invitare

In invitare is an Italian verb meaning to invite someone to come to an event, to solicit someone’s presence, or to request participation in an activity. It is used transitively and often with a recipient and a destination or action.

Etymology and related forms: The verb derives from Latin invitare. The corresponding noun is l’invito, referring to the invitation itself. Cognates appear in other Romance languages, such as invitar in Spanish and inviter in French.

Conjugation: Invitare is a regular first-conjugation verb ending in -are. Present indicative forms are invito, inviti, invita, invitiamo, invitate, invitano. The passato prossimo is formed with avere: ho invitato, hai invitato, ha invitato, abbiamo invitato, avete invitato, hanno invitato. The imperfect is invitavo, invitavi, invitava, invitavamo, invitavate, invitavano. Other tenses follow standard -are conjugation patterns ( inviterei, inviterai, invitassero, etc.).

Usage notes: The verb takes a direct object referring to the person invited and is commonly followed by a preposition a introducing the thing or event invited to (invitare qualcuno a una festa, invitare a fare qualcosa). Common constructions include: Ti invito a cena; Ti ho invitato a partecipare. The noun invito refers to the invitation itself, as in Riceverò un invito all’evento.

See also: invito, invito a partecipare, inviter (cognate in other languages). In everyday Italian, invitare is widely used in formal and informal contexts alike to extend invitations and to request someone’s presence or action.