Meaning
to explain
- to spread out, unfold
In a sentence
Mi spieghi meglio questa regola, per favore?
Can you explain this rule better, please?
Non so spiegare perché sono arrivato tardi.
I can't explain why I arrived late.
Il professore spiega bene la lezione.
The teacher explains the lesson well.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| spiegare | infinitive |
| spieghiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| spiego | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| spiegate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| spieghi | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| spiega | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| spiegavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| spiegavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| spiegavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| spiegavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| spiegava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| spiegammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| spiegai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| spiegaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| spiegasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| spiegò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| spiegheremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| spiegherò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| spiegherete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| spiegherai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegheranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| spiegherà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| spieghiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| spieghi | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| spieghiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| spieghi | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| spieghino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| spieghi | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| spiegassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| spiegassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| spiegaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| spiegassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| spiegasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| spiegheremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| spiegherei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| spieghereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| spiegheresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegherebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| spiegherebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| spieghiamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| spiegate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| spiega | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| spiegando | gerund |
| spiegato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use 'spiegare' for clarifying ideas, not physical objects. For 'explain how to use this tool,' prefer 'mostrare' or 'far vedere.'
- Avoid literal translation of 'explain yourself' as 'spiegare te stesso.' Use 'giustificarti' or 'darti una spiegazione.'
- Takes 'avere' as auxiliary in compound tenses. 'Ho spiegato' is correct; 'sono spiegato' is wrong.