Fare means “to do” and “to make.” Italian also uses it where English needs other verbs, such as take, have or ask: fare una foto, fare colazione, fare una domanda.
Infinitive
fare
English
to do, to make
Auxiliary
avere
Past participle
fatto
Gerund
facendo
Core irregular verb: fare is a shortened form of the Latin facere, and many forms use the old stem fac- with -ERE endings: facevo, facendo, facessi. The present mixes long and short forms: faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate, fanno. Note that fa (he does) has no accent, while fa' with an apostrophe is the tu imperative, beside fai. The present subjunctive is built on facci-: faccia, facciamo, facciate, facciano. The passato remoto is strong in three persons (feci, fece, fecero) and regular on fac- in the others (facesti, facemmo, faceste). The future and conditional use the short stem far-: farò, farei. The past participle is fatto.
Fare is the general verb for activities. You fare sport, fare la spesa (do the grocery shopping) and fare la doccia (take a shower), and you ask about someone's job with che lavoro fai? and answer faccio l'ingegnere. It also describes the weather (fa caldo, fa freddo, fa bel tempo). Followed by an infinitive, fare means having something done or letting someone do it: ho fatto riparare la macchina (I had the car repaired), fammi vedere (let me see). Because fare carries so many collocations, the most useful way to learn it is phrase by phrase rather than by its English translation.
Fare takes avere: ho fatto, avevamo fatto, avrebbero fatto. The weather expressions also take avere in compound tenses: ieri ha fatto freddo. The participle fatto agrees with a direct object pronoun placed before it: la torta l'ho fatta io, gli esercizi li ho fatti. That is why the past of farcela is ce l'ho fatta, with fatta agreeing with la.
Fare in context
Presente:Che lavoro fai? (What do you do for a living?)
Presente:Oggi fa molto caldo, andiamo al mare. (It's very hot today, let's go to the beach.)
Passato Prossimo:Ho fatto colazione al bar sotto casa. (I had breakfast at the café downstairs.)
Imperfetto:D'estate facevamo il bagno nel lago ogni pomeriggio. (In summer we used to swim in the lake every afternoon.)
Futuro Semplice:Che cosa farai dopo la laurea? (What will you do after graduation?)
Condizionale Presente:Mi faresti vedere le foto del viaggio? (Would you show me the photos from the trip?)
Congiuntivo Presente:Voglio che tu faccia attenzione alla strada. (I want you to pay attention to the road.)
Gerundio:Scusa, che cosa stai facendo? (Sorry, what are you doing?)
Common expressions with fare
fare una domanda: to ask a question. Use fare, not chiedere, with domanda: posso farti una domanda?
fare colazione: to have breakfast. No article: faccio colazione alle sette.
fare caldo / fare freddo: to be hot / to be cold (weather). Fa caldo is about the weather. For how you feel, use avere: ho caldo.
farcela: to manage, to make it. Ce la faccio (I can manage), non ce la faccio più (I can't take it anymore), ce l'ho fatta (I did it).
fare la spesa: to do the grocery shopping. Fare spese, with no article, means shopping for clothes and other things.
fare finta di: to pretend. Fa finta di dormire (he's pretending to sleep).
Common mistakes
Posso farti una domanda?, not Posso chiederti una domanda? (Can I ask you a question?). In English you ask a question. In Italian you make one: fare una domanda. Chiedere is for asking for something (chiedere un favore) or asking about something (chiedere l'ora).
Oggi fa caldo., not Oggi è caldo. (It's hot today.). Standard Italian describes the weather with fare: fa caldo, fa freddo, fa bel tempo. È caldo describes a thing: il caffè è caldo.
Lui fa sempre tardi., not Lui fà sempre tardi. (He's always late.). Fa is one syllable and needs no accent, like sta and va. Do not confuse it with dà (gives), which has an accent to tell it apart from the preposition da, or with fa', the tu imperative.
Avere: ho fatto, hai fatto, abbiamo fatto. This includes the weather (ha fatto freddo) and causative fare (ho fatto riparare la macchina). The reflexive farsi takes essere: mi sono fatto male (I hurt myself).
What is the past participle of fare?
Fatto. It is irregular and very common, both in compound tenses and as an adjective or noun: fatto a mano (handmade), un fatto (a fact).
Is fare an -ARE verb?
Its infinitive ends in -are, but it does not conjugate like parlare. Fare comes from the Latin facere, so most of its forms use the stem fac- with -ERE endings: facevo, facendo, facessi. This is why it is grouped with the irregular verbs.
How does fare plus an infinitive work?
Fare plus an infinitive means having someone do something, or letting them do it. Ho fatto controllare i freni is “I had the brakes checked.” Fammi sapere is “let me know.” Fare stays conjugated and the second verb stays in the infinitive, and object pronouns go before fare or attach to its imperative: me lo fai vedere?, fammelo vedere.
What does farcela mean?
Farcela means “to manage” or “to make it.” It is fare with the fixed pronouns ce and la: ce la faccio, ce la fai, ce la facciamo. In compound tenses the participle agrees with la: ce l'abbiamo fatta (we made it).