Togliere (to remove, to take off, to take away) is the most everyday verb of the -gliere family. You use it for taking off your jacket, removing the dishes from the table, taking sugar out of your coffee, and dozens of idiomatic constructions where English would say "take," "get rid of," "deduct," or "save." It conjugates exactly like scegliere: the stem swaps -gli- /ʎ/ for -lg- /lg/ before back vowels, the passato remoto uses the contracted -ls- stem with 1-3-3 irregularity, and the participle is the irregular -lto form tolto.
Phonetically, the t- keeps things simple — no /ʃ/ to worry about as in scegliere. The contrast is purely between the soft palatal lateral of togli /ˈtoʎʎi/ and the hard cluster of tolgo /ˈtolgo/.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tolgo |
| tu | togli |
| lui / lei / Lei | toglie |
| noi | togliamo |
| voi | togliete |
| loro | tolgono |
The -lg- appears wherever the next vowel is -o or -ono; everywhere else the stem keeps its -gli-.
Tolgo io i piatti dal tavolo, tu pensa al caffè.
I'll clear the plates from the table, you take care of the coffee.
Togli quella faccia, non è successo niente di grave.
Wipe that look off your face — nothing serious happened.
Mi toglie sempre la parola di bocca.
He always takes the words right out of my mouth.
Togliamo il cellulare ai bambini durante i pasti.
We take phones away from the kids during meals.
Tolgono la corrente domenica per i lavori sulla linea.
They're cutting the power on Sunday for work on the line.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | toglievo |
| tu | toglievi |
| lui / lei / Lei | toglieva |
| noi | toglievamo |
| voi | toglievate |
| loro | toglievano |
Fully regular on the -gli- stem.
Da piccolo mi toglievo sempre le scarpe appena entravo in casa.
As a kid I always took off my shoes the moment I came inside.
In quegli anni il governo toglieva i sussidi a chi rifiutava un'offerta di lavoro.
In those years the government was taking benefits away from anyone who refused a job offer.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tolsi |
| tu | togliesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | tolse |
| noi | togliemmo |
| voi | toglieste |
| loro | tolsero |
Classic 1-3-3 irregularity: io, lui/lei, loro on the contracted -ls- stem; tu, noi, voi regular on -gli-.
Si tolse il cappello e fece un inchino.
He took off his hat and bowed.
I soldati gli tolsero le armi senza dire una parola.
The soldiers took his weapons without saying a word.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | toglierò |
| tu | toglierai |
| lui / lei / Lei | toglierà |
| noi | toglieremo |
| voi | toglierete |
| loro | toglieranno |
Toglierò il quadro dal salotto, non mi piace più.
I'll take the painting out of the living room — I don't like it anymore.
Ti toglieranno il dente del giudizio la prossima settimana.
They'll take out your wisdom tooth next week.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | toglierei |
| tu | toglieresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | toglierebbe |
| noi | toglieremmo |
| voi | togliereste |
| loro | toglierebbero |
Toglierei volentieri due chili prima dell'estate.
I'd happily lose a couple of kilos before summer.
Al posto suo toglierei subito quel post da Instagram.
In his place I'd take that post off Instagram right away.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | tolga |
| (che) tu | tolga |
| (che) lui / lei | tolga |
| (che) noi | togliamo |
| (che) voi | togliate |
| (che) loro | tolgano |
The three singular forms collapse into tolga, built on the -lg- stem.
Bisogna che tu tolga le mani dalle tasche quando parli.
You need to take your hands out of your pockets when you speak.
Voglio che tolgano subito quel cartello dal nostro muro.
I want them to take that sign off our wall immediately.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | togliessi |
| (che) tu | togliessi |
| (che) lui / lei | togliesse |
| (che) noi | togliessimo |
| (che) voi | toglieste |
| (che) loro | togliessero |
Se mi togliessi gli occhiali non vedrei più nulla.
If I took my glasses off I wouldn't see a thing.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | togli |
| Lei (formal) | tolga |
| noi | togliamo |
| voi | togliete |
| loro (formal pl.) | tolgano |
Reflexive imperatives attach the pronoun: togliti (take off — to tu), toglietevi (to voi). The negative tu form uses the infinitive: non toglierti or non ti togliere.
Togliti la giacca, fa caldo qui dentro.
Take off your jacket, it's hot in here.
Toglietevi le scarpe prima di entrare.
Take off your shoes before coming in.
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | togliere |
| Infinito passato | aver(e) tolto |
| Gerundio presente | togliendo |
| Gerundio passato | avendo tolto |
| Participio passato | tolto |
The participle tolto ends in the irregular -lto shared by the whole -gliere family.
Togliendo qualche dettaglio superfluo, il testo migliora molto.
