abbaiare — Italian conjugation
to bark (of dogs and foxes)
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
The presente covers habits, ongoing situations, and plans about to start — much like English “I study” and “I am studying”. One present tense does both in Italian.
Lavora da casa tre giorni a settimana.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | abbaio | I bark |
| tu | abbai | you bark |
| lui/lei | abbaia | he/she/it barks |
| noi | abbaiamo | we bark |
| voi | abbaiate | you (pl.) bark |
| loro | abbaiano | they bark |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Regular
The passato remoto tells a completed, narrative past, especially in the south and in literature. The passato prossimo is the normal spoken past in the north, so you choose register and region, not a difference in time alone.
Quella sera arrivò tardi, senza alibi.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | abbaiai | I barked |
| tu | abbaiasti | you barked |
| lui/lei | abbaiò | he/she/it barked |
| noi | abbaiammo | we barked |
| voi | abbaiaste | you (pl.) barked |
| loro | abbaiarono | they barked |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Regular
The imperfetto is for incomplete past actions, context, and repeated or habitual situations without a clear end. The passato prossimo, not the remoto, is its usual “event” partner in speech.
Da bambina passavo le estati al mare.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | abbaiavo |
| tu | abbaiavi |
| lui/lei | abbaiava |
| noi | abbaiavamo |
| voi | abbaiavate |
| loro | abbaiavano |
Conditional (Condizionale) Regular
The condizionale is for polite “would you…”, first-condition hypotheticals, and reported future from a past point of view. The classic if-chain is se + imperfetto → condizionale.
Potresti alzare un poco la voce?
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | abbaierei | I would bark |
| tu | abbaieresti | you would bark |
| lui/lei | abbaierebbe | he/she/it would bark |
| noi | abbaieremmo | we would bark |
| voi | abbaiereste | you (pl.) would bark |
| loro | abbaierebbero | they would bark |
Future (Futuro semplice) Regular
The futuro semplice is for predictions and far decisions. In speech you often hear the present (with a time adverb) or a paraphrase, and a famous trick is the futuro di probabilità for a present guess: saranno le tre.
Domani partiremo all'alba.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | abbaierò | I will bark |
| tu | abbaierai | you will bark |
| lui/lei | abbaierà | he/she/it will bark |
| noi | abbaieremo | we will bark |
| voi | abbaierete | you (pl.) will bark |
| loro | abbaieranno | they will bark |
Present perfect (Passato prossimo) Regular
The passato prossimo is the workhorse preterit-like past in the north and in everyday Italian: avere/essere + participle, essere for reflexives, motion, and other change-of-state patterns.
Siamo andati a piedi, poi abbiamo preso l'autobus.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho abbaiato | I have barked |
| tu | hai abbaiato | you have barked |
| lui/lei | ha abbaiato | he/she/it has barked |
| noi | abbiamo abbaiato | we have barked |
| voi | avete abbaiato | you (pl.) have barked |
| loro | hanno abbaiato | they have barked |
Pluperfect (Trapassato prossimo) Regular
The trapassato prossimo is “further in the past than another past” — the Italian pluperfect. It pairs with a main past clause to mark sequence.
Avevamo già mangiato quando suonò il telefono.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avevo abbaiato | I had barked |
| tu | avevi abbaiato | you had barked |
| lui/lei | aveva abbaiato | he/she/it had barked |
| noi | avevamo abbaiato | we had barked |
| voi | avevate abbaiato | you (pl.) had barked |
| loro | avevano abbaiato | they had barked |
Conditional perfect (Condizionale passato) Regular
The condizionale passato is for unreal or missed past results and often appears with se + trapassato prossimo in the protasis.
Avrei accettato, se mi avessero avvisato in tempo.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | avrei abbaiato |
| tu | avresti abbaiato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe abbaiato |
| noi | avremmo abbaiato |
| voi | avreste abbaiato |
| loro | avrebbero abbaiato |
Future perfect (Futuro anteriore) Regular
The futuro anteriore says something will already be over before a still-later future, or, like the French, can express a logical guess about a past result.
Entro le cinque, avrà già lasciato l'ufficio.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avrò abbaiato | I will have barked |
| tu | avrai abbaiato | you will have barked |
| lui/lei | avrà abbaiato | he/she/it will have barked |
| noi | avremo abbaiato | we will have barked |
| voi | avrete abbaiato | you (pl.) will have barked |
| loro | avranno abbaiato | they will have barked |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
The congiuntivo presente is required after many verbs and fixed phrases of will, fear, purpose, and doubt. Impersonal and semi-impersonal triggers (è importante che) also force the subjunctive mood.
Penso che sia la scelta giusta.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | abbai |
| tu | abbai |
| lui/lei | abbai |
| noi | abbaiamo |
| voi | abbaiate |
| loro | abbaino |
Imperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo imperfetto) Regular
The congiuntivo imperfetto is the past of the congiuntivo system after a past matrix clause and in se + congi. imperf. → condizionale with unreal conditions.
Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei ogni mese.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | abbaiassi |
| tu | abbaiassi |
| lui/lei | abbaiasse |
| noi | abbaiassimo |
| voi | abbaiaste |
| loro | abbaiassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
The affirmative imperativo reuses the tu form as 3sg for -are verbs, while other conjugations use the normal tu present. It is the direct command register.
Raccontami com'è andata l'esame.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | abbaia |
| lui/lei | abbai |
| noi | abbaiamo |
| voi | abbaiate |
| loro | abbaino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
Negative commands use non + full infinitive in modern Italian, which is a distinctive rule compared to other Romance languages. Polite or indirect “please don’t” can still soften the tone in context.
Non aprire quella finestra, per favore.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | non abbaiare |
| lui/lei | non abbai |
| noi | non abbaiamo |
| voi | non abbaiate |
| loro | non abbaino |