causare — Italian conjugation
to cause
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 | causo | I cause |
| tu | causi | you cause |
| lui/lei | causa | he/she/it causes |
| noi | causiamo | we cause |
| voi | causate | you (pl.) cause |
| loro | causano | they cause |
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 | causai | I caused |
| tu | causasti | you caused |
| lui/lei | causò | he/she/it caused |
| noi | causammo | we caused |
| voi | causaste | you (pl.) caused |
| loro | causarono | they caused |
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 | causavo |
| tu | causavi |
| lui/lei | causava |
| noi | causavamo |
| voi | causavate |
| loro | causavano |
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 | causerei | I would cause |
| tu | causeresti | you would cause |
| lui/lei | causerebbe | he/she/it would cause |
| noi | causeremmo | we would cause |
| voi | causereste | you (pl.) would cause |
| loro | causerebbero | they would cause |
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 | causerò | I will cause |
| tu | causerai | you will cause |
| lui/lei | causerà | he/she/it will cause |
| noi | causeremo | we will cause |
| voi | causerete | you (pl.) will cause |
| loro | causeranno | they will cause |
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 causato | I have caused |
| tu | hai causato | you have caused |
| lui/lei | ha causato | he/she/it has caused |
| noi | abbiamo causato | we have caused |
| voi | avete causato | you (pl.) have caused |
| loro | hanno causato | they have caused |
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 causato | I had caused |
| tu | avevi causato | you had caused |
| lui/lei | aveva causato | he/she/it had caused |
| noi | avevamo causato | we had caused |
| voi | avevate causato | you (pl.) had caused |
| loro | avevano causato | they had caused |
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 causato |
| tu | avresti causato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe causato |
| noi | avremmo causato |
| voi | avreste causato |
| loro | avrebbero causato |
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 causato | I will have caused |
| tu | avrai causato | you will have caused |
| lui/lei | avrà causato | he/she/it will have caused |
| noi | avremo causato | we will have caused |
| voi | avrete causato | you (pl.) will have caused |
| loro | avranno causato | they will have caused |
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 | causi |
| tu | causi |
| lui/lei | causi |
| noi | causiamo |
| voi | causiate |
| loro | causino |
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 | causassi |
| tu | causassi |
| lui/lei | causasse |
| noi | causassimo |
| voi | causaste |
| loro | causassero |
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 | causa |
| lui/lei | causi |
| noi | causiamo |
| voi | causate |
| loro | causino |
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 causare |
| lui/lei | non causi |
| noi | non causiamo |
| voi | non causate |
| loro | non causino |