calcare — Italian conjugation
to press down, to tread
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 | calco | I press down |
| tu | calchi | you press down |
| lui/lei | calca | he/she/it presses down |
| noi | calchiamo | we press down |
| voi | calcate | you (pl.) press down |
| loro | calcano | they press down |
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 | calcai | I pressed down |
| tu | calcasti | you pressed down |
| lui/lei | calcò | he/she/it pressed down |
| noi | calcammo | we pressed down |
| voi | calcaste | you (pl.) pressed down |
| loro | calcarono | they pressed down |
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 | calcavo |
| tu | calcavi |
| lui/lei | calcava |
| noi | calcavamo |
| voi | calcavate |
| loro | calcavano |
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 | calcherei | I would press down |
| tu | calcheresti | you would press down |
| lui/lei | calcherebbe | he/she/it would press down |
| noi | calcheremmo | we would press down |
| voi | calchereste | you (pl.) would press down |
| loro | calcherebbero | they would press down |
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 | calcherò | I will press down |
| tu | calcherai | you will press down |
| lui/lei | calcherà | he/she/it will press down |
| noi | calcheremo | we will press down |
| voi | calcherete | you (pl.) will press down |
| loro | calcheranno | they will press down |
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 calcato | I have pressed down |
| tu | hai calcato | you have pressed down |
| lui/lei | ha calcato | he/she/it has pressed down |
| noi | abbiamo calcato | we have pressed down |
| voi | avete calcato | you (pl.) have pressed down |
| loro | hanno calcato | they have pressed down |
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 calcato | I had pressed down |
| tu | avevi calcato | you had pressed down |
| lui/lei | aveva calcato | he/she/it had pressed down |
| noi | avevamo calcato | we had pressed down |
| voi | avevate calcato | you (pl.) had pressed down |
| loro | avevano calcato | they had pressed down |
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 calcato |
| tu | avresti calcato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe calcato |
| noi | avremmo calcato |
| voi | avreste calcato |
| loro | avrebbero calcato |
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 calcato | I will have pressed down |
| tu | avrai calcato | you will have pressed down |
| lui/lei | avrà calcato | he/she/it will have pressed down |
| noi | avremo calcato | we will have pressed down |
| voi | avrete calcato | you (pl.) will have pressed down |
| loro | avranno calcato | they will have pressed down |
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 | calchi |
| tu | calchi |
| lui/lei | calchi |
| noi | calchiamo |
| voi | calchiate |
| loro | calchino |
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 | calcassi |
| tu | calcassi |
| lui/lei | calcasse |
| noi | calcassimo |
| voi | calcaste |
| loro | calcassero |
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 | calca |
| lui/lei | calchi |
| noi | calchiamo |
| voi | calcate |
| loro | calchino |
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 calcare |
| lui/lei | non calchi |
| noi | non calchiamo |
| voi | non calcate |
| loro | non calchino |