Meaning
to narrate, to tell
- to narrate, to recount, to tell
In a sentence
Lei sa narrare bene le storie di famiglia.
She knows how to tell family stories well.
Il libro narra gli eventi della Seconda guerra mondiale.
The book narrates the events of World War II.
L'autore narra la vita quotidiana dei pescatori siciliani.
The author recounts the daily life of Sicilian fishermen.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| narrare | infinitive |
| narriamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| narro | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| narrate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| narri | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| narrano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| narra | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| narravamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| narravo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| narravate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| narravi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| narravano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| narrava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| narrammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| narrai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| narraste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| narrasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| narrarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| narrò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| narreremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| narrerò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| narrerete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| narrerai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| narreranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| narrerà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| narriamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| narri | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| narriate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| narri | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| narrino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| narri | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| narrassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| narrassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| narraste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| narrassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| narrassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| narrasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| narreremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| narrerei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| narrereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| narreresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| narrerebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| narrerebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| narriamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| narrate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| narra | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| narrando | gerund |
| narrato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- More literary and formal than raccontare. In everyday speech, Italians usually prefer raccontare for stories, events, or personal experiences.
- Often used in writing, journalism, history, and criticism: narrare una vicenda, un romanzo narra. It can sound stiff in casual conversation.
- Regular -are verb; takes avere in compound tenses: ha narrato, not è narrato when used transitively.