afferrare — Italian conjugation
to grasp, to seize.
Indicative
Present (Presente) Regular
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 | afferro | I grasp |
| tu | afferri | you grasp |
| lui/lei | afferra | he/she/it grasps |
| noi | afferriamo | we grasp |
| voi | afferrate | you (pl.) grasp |
| loro | afferrano | they grasp |
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 | afferrai | I grasped |
| tu | afferrasti | you grasped |
| lui/lei | afferrò | he/she/it grasped |
| noi | afferrammo | we grasped |
| voi | afferraste | you (pl.) grasped |
| loro | afferrarono | they grasped |
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 | afferravo |
| tu | afferravi |
| lui/lei | afferrava |
| noi | afferravamo |
| voi | afferravate |
| loro | afferravano |
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 | afferrerei | I would grasp |
| tu | afferreresti | you would grasp |
| lui/lei | afferrerebbe | he/she/it would grasp |
| noi | afferreremmo | we would grasp |
| voi | afferrereste | you (pl.) would grasp |
| loro | afferrerebbero | they would grasp |
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 | afferrerò | I will grasp |
| tu | afferrerai | you will grasp |
| lui/lei | afferrerà | he/she/it will grasp |
| noi | afferreremo | we will grasp |
| voi | afferrerete | you (pl.) will grasp |
| loro | afferreranno | they will grasp |
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 afferrato | I have grasped |
| tu | hai afferrato | you have grasped |
| lui/lei | ha afferrato | he/she/it has grasped |
| noi | abbiamo afferrato | we have grasped |
| voi | avete afferrato | you (pl.) have grasped |
| loro | hanno afferrato | they have grasped |
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 afferrato | I had grasped |
| tu | avevi afferrato | you had grasped |
| lui/lei | aveva afferrato | he/she/it had grasped |
| noi | avevamo afferrato | we had grasped |
| voi | avevate afferrato | you (pl.) had grasped |
| loro | avevano afferrato | they had grasped |
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 afferrato |
| tu | avresti afferrato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe afferrato |
| noi | avremmo afferrato |
| voi | avreste afferrato |
| loro | avrebbero afferrato |
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 afferrato | I will have grasped |
| tu | avrai afferrato | you will have grasped |
| lui/lei | avrà afferrato | he/she/it will have grasped |
| noi | avremo afferrato | we will have grasped |
| voi | avrete afferrato | you (pl.) will have grasped |
| loro | avranno afferrato | they will have grasped |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Regular
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 | afferri |
| tu | afferri |
| lui/lei | afferri |
| noi | afferriamo |
| voi | afferriate |
| loro | afferrino |
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 | afferrassi |
| tu | afferrassi |
| lui/lei | afferrasse |
| noi | afferrassimo |
| voi | afferraste |
| loro | afferrassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Regular
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 | afferra |
| lui/lei | afferri |
| noi | afferriamo |
| voi | afferrate |
| loro | afferrino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular
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 afferrare |
| lui/lei | non afferri |
| noi | non afferriamo |
| voi | non afferrate |
| loro | non afferrino |