How do you use the word sempre in Italian? What does it mean? How do you pronounce it?
In this lesson, we will look at how to use this word along with the help of many audio recordings and example sentences. Read on to learn all you need to know!
Sempre in Italian
What is sempre?
Sempre is an adverb that can be translated into English as “always” or “still”.
Sempre
Always, still
Its pronunciation is close to sehm-preh. If you have trouble pronouncing Italian sounds, check out the Italian pronunciation guide.
Now, let’s see some example sentences with sempre in Italian, before we take a look at how to use this word.
Title: Italian All-in-One For Dummies
Language: English / Italian
Publisher: For Dummies
Pages: 672
Learn to speak Italian like a native? Easy.
Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language. It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set.
Luca è sempre puntuale agli appuntamenti.
Luca is always on time for his appointments.
Mia sorella fa sempre colazione alle 8.
My sister always has breakfast at 8 o’clock.
Rovini sempre tutto!
You always spoil everything!
Ho sempre voluto diventare insegnante.
I have always wanted to be a teacher.
Tom ha sempre voluto entrare nell’aviazione.
Tom has always wanted to join the Air Force.
Matteo si lamenta sempre.
Matteo is always complaining.
Now let’s see how to use sempre in Italian.
Use of sempre in Italian
We’ve said that sempre in Italian is an adverb that translates to the English adverb “always” or “still”.
Unlike English, it’s always placed after a single verb. Like English, it’s placed after the auxiliary verb in compound tenses.
Marco arriva sempre in ritardo.
Marco always arrives late.
Literally: Marco arrives always late.
Ho sempre letto almeno due libri al mese.
I’ve always read at least two books a month.
(same order as in English)
Sempre can also translate as forever if it’s preceded by the preposition per, as in…
Le fotografie sbiadiranno, ma i ricordi rimarranno per sempre.
The photographs will fade, but the memories will remain forever.
Ti amerò per sempre.
I will love you forever.
Sempre can also be used as a synonym for ancora, which can mean “still” or “again”. In our case, it’s a synonym for “still”. For example, you could say…
Lavorate sempre alla Ferrari?
Do you still work for Ferrari?
Mia zia vive sempre in fondo alla via.
My aunt still lives down the street.
You can also use sempre in Italian with comparative adjectives such as meglio, peggio, più and meno to translate more and more, less and less etc.
Prevenire è sempre meglio che curare.
Prevention is always better than cure.
In questa zona piove sempre meno.
It rains less and less in this area.
Expressions with sempre in Italian
There are a number of common expressions featuring sempre in Italian. These are…
- come sempre (as always)
- essere sempre all’erta (to always be on guard)
- essere sempre in movimento (to always be in motion)
- la mamma dei cretini è sempre incinta (stupidity breeds stupidity)
- avere sempre l’ultima parola (to always have the last word)
- l’erba del vicino è sempre più verde (the grass is always greener on the other side)
Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!
And that’s the end of our lesson on how to use sempre in Italian!
What next?
Now that you’ve seen how to use sempre in Italian, you might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to use sempre in Italian, consider sharing it with your social media friends who are also studying Italian.
