cogliere — Italian conjugation
to pick
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 | colgo | I pick |
| tu | cogli | you pick |
| lui/lei | coglie | he/she/it picks |
| noi | cogliamo | we pick |
| voi | cogliete | you (pl.) pick |
| loro | colgono | they pick |
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 | colsi | I picked |
| tu | cogliesti | you picked |
| lui/lei | colse | he/she/it picked |
| noi | cogliemmo | we picked |
| voi | coglieste | you (pl.) picked |
| loro | colsero | they picked |
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 | coglievo |
| tu | coglievi |
| lui/lei | coglieva |
| noi | coglievamo |
| voi | coglievate |
| loro | coglievano |
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 | coglierei | I would pick |
| tu | coglieresti | you would pick |
| lui/lei | coglierebbe | he/she/it would pick |
| noi | coglieremmo | we would pick |
| voi | cogliereste | you (pl.) would pick |
| loro | coglierebbero | they would pick |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | coglierò | I will pick |
| tu | coglierai | you will pick |
| lui/lei | coglierà | he/she/it will pick |
| noi | coglieremo | we will pick |
| voi | coglierete | you (pl.) will pick |
| loro | coglieranno | they will pick |
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 colto | I have picked |
| tu | hai colto | you have picked |
| lui/lei | ha colto | he/she/it has picked |
| noi | abbiamo colto | we have picked |
| voi | avete colto | you (pl.) have picked |
| loro | hanno colto | they have picked |
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 colto | I had picked |
| tu | avevi colto | you had picked |
| lui/lei | aveva colto | he/she/it had picked |
| noi | avevamo colto | we had picked |
| voi | avevate colto | you (pl.) had picked |
| loro | avevano colto | they had picked |
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 colto |
| tu | avresti colto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe colto |
| noi | avremmo colto |
| voi | avreste colto |
| loro | avrebbero colto |
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 colto | I will have picked |
| tu | avrai colto | you will have picked |
| lui/lei | avrà colto | he/she/it will have picked |
| noi | avremo colto | we will have picked |
| voi | avrete colto | you (pl.) will have picked |
| loro | avranno colto | they will have picked |
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 | colga |
| tu | colga |
| lui/lei | colga |
| noi | cogliamo |
| voi | cogliate |
| loro | colgano |
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 | cogliessi |
| tu | cogliessi |
| lui/lei | cogliesse |
| noi | cogliessimo |
| voi | coglieste |
| loro | cogliessero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | cogli |
| lui/lei | colga |
| noi | cogliamo |
| voi | cogliete |
| loro | colgano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 cogliere |
| lui/lei | non colga |
| noi | non cogliamo |
| voi | non cogliete |
| loro | non colgano |