abitiamo insieme! (let’s live together)
Present and past infinitive conjugation of abitare (infinito presente e passato)
The table below shows the infinitive form of the verb abitare in the present and past tenses.
| Abitare in the infinitive mood, past and present tense (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the infinitive mood, past and present tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Abitare | To live/ living |
| Avere abitato | Having lived |
As a general rule, the infinitive form of the verb in Italian, both in the past and present tense, is used:
- To indicate a living situation that you like or don’t like (after the verb “mi piace”)
- Non mi piace abitare con persone che non conosco (don’t like living with people I don’t know)
- After a verb-preposition combination which requires to be followed by a verb in the infinitive form, such as “andare a…”
- Vogliamo andare ad abitare insieme (we want to go and live together)
- After a verb which requires to be followed by a verb in the infinitive form, such as “voglio”, “posso”, “devo”
- Non vuole abitare in una grande città (he/ she doesn’t want to live in a big city)
- In general, as the subject or object of a sentence
- Abitare lontano dal posto di lavoro può causare stress (living far from the workplace can cause stress)
Past participle tense of abitare (participio passato)
The present and part participle tenses in Italian can be tricky to understand. Although these are used as a noun and adjective respectively, they are, in grammatical terms, tenses.
The table below shows the present and past participle conjugation of abitare.
The past participle tense of abitare is abitato. This is used in conjunction with the auxiliary essere or avere to form the present perfect tense:
For example:
- Ho abitato in questa città tutta la vita (I’ve lived in this city all my life)
Note that there is also a present participle tense of abitare, which is used as a noun, but it technically a verb. This is abitante or abitanti (inhabitant or inhabitants).
For example:
- Quasi tutti gli abitanti del paese sono alla fiera questa sera (almost all the inhabitants of the town are at the fair this evening)
Present and past gerund conjugation of abitare (gerundio presente e passato)
The table below shows the gerund mood of the Italian verb abitare in the present and past tense forms.
| Abitare in the present and past gerund (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the present and past gerund (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Abitando | Living |
| Avendo abitato | Having lived |
The gerund of abitare, in both the present and past tense, is used to talk about living situations which are ongoing right now or in this period of time, or to express causality in a sentence.
Use the gerund of abitare:
- To talk about where you are living right now or in this period of time
- In questo periodo stiamo abitando con i nostri genitori (we are living with our parents at this time)
Note: in this example, the present tense (In questo periodo abitiamo con i nostri genitori) would have also achieved a very similar effect.
- In a phrase that is connected to another phrase and expresses causality
- Avendo abitato sempre in città, trovo la campagna un po’ scomoda (having always lived in the city, I find the countryside a little inconvenient)
Note: both the present and past tense of the gerund work well in this case, depending on what makes sense in the context of the sentence.
For example:
Abitando in una grande città, lui preferisce i mezzi di trasporto pubblici (because he lives in a big city, he prefers public transport)
Present subjunctive conjugation of abitare (congiuntivo presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the present subjunctive tense.
| Abitare in the present subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the present subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io abiti | (That) I live |
| (Che) tu abiti | (That) you live |
| (Che) lui/ lei abiti | (That) he/she lives |
| (Che) noi abitiamo | (That) we live |
| (Che) voi abitiate | (That) you (pl.) live |
| (Che) loro abitino | (That) they live |
The present tense subjunctive of abitare is used within a dependent clause. A dependent clause in Italian can often be introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), so, if you start a dependent clause with “che” or “perchè”, it’s likely that, within it, you might need to use the subjunctive mode.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che tu abiti qui (I’d like you to live here).
The subjunctive mode is one of the trickiest topics in the Italian grammar, and it can be difficult to recognise when you need to use it. It might be helpful to bear in mind that, over the years, the subjunctive in dependent sentences is gradually falling out of use.
Although, in order to be grammatically correct in Italian, use of the subjunctive is required, more and more Italians now don’t use it in spoken, informal, Italian and limit it to writing or more formal situations.
Use the present subjunctive of abitare:
- To talk about a living situation within a dependent clause
- Non so perchè lui abiti in un posto così brutto (I don’t know why he lives in such an ugly place)
Note: in today’s spoken Italian, many might not use the subjunctive and say “Non so perchè lui abita in un posto così brutto” instead.
Present perfect subjunctive conjugation of abitare (congiuntivo passato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the present perfect subjunctive tense.
| Abitare in the perfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the perfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io abbia abitato | (That) I have lived | (that) I lived |
| (Che) tu abbia abitato | (That) you have lived | (that) you lived |
| (Che) lui/ lei abbia abitato | (That) he/she has lived | (that) he/ she lived |
| (Che) noi abbiamo abitato | (That) we have lived | (that) we lived |
| (Che) voi abbiate abitato | (That) you (pl.) have lived | (that) you lived |
| (Che) loro abbiano abitato | (That) they have lived | (that) they lived |
The present perfect subjunctive of abitare is used within a dependent clause which contains a past action. This can often be introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), so, if you start a dependent clause with “che” or “perchè”, it’s likely that, within it, you might need to use the subjunctive mode.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che tu abbia abitato qui (I wish you had lived here).
