🔍 In short. The italian need and desire system covers seven core expressions: avere bisogno di (need), avere voglia di (feel like), mi serve (I need / it’s useful to me), mi va (I’m in the mood for), volere (want), vorrei (the polite would-like), and desiderare (the formal wish). These italian need and desire forms are not interchangeable. Avere bisogno describes a genuine necessity, avere voglia a craving, mi serve something useful or required, mi va a softer momentary impulse. On the desire side of italian need and desire, voglio is blunt, vorrei is polite, desidero is formal or written. Pick the right one and your Italian sounds less like a translation and more like a Florentine asking for what they want.
This B1 italian need and desire guide walks you through each expression with everyday examples from a vivaio in Lucca, a sartoria in Padova, and a moving day in Trieste. By the end of this italian need and desire walkthrough you will know which italian need and desire verb to use when you want a coffee, when you need a plumber, and when you would like to ask your boss for a day off.
Cosa impareremo oggi
👆🏻 Jump to section
- A map of Italian need and desire
- Avere bisogno di: genuine necessity
- C’è bisogno di and bisogna: the impersonal pair
- Mi serve: the useful-to-me verb
- Avere voglia di: the everyday craving
- Mi va: the softer impulse
- Volere, vorrei, desidero: three levels of wanting
- Cheat sheet
- Dialogue: a Saturday morning errand in Lucca
- Mini-challenge
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
A map of Italian need and desire
Walk into a ferramenta in Trieste with a leaky tap and you will probably say one of three things: mi serve una guarnizione, ho bisogno di una guarnizione, or vorrei una guarnizione. All three reach the same shelf, but each one carries a different colour. The first is matter-of-fact (the thing is needed), the second is genuine necessity (I have a problem), the third is polite request (I would like). The italian need and desire toolkit works in pairs and trios like this, and the italian need and desire trick is to learn what each expression actually puts in the foreground.
The big italian need and desire split is between need (something is missing, required, useful) and desire (something is wanted, wished, craved). Within each side, italian need and desire grammar offers a personal form (ho bisogno, voglio) and an impersonal one (c’è bisogno, mi serve, mi va). The impersonal forms shift the focus from you to the situation, which often sounds more natural in spoken Italian. A native speaker hardly ever says ho necessità di in conversation, but the italian need and desire workhorses mi serve and ho bisogno are everywhere.
Avere bisogno di: genuine necessity
The expression avere bisogno di is the workhorse of italian need and desire vocabulary on the need side. The noun bisogno means “the need”, and the structure is always the same: a form of avere + bisogno di + a noun or an infinitive. You conjugate avere across all tenses (ho, avevo, avrò, avrei, abbia avuto), and the rest of the phrase stays fixed.
- Ho bisogno di una pausa di dieci minuti, sono qui dalle sette.
I need a ten-minute break, I have been here since seven. - Margherita ha bisogno di un consiglio sulla scuola guida.
Margherita needs some advice about driving school. - Tommaso e Federica avranno bisogno di una mano per il trasloco di sabato.
Tommaso and Federica will need a hand with the move on Saturday. - Avevo bisogno di sentire la tua voce.
I needed to hear your voice. - Avresti bisogno di riposare almeno un weekend intero.
You would need to rest for at least a whole weekend.
Notice the preposition di in this italian need and desire structure: it never disappears. When the object that follows takes an article, Italian merges them: ho bisogno del tuo aiuto (di + il), abbiamo bisogno della macchina (di + la), hanno bisogno dei genitori (di + i). With a bare noun the preposition stays simple: ho bisogno di silenzio, di pazienza, di tempo. With an infinitive, again, just plain di: ho bisogno di dormire, di parlarti, di sapere la verità. The italian need and desire pattern with di is fixed.
In the compound past tenses, avere bisogno uses avere as auxiliary, like all transitive Italian expressions built on avere: ho avuto bisogno di un dottore, abbiamo avuto bisogno di voi. The participle does not agree with the object. One small register note on Italian need and desire vocabulary: necessitare di exists and means the same, but it sounds bureaucratic or written. In everyday conversation Italians always reach for avere bisogno di.
C’è bisogno di and bisogna: the impersonal pair
When the italian need and desire focus falls on no one in particular, Italian goes impersonal. Two structures cover the impersonal slot of italian need and desire grammar: c’è bisogno di + noun/infinitive, and the verb bisogna + infinitive. They are close cousins, but each italian need and desire pattern has its own shape.
