assorbire — Italian conjugation
to absorb
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 | assorbo | I absorb |
| tu | assorbi | you absorb |
| lui/lei | assorbe | he/she/it absorbs |
| noi | assorbiamo | we absorb |
| voi | assorbite | you (pl.) absorb |
| loro | assorbono | they absorb |
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 | assorbii | I absorbed |
| tu | assorbisti | you absorbed |
| lui/lei | assorbì | he/she/it absorbed |
| noi | assorbimmo | we absorbed |
| voi | assorbiste | you (pl.) absorbed |
| loro | assorbirono | they absorbed |
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 | assorbivo |
| tu | assorbivi |
| lui/lei | assorbiva |
| noi | assorbivamo |
| voi | assorbivate |
| loro | assorbivano |
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 | assorbirei | I would absorb |
| tu | assorbiresti | you would absorb |
| lui/lei | assorbirebbe | he/she/it would absorb |
| noi | assorbiremmo | we would absorb |
| voi | assorbireste | you (pl.) would absorb |
| loro | assorbirebbero | they would absorb |
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 | assorbirò | I will absorb |
| tu | assorbirai | you will absorb |
| lui/lei | assorbirà | he/she/it will absorb |
| noi | assorbiremo | we will absorb |
| voi | assorbirete | you (pl.) will absorb |
| loro | assorbiranno | they will absorb |
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 assorbito | I have absorbed |
| tu | hai assorbito | you have absorbed |
| lui/lei | ha assorbito | he/she/it has absorbed |
| noi | abbiamo assorbito | we have absorbed |
| voi | avete assorbito | you (pl.) have absorbed |
| loro | hanno assorbito | they have absorbed |
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 assorbito | I had absorbed |
| tu | avevi assorbito | you had absorbed |
| lui/lei | aveva assorbito | he/she/it had absorbed |
| noi | avevamo assorbito | we had absorbed |
| voi | avevate assorbito | you (pl.) had absorbed |
| loro | avevano assorbito | they had absorbed |
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 assorbito |
| tu | avresti assorbito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe assorbito |
| noi | avremmo assorbito |
| voi | avreste assorbito |
| loro | avrebbero assorbito |
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 assorbito | I will have absorbed |
| tu | avrai assorbito | you will have absorbed |
| lui/lei | avrà assorbito | he/she/it will have absorbed |
| noi | avremo assorbito | we will have absorbed |
| voi | avrete assorbito | you (pl.) will have absorbed |
| loro | avranno assorbito | they will have absorbed |
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 | assorba |
| tu | assorba |
| lui/lei | assorba |
| noi | assorbiamo |
| voi | assorbiate |
| loro | assorbano |
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 | assorbissi |
| tu | assorbissi |
| lui/lei | assorbisse |
| noi | assorbissimo |
| voi | assorbiste |
| loro | assorbissero |
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 | assorbi |
| lui/lei | assorba |
| noi | assorbiamo |
| voi | assorbite |
| loro | assorbano |
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 assorbire |
| lui/lei | non assorba |
| noi | non assorbiamo |
| voi | non assorbite |
| loro | non assorbano |