cambiare — Italian conjugation
to change
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 | cambio | I change |
| tu | cambi | you change |
| lui/lei | cambia | he/she/it changes |
| noi | cambiamo | we change |
| voi | cambiate | you (pl.) change |
| loro | cambiano | they change |
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 | cambiai | I changed |
| tu | cambiasti | you changed |
| lui/lei | cambiò | he/she/it changed |
| noi | cambiammo | we changed |
| voi | cambiaste | you (pl.) changed |
| loro | cambiarono | they changed |
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 | cambiavo |
| tu | cambiavi |
| lui/lei | cambiava |
| noi | cambiavamo |
| voi | cambiavate |
| loro | cambiavano |
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 | cambierei | I would change |
| tu | cambieresti | you would change |
| lui/lei | cambierebbe | he/she/it would change |
| noi | cambieremmo | we would change |
| voi | cambiereste | you (pl.) would change |
| loro | cambierebbero | they would change |
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 | cambierò | I will change |
| tu | cambierai | you will change |
| lui/lei | cambierà | he/she/it will change |
| noi | cambieremo | we will change |
| voi | cambierete | you (pl.) will change |
| loro | cambieranno | they will change |
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 cambiato | I have changed |
| tu | hai cambiato | you have changed |
| lui/lei | ha cambiato | he/she/it has changed |
| noi | abbiamo cambiato | we have changed |
| voi | avete cambiato | you (pl.) have changed |
| loro | hanno cambiato | they have changed |
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 cambiato | I had changed |
| tu | avevi cambiato | you had changed |
| lui/lei | aveva cambiato | he/she/it had changed |
| noi | avevamo cambiato | we had changed |
| voi | avevate cambiato | you (pl.) had changed |
| loro | avevano cambiato | they had changed |
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 cambiato |
| tu | avresti cambiato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe cambiato |
| noi | avremmo cambiato |
| voi | avreste cambiato |
| loro | avrebbero cambiato |
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 cambiato | I will have changed |
| tu | avrai cambiato | you will have changed |
| lui/lei | avrà cambiato | he/she/it will have changed |
| noi | avremo cambiato | we will have changed |
| voi | avrete cambiato | you (pl.) will have changed |
| loro | avranno cambiato | they will have changed |
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 | cambi |
| tu | cambi |
| lui/lei | cambi |
| noi | cambiamo |
| voi | cambiate |
| loro | cambino |
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 | cambiassi |
| tu | cambiassi |
| lui/lei | cambiasse |
| noi | cambiassimo |
| voi | cambiaste |
| loro | cambiassero |
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 | cambia |
| lui/lei | cambi |
| noi | cambiamo |
| voi | cambiate |
| loro | cambino |
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 cambiare |
| lui/lei | non cambi |
| noi | non cambiamo |
| voi | non cambiate |
| loro | non cambino |