C’è bisogno di is built on the noun bisogno with the impersonal c’è (“there is”). It is the impersonal twin of avere bisogno di in italian need and desire grammar: same noun, different subject. You will hear this italian need and desire formula constantly in shops, offices, and casual chats.
- Non c’è bisogno di arrabbiarsi, è stato solo un malinteso.
There’s no need to get angry, it was just a misunderstanding. - In questo quartiere ci sarebbe bisogno di più panchine.
This neighbourhood would need more benches. - Ieri in officina c’era bisogno di un meccanico in più.
Yesterday at the garage they needed one more mechanic. - Non ci sarà bisogno di portare niente, ci pensiamo noi.
You won’t need to bring anything, we’ll take care of it.
Bisogna is a different beast: a defective impersonal verb (Treccani classifies it that way) that exists only in the third-person singular. It is followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition. The meaning is “it is necessary to”, “one must”, “we should”. It is shorter than c’è bisogno di and very common in spoken Italian.
- L’erba in giardino è troppo lunga. Bisogna tagliarla questo weekend.
The grass in the garden is too long. It needs cutting this weekend. - Domani nevicherà, bisognerà coprirsi bene contro il freddo.
Tomorrow it will snow, we’ll have to dress warmly. - I biglietti per il concerto sono finiti. Bisognava comprarli a marzo.
The concert tickets are sold out. We should have bought them in March. - Il pane sta finendo. Bisognerebbe passare al panificio prima delle sette.
The bread is running low. We should drop by the bakery before seven.
Treccani notes that bisogna in italian need and desire grammar exists only in bisogna, bisognava, bisognerà, bisognerebbe, bisognasse. The passato prossimo è bisognato exists but is rarely used in conversation. When you want italian need and desire focus on a specific person’s need, switch back to avere bisogno di: Margherita ha bisogno di un consiglio, not Margherita bisogna di un consiglio (which is ungrammatical).
🎯 Mini-task: Choose between ho bisogno di, c’è bisogno di, and bisogna.
- ___ silenzio per finire questa traduzione, è importante.
- Non ___ prenotare, la trattoria è quasi sempre libera il martedì.
- In questo condominio ___ più rispetto per gli orari di silenzio.
- Margherita ___ un consiglio sulla scuola guida di Lucca.
- ___ avvisare il padrone di casa entro venerdì.
👉 See answers
1. Ho bisogno di silenzio (personal need, specific subject)
2. Non c’è bisogno di prenotare (impersonal, no specific subject)
3. In questo condominio c’è bisogno di più rispetto (impersonal, general situation)
4. Margherita ha bisogno di un consiglio (specific subject)
5. Bisogna avvisare (impersonal + infinitive, shorter form)
Mi serve: the useful-to-me verb
The verb servire is the third pillar of italian need and desire vocabulary. Inside this italian need and desire family it works exactly like piacere: the subject of the sentence is what is needed, and the person doing the needing appears as an indirect pronoun (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli). Mi serve una matita literally means “a pencil is useful to me”, which in italian need and desire English is “I need a pencil”.
- Mi serve un trapano per appendere le mensole nuove in salotto.
I need a drill to put up the new shelves in the living room. - Ti serviranno scarpe comode, cammineremo tutto il giorno.
You’ll need comfortable shoes, we’ll be walking all day. - A Federica serve una mano con il giardino, ha quattro alberi da potare.
Federica needs a hand with the garden, she has four trees to prune. - Ci servivano dei soldi per la caparra della casa a Trieste.
We needed some money for the deposit on the house in Trieste. - Non gli è servito il tuo aiuto, ha fatto tutto da solo.
Your help wasn’t needed by him, he did everything by himself.
Two things to remember about this italian need and desire construction. First, agreement: the verb agrees with the thing needed, not with the person. Mi serve una macchina (singular), mi servono due chiavi (plural). If you say mi serve i soldi instead of mi servono i soldi, native ears notice. Second, compound tenses always go with essere, and the past participle agrees with the subject: mi è servita una pausa, mi sono serviti due giorni di riposo, gli è servita una settimana per finire il progetto. The italian need and desire conjugation here is unusual but consistent.
A native nuance worth knowing inside italian need and desire: in everyday speech, mi serve and ho bisogno di often overlap, but they are not identical twins. Mi serve la matita hints that the pencil is useful for a task at hand; ho bisogno della matita sounds slightly more personal, more about the speaker’s situation. WordReference threads on this exact pair are full of native speakers explaining that the difference is real but small, and that in 80% of contexts the two are interchangeable. The remaining 20% is the kind of intuition that builds with exposure.
