alterare — Italian conjugation
to alter
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 | altero | I alter |
| tu | alteri | you alter |
| lui/lei | altera | he/she/it alters |
| noi | alteriamo | we alter |
| voi | alterate | you (pl.) alter |
| loro | alterano | they alter |
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 | alterai | I altered |
| tu | alterasti | you altered |
| lui/lei | alterò | he/she/it altered |
| noi | alterammo | we altered |
| voi | alteraste | you (pl.) altered |
| loro | alterarono | they altered |
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 | alteravo |
| tu | alteravi |
| lui/lei | alterava |
| noi | alteravamo |
| voi | alteravate |
| loro | alteravano |
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 | altererei | I would alter |
| tu | altereresti | you would alter |
| lui/lei | altererebbe | he/she/it would alter |
| noi | altereremmo | we would alter |
| voi | alterereste | you (pl.) would alter |
| loro | altererebbero | they would alter |
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 | altererò | I will alter |
| tu | altererai | you will alter |
| lui/lei | altererà | he/she/it will alter |
| noi | altereremo | we will alter |
| voi | altererete | you (pl.) will alter |
| loro | altereranno | they will alter |
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 alterato | I have altered |
| tu | hai alterato | you have altered |
| lui/lei | ha alterato | he/she/it has altered |
| noi | abbiamo alterato | we have altered |
| voi | avete alterato | you (pl.) have altered |
| loro | hanno alterato | they have altered |
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 alterato | I had altered |
| tu | avevi alterato | you had altered |
| lui/lei | aveva alterato | he/she/it had altered |
| noi | avevamo alterato | we had altered |
| voi | avevate alterato | you (pl.) had altered |
| loro | avevano alterato | they had altered |
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 alterato |
| tu | avresti alterato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe alterato |
| noi | avremmo alterato |
| voi | avreste alterato |
| loro | avrebbero alterato |
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 alterato | I will have altered |
| tu | avrai alterato | you will have altered |
| lui/lei | avrà alterato | he/she/it will have altered |
| noi | avremo alterato | we will have altered |
| voi | avrete alterato | you (pl.) will have altered |
| loro | avranno alterato | they will have altered |
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 | alteri |
| tu | alteri |
| lui/lei | alteri |
| noi | alteriamo |
| voi | alteriate |
| loro | alterino |
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 | alterassi |
| tu | alterassi |
| lui/lei | alterasse |
| noi | alterassimo |
| voi | alteraste |
| loro | alterassero |
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 | altera |
| lui/lei | alteri |
| noi | alteriamo |
| voi | alterate |
| loro | alterino |
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 alterare |
| lui/lei | non alteri |
| noi | non alteriamo |
| voi | non alterate |
| loro | non alterino |