Use the present perfect subjunctive of abitare:
- To talk about a living situation within a dependent sentence which contains a past action
- Non so perchè lui abbia abitato in un posto così brutto per tanto tempo (I don’t know why he lived in such an ugly place for a long time) – this implies that he no longer lives there, because the present perfect in Italian indicates an action that has now ended.
Note: in today’s spoken Italian, many might not use the subjunctive and say “Non so perchè lui ha abitato in un posto così brutto per tanto tempo” instead.
Imperfect subjunctive conjugation of abitare (congiuntivo imperfetto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the imperfect subjunctive tense.
| Abitare in the imperfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the imperfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io abitassi | (That) I lived |
| (Che) tu abitassi | (That) you lived |
| (Che) lui/ lei abitasse | (That) he/ she lived |
| (Che) noi abitassimo | (That) we lived |
| (Che) voi abitaste | (That) you (pl.) lived |
| (Che) loro abitassero | (That) they lived |
The imperfect subjunctive of abitare is used within a dependent clause where the action of the main clause is in the past. This is often introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because). A second use of the imperfect subjunctive is to make the first part of an if clause.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che tu abitassi qui (I’d like you to live here).
Use the imperfect subjunctive of abitare:
- To talk about a living situation within a dependent clause where the main clause is in the past
- Non sapevo che tu abitassi in un posto così brutto (I didn’t know you lived in such an ugly place)
In today’s spoken Italian, many might not use the subjunctive in this case, and use the imperfect tense in both the main and dependent clauses: “Non sapevo che tu abitavi in un posto così brutto“
- To make a hypothesis about a living situation
- Se abitassero vicino a noi, ci potremmo vedere più spesso (if they lived near us, we could see each other more often)
The second part of the if clause in Italian uses the conditional mood.
In today’s spoken Italian, many might choose to not use the subjunctive and to put both parts of the if clause in the imperfect tense: “Se abitavano vicino a noi, ci potevamo vedere più spesso”. Although this wouldn’t hinder someone’s understanding of this sentence, the tense usage is grammatically incorrect.
Past perfect subjunctive conjugation of abitare (congiuntivo trapassato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb abitare in the past perfect subjunctive tense.
| Abitare in the past perfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Abitare in the past perfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io avessi abitato | (That) I had lived |
| (Che) tu avessi abitato | (That) you had lived |
| (Che) lui/ lei avesse abitato | (That) he/ she had lived |
| (Che) noi avessimo abitato | (That) we had lived |
| (Che) voi aveste abitato | (That) you (pl.) had lived |
| (Che) loro avessero abitato | (That) they had lived |
The past perfect subjunctive of abitare is used within a dependent clause, often introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), when both the main clause and the dependent clause are in the past. A second use of the past perfect subjunctive is to make the first part of an if clause placed in the past.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che tu avessi abitato qui (I wish you had lived here).
Use the past perfect subjunctive of abitare in Italian:
- To talk about a living situation within a dependent clause when both the main and dependent clauses are in the past
- Non sapevo che tu avessi abitato in un posto così brutto (I didn’t know you had lived in such an ugly place) – this implies that he has now left that place.
Note: in today’s spoken Italian, many might choose to use the past perfect tense in the dependent clause “Non sapevo che tu avevi abitato in un posto così brutto“. Although this swap is grammatically incorrect, it is increasingly used and today’s spoken Italian, and does not sound “wrong”.
How do I use the verb abitare?
The Italian verb abitare translates to the English “to live somewhere” or “to inhabit”. Abitare is not to be confused with another Italian verb, vivere, which also means “to live” and “to inhabit”. However, vivere also has a more existential meaning beyond “living somewhere”, and can’t be replaced by abitare in this case.
For example:
- In questa regione si vive molto bene (you can live very well in this region) – The verb abitare would not be suitable here, because “vive” refers to quality of life in this case
- Ha vissuto una vita molto piena (he/ she has lived a very full life) – The verb abitare would not be suitable here, because “ha vissuto” is used to refer to someone’s existence
Prepositions, adverbs and expressions used with abitare
You can use the verb abitare with a number of prepositions and adverbs:
- A
- Abito al centro (I live in the centre)
- Abito a Roma (I live in Rome)
- In
- Abito in Sicilia (I live in Sicily)
- Abito in periferia (I live in the suburbs)
- Vicino a
- Abito vicino al mare (I live near the sea)
- Lontano da
- Abito lontano da Milano (I live far from Milan)
- Con
- Abito con la mia amica (I live with my friend)
- Su
- Abito sugli Appennini (I live on the Appennines)
Concluding thoughts on the verb abitare
The verb abitare is a useful verb to know if you are learning Italian. Abitare is not a particularly difficult verb because it has a regular conjugation. The way abitare is used with prepositions and adverbs is also fairly intuitive and not too far from English, compared to some other Italian verbs.
With some practice, you’ll be able to use the verb abitare in no time.
