attendere — Italian conjugation
to wait
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 | attendo | I wait |
| tu | attendi | you wait |
| lui/lei | attende | he/she/it waits |
| noi | attendiamo | we wait |
| voi | attendete | you (pl.) wait |
| loro | attendono | they wait |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | attesi | I waited |
| tu | attendesti | you waited |
| lui/lei | attese | he/she/it waited |
| noi | attendemmo | we waited |
| voi | attendeste | you (pl.) waited |
| loro | attesero | they waited |
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 | attendevo |
| tu | attendevi |
| lui/lei | attendeva |
| noi | attendevamo |
| voi | attendevate |
| loro | attendevano |
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 | attenderei | I would wait |
| tu | attenderesti | you would wait |
| lui/lei | attenderebbe | he/she/it would wait |
| noi | attenderemmo | we would wait |
| voi | attendereste | you (pl.) would wait |
| loro | attenderebbero | they would wait |
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 | attenderò | I will wait |
| tu | attenderai | you will wait |
| lui/lei | attenderà | he/she/it will wait |
| noi | attenderemo | we will wait |
| voi | attenderete | you (pl.) will wait |
| loro | attenderanno | they will wait |
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 atteso | I have waited |
| tu | hai atteso | you have waited |
| lui/lei | ha atteso | he/she/it has waited |
| noi | abbiamo atteso | we have waited |
| voi | avete atteso | you (pl.) have waited |
| loro | hanno atteso | they have waited |
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 atteso | I had waited |
| tu | avevi atteso | you had waited |
| lui/lei | aveva atteso | he/she/it had waited |
| noi | avevamo atteso | we had waited |
| voi | avevate atteso | you (pl.) had waited |
| loro | avevano atteso | they had waited |
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 atteso |
| tu | avresti atteso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe atteso |
| noi | avremmo atteso |
| voi | avreste atteso |
| loro | avrebbero atteso |
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 atteso | I will have waited |
| tu | avrai atteso | you will have waited |
| lui/lei | avrà atteso | he/she/it will have waited |
| noi | avremo atteso | we will have waited |
| voi | avrete atteso | you (pl.) will have waited |
| loro | avranno atteso | they will have waited |
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 | attenda |
| tu | attenda |
| lui/lei | attenda |
| noi | attendiamo |
| voi | attendiate |
| loro | attendano |
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 | attendessi |
| tu | attendessi |
| lui/lei | attendesse |
| noi | attendessimo |
| voi | attendeste |
| loro | attendessero |
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 | attendi |
| lui/lei | attenda |
| noi | attendiamo |
| voi | attendete |
| loro | attendano |
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 attendere |
| lui/lei | non attenda |
| noi | non attendiamo |
| voi | non attendete |
| loro | non attendano |