Avere voglia di: the everyday craving
Now we cross to the desire side of italian need and desire vocabulary. The expression avere voglia di is the workhorse here, parallel to avere bisogno di on the need side. The noun voglia means “the desire”, “the urge”, and the structure is fixed: a form of avere + voglia di + a noun or infinitive. The closest English equivalent is “to feel like” or “to be in the mood for”.
- Tommaso ha voglia di una cena lunga con i vecchi compagni di liceo.
Tommaso feels like a long dinner with his old high school friends. - Quando avrete voglia di passare a cena, telefonateci.
Whenever you feel like coming over for dinner, give us a call. - I tuoi figli hanno voglia di andare in piscina domenica?
Do your kids feel like going to the pool on Sunday? - Quando ero all’università non avevo mai voglia di studiare il sabato sera.
When I was at university I never felt like studying on Saturday nights. - Avrei voglia di prendermi due settimane di vacanza in agosto.
I’d really love to take two weeks off in August.
Note the typical Treccani example, Avrei voglia di mangiare un primo e un secondo: the conditional avrei voglia softens the desire into “I would feel like”. This is the polite, less direct way to express a craving, and Italians use it constantly when ordering food or proposing plans. A blunt ho voglia di un caffè is fine with friends but sounds presumptuous in a more formal setting.
One more italian need and desire layer: Italian also uses voglia in fixed idiomatic expressions. Avere una voglia matta di means “to be dying for” (very strong desire). Non avere voglia di niente means “to feel like doing nothing” (low energy day). Far passare la voglia a qualcuno means “to put someone off something”. These are not rare flourishes; you will hear them in any casual conversation.
Mi va: the softer impulse
Inside italian need and desire grammar, mi va (di) is the lighter, more casual cousin of ho voglia di. Built on the verb andare in an impersonal construction (literally “it goes to me”), it expresses a momentary inclination, a softer impulse than ho voglia. The grammar is identical to mi serve: indirect pronoun + verb + noun or di + infinitive.
- Lorenzo, ti va di fare una passeggiata sul lungomare di Cagliari?
Lorenzo, do you feel like a walk along the seafront in Cagliari? - Non mi andava di vedere quel film, sembrava troppo lungo.
I wasn’t in the mood for that film, it looked too long. - Ho chiesto a Niccolò se vuole venire al cinema, ma non gli va.
I asked Niccolò if he wants to come to the movies, but he doesn’t feel like it. - Oggi mi va una bistecca alla fiorentina e un bicchiere di Chianti.
Today I’m in the mood for a bistecca alla fiorentina and a glass of Chianti. - Vi va di prenotare un tavolo per stasera o restiamo a casa?
Do you feel like booking a table for tonight, or shall we stay in?
Native speakers on WordReference describe the italian need and desire gap between ho voglia di and mi va di as a matter of intensity. Ho voglia di conveys a stronger desire, almost an appetite. Mi va di sits in the middle ground: a soft inclination, easily reversed, polite to propose and easy to decline. If a friend asks ti va una tagliata? and you say no, no one is hurt. If they ask hai voglia di una tagliata? and you decline, the suggestion was more loaded.
One more pattern worth knowing: mi sento di, also from this family, means “I feel up to”, with the nuance of overcoming an obstacle. Non mi sento di guidare stasera = “I don’t feel up to driving tonight” (something is making me hesitate: fatigue, alcohol, weather). It is less common than mi va but useful for distinguishing real reluctance from a casual “no, thanks”.
Volere, vorrei, desidero: three levels of wanting
Direct desire inside italian need and desire grammar sits on a ladder of three italian need and desire rungs: voglio (blunt), vorrei (polite), desidero (formal). All three live inside the italian need and desire system, but each rung carries its own register. The verb volere is the standard “to want”, a modal that takes either a noun (voglio un caffè) or an infinitive (voglio andare a casa). It is irregular in the present (voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono) and constantly used.
- Camilla e io vogliamo passare le ferie in Sardegna quest’anno.
Camilla and I want to spend our holiday in Sardinia this year. - I ragazzi non vogliono studiare il sabato pomeriggio, capisco anche perché.
The kids don’t want to study on Saturday afternoons, and I can see why. - Vuoi un tè caldo o preferisci una tisana?
Do you want a hot tea or do you prefer a herbal one? - Margherita ha sempre voluto imparare il giapponese, ma non ne ha mai trovato il tempo.
