Studiare means “to study,” and it is also how Italians say they are a student of something: studio legge a Bologna. It belongs to the -iare group, where the i of the stem and an ending that starts with i merge into one: tu studi.
Infinitive
studiare
English
to study
Auxiliary
avere
Past participle
studiato
Gerund
studiando
-iare verb: the stem studi- already ends in i, so when the ending also starts with i, only one i is written. That gives tu studi (not studii), the present subjunctive che io studi, che tu studi, che lui studi, che loro studino, and the Lei imperative studi. Noi follows the same logic: studiamo, with a single i. In all other forms the i of the stem stays and is pronounced: studio, studia, studiano, studiavo, studierò. The stress falls on stu in the singular and in studiano (STU-dio, STU-di, STU-dia-no). Only -iare verbs that stress the i, such as inviare (tu invii) or sciare (tu scii), keep the double i.
With an object, studiare names the subject or the material: studio ingegneria, devo studiare tre capitoli. Without one, it describes the activity: stasera studio, non posso uscire. Studiare per un esame is to study for an exam, and studiare all'università or studiare a Padova tells people where you are a student. The verb also means to examine something closely or to plan it carefully: studiare la situazione, studiare un piano. Studiare focuses on the effort of studying; imparare means to learn, the result of that effort.
Studiare takes avere: ho studiato, avevamo studiato. The participle stays studiato unless a direct object pronoun comes before the verb: la lezione l'ho già studiata, i verbi li abbiamo studiati ieri.
Studiare in context
Presente:Mia sorella studia medicina a Padova. (My sister studies medicine in Padua.)
Presente:Tu studi meglio la mattina o la sera? (Do you study better in the morning or in the evening?)
Passato Prossimo:Ho studiato tutta la notte per l'esame di storia. (I studied all night for the history exam.)
Imperfetto:Quando studiavo a Firenze, abitavo vicino al Duomo. (When I was a student in Florence, I lived near the cathedral.)
Futuro Semplice:L'anno prossimo studierò il cinese. (Next year I will study Chinese.)
Congiuntivo Presente:I professori vogliono che gli studenti studino anche d'estate. (The teachers want the students to study in the summer too.)
Condizionale Passato:Se l'avessi saputo, avrei studiato di più. (If I had known, I would have studied more.)
Common expressions with studiare
studiare per un esame: to study for an exam
studiare a memoria: to learn by heart. Imparare a memoria is more common. Both describe memorising a poem, a list or a speech.
studiare un piano: to work out a plan
studiare a fondo: to study something thoroughly. The participle also works as an adjective for something planned with care: un discorso studiato, a carefully prepared speech.
studiarsi: to size each other up. Reciprocal use: i due pugili si studiano prima di attaccare.
Common mistakes
Tu studi troppo poco., not Tu studii troppo poco. (You don't study enough.). Studiare drops the i of the ending because the stem studi- already ends in one. The tu form, the subjunctive singular and the Lei imperative are all studi.
Studio l'italiano da due anni., not Ho studiato l'italiano per due anni. (I've been studying Italian for two years.). For an action that started in the past and is still going on, Italian uses the present with da. Ho studiato per due anni suggests that you have stopped.
Noi studiamo insieme il martedì., not Noi studiiamo insieme il martedì. (We study together on Tuesdays.). The noi ending -iamo already begins with i, so the stem and ending share it: studiamo, not studiiamo.
Tu studi, with one i. The stem studi- ends in an unstressed i, and the ending -i merges with it. The same single i appears in the present subjunctive (che io studi) and the Lei imperative (studi, signora). Verbs that stress that i, like inviare (tu invii), are the exception.
Does studiare take essere or avere?
Avere: ho studiato, hai studiato, abbiamo studiato. The participle studiato is regular.
Is studiare a regular verb?
Yes. Studiare is a regular -ARE verb. The only thing that looks unusual is the spelling rule of the -iare group, which removes a double i in forms like studi and studino. The future stem is regular too: studierò, studierei.
What is the difference between studiare and imparare?
Studiare is the work you put in: books, notes, hours at the desk. Imparare is learning, the result, and it also covers skills you pick up without studying: ho imparato a nuotare da bambino. You can study for years and still say non ho imparato niente.