chiedere — Italian conjugation
to ask
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 | chiedo | I ask |
| tu | chiedi | you ask |
| lui/lei | chiede | he/she/it asks |
| noi | chiediamo | we ask |
| voi | chiedete | you (pl.) ask |
| loro | chiedono | they ask |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | chiesi | I asked |
| tu | chiedesti | you asked |
| lui/lei | chiese | he/she/it asked |
| noi | chiedemmo | we asked |
| voi | chiedeste | you (pl.) asked |
| loro | chiesero | they asked |
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 | chiedevo |
| tu | chiedevi |
| lui/lei | chiedeva |
| noi | chiedevamo |
| voi | chiedevate |
| loro | chiedevano |
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 | chiederei | I would ask |
| tu | chiederesti | you would ask |
| lui/lei | chiederebbe | he/she/it would ask |
| noi | chiederemmo | we would ask |
| voi | chiedereste | you (pl.) would ask |
| loro | chiederebbero | they would ask |
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 | chiederò | I will ask |
| tu | chiederai | you will ask |
| lui/lei | chiederà | he/she/it will ask |
| noi | chiederemo | we will ask |
| voi | chiederete | you (pl.) will ask |
| loro | chiederanno | they will ask |
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 chiesto | I have asked |
| tu | hai chiesto | you have asked |
| lui/lei | ha chiesto | he/she/it has asked |
| noi | abbiamo chiesto | we have asked |
| voi | avete chiesto | you (pl.) have asked |
| loro | hanno chiesto | they have asked |
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 chiesto | I had asked |
| tu | avevi chiesto | you had asked |
| lui/lei | aveva chiesto | he/she/it had asked |
| noi | avevamo chiesto | we had asked |
| voi | avevate chiesto | you (pl.) had asked |
| loro | avevano chiesto | they had asked |
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 chiesto |
| tu | avresti chiesto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe chiesto |
| noi | avremmo chiesto |
| voi | avreste chiesto |
| loro | avrebbero chiesto |
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 chiesto | I will have asked |
| tu | avrai chiesto | you will have asked |
| lui/lei | avrà chiesto | he/she/it will have asked |
| noi | avremo chiesto | we will have asked |
| voi | avrete chiesto | you (pl.) will have asked |
| loro | avranno chiesto | they will have asked |
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 | chieda |
| tu | chieda |
| lui/lei | chieda |
| noi | chiediamo |
| voi | chiediate |
| loro | chiedano |
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 | chiedessi |
| tu | chiedessi |
| lui/lei | chiedesse |
| noi | chiedessimo |
| voi | chiedeste |
| loro | chiedessero |
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 | chiedi |
| lui/lei | chieda |
| noi | chiediamo |
| voi | chiedete |
| loro | chiedano |
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 chiedere |
| lui/lei | non chieda |
| noi | non chiediamo |
| voi | non chiedete |
| loro | non chiedano |