Margherita has always wanted to learn Japanese, but she never found the time.
The catch in this italian need and desire trio is the register. WordReference threads on voglio vs vorrei are emphatic on this point: a bare voglio sounds peremptory, almost rude, in any situation where you are asking a stranger or a server for something. Saying voglio un caffè at the counter is the linguistic equivalent of pointing and grunting. The polite form is vorrei un caffè, the conditional, which is the default in shops, bars, offices, formal emails, and any interaction with people you do not know well.
- Vorrei un’informazione sulla tessera della biblioteca comunale, grazie.
I’d like some information about the library card, thanks. - Vorremmo prenotare un tavolo per quattro, possibilmente vicino alla finestra.
We’d like to book a table for four, possibly near the window. - Scusi, vorrei provare questa giacca in una taglia più grande.
Excuse me, I’d like to try this jacket in a larger size. - Caro signor Giorgi, vorrei parlarLe domani se è possibile.
Dear Mr. Giorgi, I’d like to speak with you tomorrow if possible.
The colloquial spoken cousin in italian need and desire is volevo, the imperfect indicative used as a polite present in casual situations: volevo un caffè at the bar is not a past tense, it is a relaxed way of saying “I would like a coffee”. This usage is widespread and not at all incorrect, but it stays in the spoken register; in writing, stick with vorrei.
The third rung of italian need and desire vocabulary, desiderare, is more formal and written. You will find it in shops where a clerk asks desidera? (“how may I help you?”), in announcements, in formal letters, and in literature. In conversation it is rare; using it casually sounds stiff. The full pattern is the same as volere (verb + noun or infinitive), but the register lifts the whole sentence.
- Buongiorno signora, desidera?
Good morning madam, how may I help you? - Desideriamo informarLa che la Sua pratica è stata accettata.
We wish to inform you that your application has been accepted. - Federica desidera ringraziare tutti i colleghi della redazione.
Federica wishes to thank all her colleagues in the editorial office.
One more polite trick worth adopting within italian need and desire vocabulary: the conditional of potere in requests. Potrei avere un bicchiere d’acqua? (“Could I have a glass of water?”) is even softer than vorrei, because it asks permission rather than stating a desire. Italians shift between vorrei and potrei depending on what feels right in the moment, and both are safe choices in any polite exchange.
🎯 Mini-task: Choose between voglio, vorrei, ho voglia di, and mi va di.
- Scusi, ___ un tè caldo e un cornetto, grazie. (bar counter, polite)
- Stasera non ___ uscire, ho lavorato tutta la settimana. (no strong desire)
- Margherita ___ aprire un piccolo vivaio nel centro di Padova. (life plan, neutral)
- ___ una vacanza al mare, anche solo tre giorni. (strong craving)
- Ragazzi, ___ giocare a calcetto sabato pomeriggio? (soft proposal)
👉 See answers
1. Vorrei un tè caldo (polite conditional, default at the counter)
2. Non mi va di uscire (soft, casual decline)
3. Margherita vuole aprire un vivaio (neutral wish/plan, no audience to be polite to)
4. Ho voglia di una vacanza (strong, emotional craving)
5. Vi va di giocare (soft inclusive proposal)
Cheat sheet
One table for the whole italian need and desire system. Keep this italian need and desire cheat sheet open while you write your next email or rehearse your next conversation.
| Meaning | Italian | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal need | avere bisogno di | everyday | Ho bisogno di una pausa. |
| Impersonal need (+ noun/inf) | c’è bisogno di | everyday | Non c’è bisogno di gridare. |
| Impersonal need (+ inf) | bisogna | everyday, short | Bisogna avvisare il padrone di casa. |
| Useful to / needed | mi serve, mi servono | everyday | Mi serve un trapano. |
| Craving, feel like | avere voglia di | everyday, emotional | Ho voglia di una tagliata. |
| Soft inclination | mi va (di) | casual, soft | Ti va una passeggiata? |
| Want (neutral / blunt) | volere | neutral with friends, blunt with strangers | Voglio andare a casa. |
| Polite would-like | vorrei | polite, default at the counter | Vorrei un caffè. |
| Casual spoken polite | volevo | colloquial spoken only | Volevo un caffè, grazie. |
| Formal wish | desiderare | formal / written | Desidera, signora? |
| Polite request (permission) | potrei | polite, very soft | Potrei avere il menu? |
Dialogue: a Saturday morning errand in Lucca
The following dialogue shows italian need and desire vocabulary at work in three different settings: a vivaio, a ferramenta, and a sartoria. Margherita and Tommaso are spending Saturday morning crossing items off a list, and almost every line uses one of the expressions from this guide.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Allora, prima passiamo al vivaio. Ho bisogno di due piante per il balcone, qualcosa che resista al sole forte.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Va bene. A me serve un sacchetto di terriccio, quello vecchio in cantina si è seccato.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Perfetto. Poi avrei voglia di passare in centro, c’è quella sartoria nuova vicino a San Michele.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Per cosa?
