bussare — Italian conjugation
to knock
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 | busso | I knock |
| tu | bussi | you knock |
| lui/lei | bussa | he/she/it knocks |
| noi | bussiamo | we knock |
| voi | bussate | you (pl.) knock |
| loro | bussano | they knock |
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 | bussai | I knocked |
| tu | bussasti | you knocked |
| lui/lei | bussò | he/she/it knocked |
| noi | bussammo | we knocked |
| voi | bussaste | you (pl.) knocked |
| loro | bussarono | they knocked |
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 | bussavo |
| tu | bussavi |
| lui/lei | bussava |
| noi | bussavamo |
| voi | bussavate |
| loro | bussavano |
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 | busserei | I would knock |
| tu | busseresti | you would knock |
| lui/lei | busserebbe | he/she/it would knock |
| noi | busseremmo | we would knock |
| voi | bussereste | you (pl.) would knock |
| loro | busserebbero | they would knock |
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 | busserò | I will knock |
| tu | busserai | you will knock |
| lui/lei | busserà | he/she/it will knock |
| noi | busseremo | we will knock |
| voi | busserete | you (pl.) will knock |
| loro | busseranno | they will knock |
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 bussato | I have knocked |
| tu | hai bussato | you have knocked |
| lui/lei | ha bussato | he/she/it has knocked |
| noi | abbiamo bussato | we have knocked |
| voi | avete bussato | you (pl.) have knocked |
| loro | hanno bussato | they have knocked |
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 bussato | I had knocked |
| tu | avevi bussato | you had knocked |
| lui/lei | aveva bussato | he/she/it had knocked |
| noi | avevamo bussato | we had knocked |
| voi | avevate bussato | you (pl.) had knocked |
| loro | avevano bussato | they had knocked |
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 bussato |
| tu | avresti bussato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe bussato |
| noi | avremmo bussato |
| voi | avreste bussato |
| loro | avrebbero bussato |
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 bussato | I will have knocked |
| tu | avrai bussato | you will have knocked |
| lui/lei | avrà bussato | he/she/it will have knocked |
| noi | avremo bussato | we will have knocked |
| voi | avrete bussato | you (pl.) will have knocked |
| loro | avranno bussato | they will have knocked |
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 | bussi |
| tu | bussi |
| lui/lei | bussi |
| noi | bussiamo |
| voi | bussiate |
| loro | bussino |
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 | bussassi |
| tu | bussassi |
| lui/lei | bussasse |
| noi | bussassimo |
| voi | bussaste |
| loro | bussassero |
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 | bussa |
| lui/lei | bussi |
| noi | bussiamo |
| voi | bussate |
| loro | bussino |
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 bussare |
| lui/lei | non bussi |
| noi | non bussiamo |
| voi | non bussate |
| loro | non bussino |