approvare — Italian conjugation
to approve (of)
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 | approvo | I approve |
| tu | approvi | you approve |
| lui/lei | approva | he/she/it approves |
| noi | approviamo | we approve |
| voi | approvate | you (pl.) approve |
| loro | approvano | they approve |
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 | approvai | I approved |
| tu | approvasti | you approved |
| lui/lei | approvò | he/she/it approved |
| noi | approvammo | we approved |
| voi | approvaste | you (pl.) approved |
| loro | approvarono | they approved |
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 | approvavo |
| tu | approvavi |
| lui/lei | approvava |
| noi | approvavamo |
| voi | approvavate |
| loro | approvavano |
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 | approverei | I would approve |
| tu | approveresti | you would approve |
| lui/lei | approverebbe | he/she/it would approve |
| noi | approveremmo | we would approve |
| voi | approvereste | you (pl.) would approve |
| loro | approverebbero | they would approve |
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 | approverò | I will approve |
| tu | approverai | you will approve |
| lui/lei | approverà | he/she/it will approve |
| noi | approveremo | we will approve |
| voi | approverete | you (pl.) will approve |
| loro | approveranno | they will approve |
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 approvato | I have approved |
| tu | hai approvato | you have approved |
| lui/lei | ha approvato | he/she/it has approved |
| noi | abbiamo approvato | we have approved |
| voi | avete approvato | you (pl.) have approved |
| loro | hanno approvato | they have approved |
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 approvato | I had approved |
| tu | avevi approvato | you had approved |
| lui/lei | aveva approvato | he/she/it had approved |
| noi | avevamo approvato | we had approved |
| voi | avevate approvato | you (pl.) had approved |
| loro | avevano approvato | they had approved |
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 approvato |
| tu | avresti approvato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe approvato |
| noi | avremmo approvato |
| voi | avreste approvato |
| loro | avrebbero approvato |
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 approvato | I will have approved |
| tu | avrai approvato | you will have approved |
| lui/lei | avrà approvato | he/she/it will have approved |
| noi | avremo approvato | we will have approved |
| voi | avrete approvato | you (pl.) will have approved |
| loro | avranno approvato | they will have approved |
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 | approvi |
| tu | approvi |
| lui/lei | approvi |
| noi | approviamo |
| voi | approviate |
| loro | approvino |
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 | approvassi |
| tu | approvassi |
| lui/lei | approvasse |
| noi | approvassimo |
| voi | approvaste |
| loro | approvassero |
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 | approva |
| lui/lei | approvi |
| noi | approviamo |
| voi | approvate |
| loro | approvino |
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 approvare |
| lui/lei | non approvi |
| noi | non approviamo |
| voi | non approvate |
| loro | non approvino |