interessere

Interessare is an Italian verb meaning to be of interest to, to concern, or to matter. The standard infinitive is interessare; the form interessere is not used in standard Italian and is typically regarded as a misspelling or dialectal variant.

The verb is transitive. The thing that interests acts as the subject, while the person who has the interest is expressed with an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, ci, vi, loro) or with the preposition a. Examples: "Questo libro mi interessa." "Questi argomenti interessano molte persone." The construction "interessa a" is also common: "Questo tema interessa a molti."

Italian also uses essere interessato a to describe a person’s interest in something: "Sono interessato a imparare l’italiano."

Tenses follow regular -are conjugation patterns. In the present tense you typically see "interessa" for singular subjects and "interessano" for plural subjects (for example, "Questo libro interessa" vs. "Questi libri interessano"). The passato prossimo is formed with avere: "ha interessato," "hanno interessato." The participle "interessato" serves as an adjective meaning "interested" or "involved," and "interessante" means "interesting." The reflexive form interessarsi means "to take an interest in" or "to become interested in," with forms such as "mi interesso," "ti interessi," "si interessa," "ci interessiamo," "vi interessate," "si interessano."

Etymology traces the verb to the Latin interēssēre, from inter- (between) and esse (to be), via the noun interesse meaning importance or relevance. In everyday usage, interesse and interessare cover the sense of relevance, importance, or concern across topics, projects, and activities.