cantare

Cantare is an Italian verb in its infinitive form meaning "to sing." It belongs to the first conjugation, ending in -are, and is widely used in everyday speech, literature, and music. The root of cantare appears in related words such as canto (song), cantante (singer), and cantata (a vocal composition). The term ultimately derives from Latin cantare, from cantus meaning song.

Conjugation overview: cantare is regular for its class. Present indicative: io canto, tu canti, lui/lei canta, noi cantiamo, voi cantate, loro cantano. Passato prossimo: ho cantato, hai cantato, ha cantato, abbiamo cantato, avete cantato, hanno cantato. Imperfect: cantavo, cantavi, cantava, cantavamo, cantavate, cantavano. Future: canterò, canterai, canterà, canteremo, canterete, canteranno. Passato remoto: cantai, cantasti, cantò, cantammo, cantaste, cantarono (primarily literary). Present subjunctive: che io canti, che tu canti, che lui canti, che noi cantiamo, che voi cantiate, che loro cantino. Conditional: canterei, canteresti, canterebbe, canteremmo, cantereste, canterebbero. Infinitive forms include cantare; participles are cantato (past participle) and cantando (gerund).

Usage notes: Italian uses passato prossimo for most past-tense narration, with passato remoto largely confined to literary or regional contexts. Cantare takes a direct object when specifying what is being sung, as in cantare una canzone. The verb also appears in idioms such as cantare a squarciagola (to sing at the top of one’s lungs) or cantare in coro (to sing in chorus). See also canto, cantautore (songwriter), cantante, cantata.