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Vorrei accorciare i pantaloni di lino, sono troppo lunghi di tre dita. Bisogna farli sistemare prima di partire per Lecce.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Giusto. E in ferramenta? L’altro giorno dicevi che ti serviva qualcosa.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Mi serve una guarnizione per il rubinetto della cucina, perde da una settimana. Non c’è bisogno di un idraulico, la cambio io.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Brava. Senti, dopo ti va di fermarci a mangiare qualcosa? Ho fame.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Mmm, non saprei. Vorrei tornare presto a casa, ho ancora un lavoro da finire entro lunedì.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Allora prendiamo due panini al volo. Non avrei voglia di cucinare a mezzogiorno.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Va bene, ottima idea. Da Federica ne fanno di buonissimi col prosciutto di Parma.
- 👨🏽🦱 Tommaso: Perfetto. Avrei bisogno anche di passare in banca, ma può aspettare lunedì.
- 👩🏼🦰 Margherita: Sì, oggi ne abbiamo già fatte abbastanza. Andiamo.
What to notice in the dialogue
- Ho bisogno di due piante: personal need, specific subject (Margherita).
- A me serve un sacchetto: useful-to-me construction with indirect pronoun.
- Avrei voglia di passare: conditional softens the craving into a polite “I’d love to”.
- Vorrei accorciare: polite conditional, the default in a shop.
- Bisogna farli sistemare: impersonal need + infinitive, short and clean.
- Non c’è bisogno di un idraulico: impersonal need negated, no specific subject.
- Ti va di fermarci: soft proposal, easy to accept or decline.
- Non avrei voglia di cucinare: conditional + voglia = “I wouldn’t really feel like”.
- Avrei bisogno anche di passare in banca: same conditional softening, applied to need instead of desire.
Mini-challenge
🎯 Final challenge: Translate into natural Italian using the most appropriate italian need and desire expression for each context.
- I’d like a glass of red wine, please. (at the enoteca)
- We need a hand to move the wardrobe upstairs. (asking a friend)
- There’s no need to apologise, it was nothing.
- I’m not in the mood for a long film tonight. (telling your partner)
- Federica needs at least two days to finish the article. (about a colleague)
- Do you feel like a walk after dinner? (casual proposal)
- One must book the table at least a week in advance. (general rule)
👉 See answers
1. Vorrei un bicchiere di vino rosso, per favore. (polite conditional)
2. Abbiamo bisogno di una mano per portare l’armadio di sopra. (personal need)
3. Non c’è bisogno di scusarsi, non è stato niente. (impersonal need)
4. Non mi va di vedere un film lungo stasera. (soft inclination)
5. A Federica servono almeno due giorni per finire l’articolo. (mi serve construction, plural agreement)
6. Ti va di fare una passeggiata dopo cena? (casual soft proposal)
7. Bisogna prenotare il tavolo almeno una settimana prima. (impersonal short form)
Test your understanding
Take the quiz below to test what you’ve learned about italian need and desire expressions. Twenty-five questions cover the full italian need and desire toolkit: bisogno, voglia, serve, va, vorrei, desidero.
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Frequently asked questions
These italian need and desire questions come up in every B1 cohort about italian need and desire vocabulary. The grammar of bisogno and voglia is documented in the Treccani vocabolario entry on bisogno.
What is the difference between ho bisogno di and mi serve?
Both translate as ‘I need’ in English, and in 80 percent of contexts they are interchangeable. Ho bisogno di una matita and mi serve una matita can both mean ‘I need a pencil’. The nuance: ho bisogno di is more personal, focused on the speaker’s situation; mi serve is more functional, focused on the usefulness of the object for a task. Native speakers on WordReference forums describe ho bisogno di la matita as expressing a genuine need, while mi serve la matita hints that the pencil would be useful right now. In a hardware store, mi serve is slightly more common. In emotional contexts (ho bisogno di te, ho bisogno di tempo, ho bisogno di silenzio), avere bisogno wins.
