cancellare — Italian conjugation
to cancel
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 | cancello | I cancel |
| tu | cancelli | you cancel |
| lui/lei | cancella | he/she/it cancels |
| noi | cancelliamo | we cancel |
| voi | cancellate | you (pl.) cancel |
| loro | cancellano | they cancel |
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 | cancellai | I cancelled |
| tu | cancellasti | you cancelled |
| lui/lei | cancellò | he/she/it cancelled |
| noi | cancellammo | we cancelled |
| voi | cancellaste | you (pl.) cancelled |
| loro | cancellarono | they cancelled |
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 | cancellavo |
| tu | cancellavi |
| lui/lei | cancellava |
| noi | cancellavamo |
| voi | cancellavate |
| loro | cancellavano |
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 | cancellerei | I would cancel |
| tu | cancelleresti | you would cancel |
| lui/lei | cancellerebbe | he/she/it would cancel |
| noi | cancelleremmo | we would cancel |
| voi | cancellereste | you (pl.) would cancel |
| loro | cancellerebbero | they would cancel |
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 | cancellerò | I will cancel |
| tu | cancellerai | you will cancel |
| lui/lei | cancellerà | he/she/it will cancel |
| noi | cancelleremo | we will cancel |
| voi | cancellerete | you (pl.) will cancel |
| loro | cancelleranno | they will cancel |
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 cancellato | I have cancelled |
| tu | hai cancellato | you have cancelled |
| lui/lei | ha cancellato | he/she/it has cancelled |
| noi | abbiamo cancellato | we have cancelled |
| voi | avete cancellato | you (pl.) have cancelled |
| loro | hanno cancellato | they have cancelled |
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 cancellato | I had cancelled |
| tu | avevi cancellato | you had cancelled |
| lui/lei | aveva cancellato | he/she/it had cancelled |
| noi | avevamo cancellato | we had cancelled |
| voi | avevate cancellato | you (pl.) had cancelled |
| loro | avevano cancellato | they had cancelled |
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 cancellato |
| tu | avresti cancellato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe cancellato |
| noi | avremmo cancellato |
| voi | avreste cancellato |
| loro | avrebbero cancellato |
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 cancellato | I will have cancelled |
| tu | avrai cancellato | you will have cancelled |
| lui/lei | avrà cancellato | he/she/it will have cancelled |
| noi | avremo cancellato | we will have cancelled |
| voi | avrete cancellato | you (pl.) will have cancelled |
| loro | avranno cancellato | they will have cancelled |
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 | cancelli |
| tu | cancelli |
| lui/lei | cancelli |
| noi | cancelliamo |
| voi | cancelliate |
| loro | cancellino |
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 | cancellassi |
| tu | cancellassi |
| lui/lei | cancellasse |
| noi | cancellassimo |
| voi | cancellaste |
| loro | cancellassero |
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 | cancella |
| lui/lei | cancelli |
| noi | cancelliamo |
| voi | cancellate |
| loro | cancellino |
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 cancellare |
| lui/lei | non cancelli |
| noi | non cancelliamo |
| voi | non cancellate |
| loro | non cancellino |