Fare (To Do / To Make) in Italian

Overview

The verb fare is one of the most versatile and frequently used verbs in Italian. Translating roughly to "to do" or "to make," fare appears in an enormous range of everyday expressions, from talking about the weather to describing daily routines. It is one of the first verbs you will encounter at the A1 level.

Fare is highly irregular — its conjugation does not follow the regular -ARE verb pattern at all. The stem changes to facc- or fa- depending on the person. Because fare appears so often, memorizing its forms early will pay off in nearly every conversation you have in Italian.

Beyond its literal meaning, fare is the backbone of dozens of idiomatic expressions. Italians use fare where English might use completely different verbs: "fare colazione" (to have breakfast), "fare la spesa" (to do the grocery shopping), "fare una domanda" (to ask a question). Learning these expressions is just as important as learning the conjugation itself.

How It Works

Present Tense Conjugation

Person	Italian	English
io	faccio	I do / I make
tu	fai	you do / you make
lui / lei / Lei	fa	he / she does / makes; you do (formal)
noi	facciamo	we do / we make
voi	fate	you all do / you all make
loro	fanno	they do / they make

Notice how irregular the forms are: faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate, fanno. None of these follow the standard -ARE endings you learned for regular verbs like parlare.

Key Expressions with Fare

Italian	English	Category
fare colazione	to have breakfast	Daily routine
fare la spesa	to do the grocery shopping	Daily routine
fare una passeggiata	to take a walk	Activities
fare una domanda	to ask a question	Communication
fare un viaggio	to take a trip	Travel
fare sport	to play sports / to exercise	Activities
fare la doccia	to take a shower	Daily routine
fare bel tempo	to be nice weather	Weather
fare caldo / freddo	to be hot / cold (weather)	Weather
fare attenzione	to pay attention	General
fare un regalo	to give a gift	General
fare una foto	to take a photo	Activities

Fare for Weather

Italian uses fare in impersonal weather expressions where English uses "to be":

• Fa caldo. — It is hot.
• Fa freddo. — It is cold.
• Fa bel tempo. — The weather is nice.
• Fa brutto tempo. — The weather is bad.

In these sentences, fa is used without a subject (impersonal construction).

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Cosa fai?	What are you doing?	Very common greeting
Faccio colazione alle sette.	I have breakfast at seven.	Daily routine
Fa caldo oggi.	It is hot today.	Weather (impersonal)
Facciamo una passeggiata?	Shall we take a walk?	Suggestion
Loro fanno sport ogni giorno.	They play sports every day.	Habit
Lei fa la spesa al mercato.	She does the grocery shopping at the market.	Daily routine
Fate attenzione alla strada!	Pay attention to the road!	Warning
Faccio una domanda al professore.	I ask the professor a question.	Communication
Che lavoro fai?	What work do you do?	Asking about profession
I bambini fanno i compiti.	The children do their homework.	School
Facciamo un viaggio in Sicilia.	We are taking a trip to Sicily.	Travel
Fai una foto?	Will you take a photo?	Request
Non fa niente.	It does not matter.	Common expression
Fa freddo stasera.	It is cold this evening.	Weather

Common Mistakes

Using regular -ARE endings

• Wrong: Io faro colazione. / Io fao colazione.
• Right: Io faccio colazione.
• Why: Fare is completely irregular. You cannot apply the standard -ARE pattern. The first person is faccio, not faro or fao.

Confusing "fare" with "essere" for weather

• Wrong: È caldo oggi.
• Right: Fa caldo oggi.
• Why: Italian uses fare (not essere) for weather temperature expressions. "È caldo" would mean "he/it is hot" (describing a thing), not the weather.

Forgetting expressions require fare

• Wrong: Prendo colazione. (taking breakfast)
• Right: Faccio colazione.
• Why: Many Italian expressions use fare where English uses a different verb. You "do" breakfast in Italian, not "take" it. Learn these as fixed phrases.

Mixing up "fa" and "fanno"

• Wrong: Loro fa sport.
• Right: Loro fanno sport.
• Why: "Fa" is for third person singular (lui/lei/Lei), while "fanno" is for third person plural (loro). With irregular verbs, pay extra attention to matching the correct form.

Using "fare" for cooking specific dishes

• Wrong: Faccio la pizza. (when meaning to cook pizza)
• Right: Preparo la pizza. / Cucino la pizza.
• Why: While fare can mean "to make" in general, for cooking specific dishes Italians often prefer preparare or cucinare. "Faccio la pizza" is understood but sounds vague.

Practice Tips

1. Learn fare expressions as chunks: Do not try to translate fare word by word. Instead, memorize "fare colazione," "fare la spesa," and "fare una passeggiata" as complete units. Write each expression on a flashcard with a small picture or situation — this helps you recall them naturally in conversation.

2. Weather journal: Each day, write one sentence about the weather using fare: "Oggi fa caldo," "Oggi fa freddo," "Oggi fa bel tempo." After a week, you will have internalized the weather pattern without effort.

3. Daily routine narration: Describe your morning using as many fare expressions as possible: "Faccio la doccia, faccio colazione, faccio una passeggiata..." This builds fluency and reinforces the conjugation in first person, which is the form you will use most.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular -ARE Verbs — understanding regular conjugation patterns makes the irregular forms of fare easier to spot
• Next steps: Causative Fare — the fare + infinitive construction for expressing "to have something done"
• Next steps: Advanced Idioms — many advanced Italian idioms are built around fare