By cutting a few unnecessary details, the text gets much better.
Compound tenses (with avere)
| Tense | io | noi |
|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | ho tolto | abbiamo tolto |
| Trapassato prossimo | avevo tolto | avevamo tolto |
| Trapassato remoto | ebbi tolto | avemmo tolto |
| Futuro anteriore | avrò tolto | avremo tolto |
| Condizionale passato | avrei tolto | avremmo tolto |
| Congiuntivo passato | abbia tolto | abbiamo tolto |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | avessi tolto | avessimo tolto |
When togliersi is used reflexively, the compound tenses take essere instead — and the participle agrees with the subject: mi sono tolto la maglia (m.) / mi sono tolta la maglia (f.).
Ho tolto i biscotti dal forno appena in tempo.
I took the cookies out of the oven just in time.
Si è tolta gli orecchini e li ha messi sul comodino.
She took off her earrings and put them on the nightstand.
Reflexive togliersi
The reflexive togliersi is the natural Italian way of saying "take off" with anything you wear or carry on your body. The article — not a possessive — accompanies the noun, because Italian assumes ownership from the reflexive pronoun.
Mi tolgo subito le lenti a contatto, mi danno fastidio.
I'm taking out my contacts right now, they're bothering me.
Si è tolto l'anello e l'ha posato sul bancone.
He took off his ring and set it on the counter.
Idiomatic uses
Togliere di mezzo — to get rid of (literally or figuratively):
Hanno tolto di mezzo il vecchio frigorifero ieri.
They got rid of the old fridge yesterday.
Togliersi un sassolino dalla scarpa — to settle a score, to get something off one's chest (literally "take a pebble out of one's shoe"):
Finalmente mi sono tolto il sassolino dalla scarpa: gli ho detto cosa pensavo.
I finally settled that score: I told him what I thought.
Non togliere gli occhi da — to not take one's eyes off:
Non riuscivo a togliere gli occhi dal quadro.
I couldn't take my eyes off the painting.
Togliersi la vita — to take one's own life (a careful, neutral register).
Common mistakes
❌ Loro toglino i piatti.
Incorrect — third-person plural needs the -lg- stem: tolgono.
✅ Loro tolgono i piatti.
Correct.
❌ Ho togliuto la spina.
Incorrect — there is no regular participle. The form is tolto.
✅ Ho tolto la spina.
Correct — irregular -lto participle.
❌ Mi tolgo la mia giacca.
Incorrect — with togliersi, Italian uses the definite article, not a possessive. The reflexive already shows ownership.
✅ Mi tolgo la giacca.
Correct.
❌ Lei tolse il suo cappotto.
Incorrect — to say 'she took off her coat' Italian uses the reflexive togliersi plus a definite article, not a possessive.
✅ Lei si tolse il cappotto.
Correct — reflexive passato remoto with the definite article; ownership comes from the pronoun si.
❌ Devi togliere te le scarpe.
Incorrect — the reflexive pronoun belongs in front of the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive, not split.
✅ Devi toglierti le scarpe.
Correct — pronoun attached to the infinitive.
Key takeaways
Togliere is one of those verbs you will use ten times a day once you get it. Three things to remember:
Conjugation is identical to scegliere: same -gli- / -lg- alternation, same -lto participle, same passato remoto in -lsi / -lse / -lsero. Drill them as a pair.
Reflexive togliersi takes the definite article, not a possessive: mi tolgo la giacca, never mi tolgo la mia giacca. This is the Italian default for body parts and clothing whenever a reflexive (or indirect-object) pronoun shows ownership.
Idioms are everywhere: togliere di mezzo, togliersi un sassolino dalla scarpa, togliere il saluto, non togliere gli occhi da. Learning them in chunks is faster than learning the bare verb and discovering the constructions one by one.
Next, compare with cogliere and sciogliere — same paradigm, different semantic fields.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Scegliere: Full ConjugationA2 — Complete paradigm of scegliere (to choose) — the prototype of the -gliere family with the -lg-/-gli- stem alternation and the irregular -lto participle.
- Cogliere: Full ConjugationA2 — Complete paradigm of cogliere (to pick, to seize, to grasp) — the -gliere verb whose prefixed compounds raccogliere, accogliere, and distogliere are even more common than the base verb.
- Sciogliere: Full ConjugationB1 — Complete paradigm of sciogliere (to dissolve, to untie, to melt) — the -gliere verb that covers everything from sugar in coffee to tense atmospheres at parties.
- Passato Prossimo: Irregular ParticiplesA2 — The participi passati that don't follow the regular -ato/-uto/-ito pattern, organized by the suffix groups that actually structure them: -sto, -tto, -so, -rto, -lto, -nto, and the handful of true one-offs.