When do I use bisogna and when c’è bisogno di?
Both are impersonal, but they have different shapes. Bisogna is a defective verb that exists only in the third-person singular, and it is always followed directly by an infinitive: bisogna partire, bisogna avvisare. C’è bisogno di is built on the noun bisogno, takes the preposition di, and works with both nouns and infinitives: c’è bisogno di pazienza, c’è bisogno di parlare. Bisogna is shorter and more common in everyday speech for general advice. C’è bisogno di is preferred when you mention what is needed (a thing, an action, a person). Both are equally correct; pick the one that sounds smoother.
Is it rude to say voglio in Italian?
It depends on the situation. Voglio with friends, family, or anyone you know well is perfectly fine: voglio andare al cinema, voglio un dolce (between friends, no issue). The problem comes up with strangers, servers, shopkeepers, or in formal settings. There voglio sounds peremptory, almost a command. The standard polite form is vorrei (the conditional), which translates as ‘I would like’. WordReference threads on this point are unanimous: vorrei un caffè at the bar is normal; voglio un caffè from a stranger comes across as rude. When in doubt, default to vorrei.
What is the difference between ho voglia di and mi va di?
Both express desire to do something, but with different intensities. Ho voglia di expresses a stronger desire, almost a craving: ho voglia di una tagliata means ‘I really want a tagliata right now’. Mi va di sits in the middle ground, a softer momentary inclination: mi va una tagliata means ‘I’d be up for a tagliata’. Mi va is the polite way to propose something to a friend (ti va di vedere un film?), because it makes the suggestion easy to decline. Ho voglia is more loaded; declining it feels more like rejecting an emotional state. A third option, mi sento di, means ‘I feel up to’ and implies overcoming an obstacle.
Does mi serve agree with the person or with the thing?
With the thing, always. Mi serve una matita (singular thing, singular verb). Mi servono due chiavi (plural thing, plural verb). The person (me, you, him, her, us, them) appears as an indirect pronoun and never affects the verb form. The grammar works exactly like piacere: mi piace il caffè (one thing), mi piacciono i biscotti (many things). In compound tenses, mi serve always takes essere as its auxiliary, and the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: mi è servita una pausa, mi sono serviti due giorni di riposo, gli è servita una settimana intera.
Can I use desiderare in everyday conversation?
Generally no. Desiderare is formal or written. You will hear it from a shop clerk asking desidera? (how may I help you), in formal announcements, in official letters, and in literature. In casual speech it sounds stiff or old-fashioned. For everyday desires, use volere (with friends), vorrei (in polite or unfamiliar contexts), ho voglia di (for cravings), or mi va di (for soft proposals). Reserve desiderare for formal writing or when you are quoting a clerk in a shop. A natural Italian conversation about wanting a glass of water sounds like vorrei un bicchiere d’acqua, not desidero un bicchiere d’acqua.
What auxiliary do these verbs take in the passato prossimo?
Three different auxiliaries depending on the construction. Avere bisogno di and avere voglia di take avere, like all expressions built on avere: ho avuto bisogno di te, abbiamo avuto voglia di partire. Volere takes avere when used alone or with a noun: ho voluto un dolce. With an infinitive, volere borrows the auxiliary from the infinitive (sono voluta andare a casa, ho voluto lavorare). Mi serve always takes essere, with participle agreement: mi è servita una pausa, mi sono serviti due giorni. Bisogna in the passato prossimo (è bisognato) exists but is rare; speakers prefer the imperfetto bisognava or other paraphrases.
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Individual classes
One-to-one · any level · live on Zoom
Private lessons with your dedicated native Italian teacher, fully tailored to your goals and schedule, from absolute beginner to advanced.
- 55-minute individual Zoom lessons, your dedicated teacher
- Personalised level assessment included
- Interactive online materials — homework after each lesson
- Flexible weekly schedule or pay-as-you-go package
Related guides
- Italian Modal Verbs: Dovere, Potere, Volere, Sapere: the full guide to volere and its modal cousins.
- Posso vs Riesco: Italian’s Two Ways to Say ‘I Can’: when ability becomes result.
- Italian Can, Could, Might: Potere Across Tenses: polite requests with potrei and potrebbe.
- Italian Ci: C’è, Ci Vuole, Ci Penso: the impersonal ci behind c’è bisogno di.
- Treccani: voce «voglia»: institutional reference for voglia and its idiomatic uses.
