How to Use Fare to Describe 50 Different Activities in Italian
You probably know that fare means “to do” or “to make.” Then you hear fare sport, fare colazione, fare una domanda, fa caldo, and farsi la barba—and suddenly one little verb seems to run half the Italian language. That instinct is correct: if you want to talk about activities in Italian, you need fare. It covers daily routines, hobbies, errands, weather, idioms, and even causative structures like far fare (“to make someone do something”). Once you get comfortable with it, your Italian becomes much more natural fast.
Why fare matters so much in Italian
English spreads activity verbs across lots of choices: “go shopping,” “take a walk,” “ask a question,” “have breakfast,” “play sports.” Italian often pulls those ideas back into one high-frequency verb: fare.
That means you cannot translate word for word. If you do, you end up with awkward forms or obvious English interference. For example:
- Faccio sport. (I do sports / I play sports.)
- Faccio colazione alle sette. (I have breakfast at seven.)
- Facciamo una passeggiata. (We take a walk.)
- Hai fatto una domanda interessante. (You asked an interesting question.)
Because fare is so common, it is one of the verbs we encourage learners to actively produce early and often. In our drills at VerbPal, we keep bringing back high-frequency verbs like fare with spaced repetition using the SM-2 algorithm, so you stop merely recognising them and start using them automatically.
Present tense of fare
Here is the present tense you need most often:
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | faccio | I do / make |
| tu | fai | you do / make |
| lui/lei | fa | he/she does / makes |
| noi | facciamo | we do / make |
| voi | fate | you (plural) do / make |
| loro | fanno | they do / make |
A few more essential forms:
- infinitive: fare
- past participle: fatto
- gerund: facendo
- imperative informal: fai!
- formal imperative: faccia!
Example:
- Che fai stasera? (What are you doing tonight?)
- Abbiamo fatto tardi. (We ended up being late / We got late.)
- Sto facendo i compiti. (I’m doing homework.)
Pro Tip: Do not learn fare as a single dictionary entry. Learn it in chunks: fare sport, fare una foto, fare tardi, fare caldo.
For Romance languages, Lexi keeps your ear on the melody. Italian verb endings are the music. Drop the pronoun and let the ending do the work: faccio, fai, facciamo. When you learn fare expressions, listen to how the ending already tells you who is acting.
50 common activities and expressions with fare
Here are 50 high-value expressions you will hear constantly. These are the ones worth memorising as complete units.
Daily routine and personal life
-
fare colazione — to have breakfast
Faccio colazione alle otto. (I have breakfast at eight.) -
fare pranzo — to have lunch
Facciamo pranzo insieme? (Shall we have lunch together?) -
fare cena — to have dinner
Stasera facciamo cena a casa. (Tonight we’re having dinner at home.) -
fare una doccia — to take a shower
Faccio una doccia veloce. (I’m taking a quick shower.) -
fare il bagno — to take a bath / to bathe
Il bambino fa il bagno. (The child is taking a bath.) -
fare la barba — to shave
Mio padre fa la barba ogni mattina. (My father shaves every morning.) -
farsi la barba — to shave oneself
Mi faccio la barba prima di uscire. (I shave before going out.) -
fare i compiti — to do homework
I ragazzi fanno i compiti dopo scuola. (The kids do homework after school.) -
fare una pausa — to take a break
Facciamo una pausa? (Shall we take a break?) -
fare tardi — to be late / stay out late
Ieri abbiamo fatto tardi. (Yesterday we stayed out late.)
Shopping, errands, and practical life
-
fare la spesa — to do the grocery shopping
Devo fare la spesa. (I have to do the grocery shopping.) -
fare shopping — to go shopping
Sabato facciamo shopping in centro. (On Saturday we’re going s