Irregular Verbs: Fare and Dire

Fare (to do / to make) and dire (to say / to tell) are among the most versatile and frequently used verbs in Italian. Both have highly irregular present tense forms that must be memorised, and both appear in countless everyday expressions and idioms.

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Fare — To Do / To Make

Full Conjugation

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
io	faccio	I do / I make
tu	fai	you do / you make
lui / lei / Lei	fa	he/she does / makes
noi	facciamo	we do / we make
voi	fate	you all do / make
loro	fanno	they do / they make

Historical note: Fare comes from the Latin facere. This is why the stem in most forms is fac- (faccio, facciamo) rather than far-. The tu and lui/lei forms are shortened.

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Fare for Weather

Unlike English (which uses "to be" for weather), Italian uses fare in the third person:

Italian	English
Fa caldo.	It's hot.
Fa freddo.	It's cold.
Fa bel tempo.	The weather is nice.
Fa brutto tempo.	The weather is bad.
Che tempo fa?	What's the weather like?

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Common Expressions with Fare

Fare appears in a huge number of Italian idioms and expressions:

Italian	English
fare colazione	to have breakfast
fare la spesa	to do the grocery shopping
fare le spese	to go shopping
fare una passeggiata	to take a walk
fare una domanda	to ask a question
fare un viaggio	to take a trip
fare la doccia / il bagno	to take a shower / bath
fare finta	to pretend
fare attenzione	to pay attention
fare un errore	to make a mistake
fare paura	to scare / to be scary
fare in fretta	to hurry
fare tardi	to be late
fare una foto	to take a photo

Tip: Many expressions that use "to take" or "to have" in English use fare in Italian. When in doubt with an activity, check if fare is the right verb.

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Fare + Infinitive (Causative)

Fare + infinitive means "to make someone do something" or "to have something done":

Italian	English
Faccio lavare la macchina.	I have the car washed.
Il professore fa studiare gli studenti.	The teacher makes the students study.
Mi fai ridere.	You make me laugh.

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Dire — To Say / To Tell

Full Conjugation

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
io	dico	I say
tu	dici	you say
lui / lei / Lei	dice	he/she says
noi	diciamo	we say
voi	dite	you all say
loro	dicono	they say

Historical note: Dire comes from the Latin dicere. The stem dic- appears in all forms except voi (dite).

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Dire vs Parlare vs Raccontare

Verb	Meaning	Usage
dire	to say / to tell	Specific words or information: Dice che è stanco.
parlare	to speak / to talk	The act of speaking: Parla italiano.
raccontare	to tell (a story)	Narrating events: Racconta una storia ai bambini.

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Common Expressions with Dire