Common Italian verb
| Pronunciation | |
| Meaning | To answer, to reply |
| Conjugation | Irregular (PP is risposto, with irregular passato remoto) |
| Transitive or intransitive? | Intransitive |
Different meanings
1) To answer a question
Use the preposition a. Rispondere is intransitive in Italian.
| Rispondi alla mia domanda, per favore. | Please answer my question. |
| Non sai rispondere? Fa lo stesso. | Don’t know how to answer? It’s all the same. |
2) To take responsability
| Luca deve rispondere dei propri crimini. | Luke must answer for his crimes. |
3) To react to sth
| Mattia risponde con un sorriso alle prese in giro. | Mattia responds with a smile to the teasing. |
| Non intendo rispondere alle sue provocazioni. | I do not plan to react to his provocations. |
| Il cane non rispose al richiamo. | The dog did not respond to the call. |
4) To yield a result, to adapt
| I servizi di questo hotel non rispondono alle nostre aspettative. | The services of this hotel do not meet our expectations. |
5) To work
| La tastiera del computer non risponde più! | The computer keyboard is no longer responding! |
| I comandi della macchina non rispondevano. | The machine controls were unresponsive. |
Collocations and expressions
| Rispondere al telefono | To answer the phone |
| Rispondere a una domanda | To answer a question |
| Rispondere a tono | To reply in kind |
| Rispondere male | To answer rudely |
| Rispondere per le rime | To answer back |
| Rispondere per iscritto | To answer in writing |
| Non rispondere delle proprie azioni | To not account for your own actions |
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