competere — Italian conjugation
to compete
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 | competo | I compete |
| tu | competi | you compete |
| lui/lei | compete | he/she/it competes |
| noi | competiamo | we compete |
| voi | competete | you (pl.) compete |
| loro | competono | they compete |
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 | competei | I competed |
| tu | competesti | you competed |
| lui/lei | competé | he/she/it competed |
| noi | competemmo | we competed |
| voi | competeste | you (pl.) competed |
| loro | competerono | they competed |
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 | competevo |
| tu | competevi |
| lui/lei | competeva |
| noi | competevamo |
| voi | competevate |
| loro | competevano |
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 | competerei | I would compete |
| tu | competeresti | you would compete |
| lui/lei | competerebbe | he/she/it would compete |
| noi | competeremmo | we would compete |
| voi | competereste | you (pl.) would compete |
| loro | competerebbero | they would compete |
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 | competerò | I will compete |
| tu | competerai | you will compete |
| lui/lei | competerà | he/she/it will compete |
| noi | competeremo | we will compete |
| voi | competerete | you (pl.) will compete |
| loro | competeranno | they will compete |
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 competuto | I have competed |
| tu | hai competuto | you have competed |
| lui/lei | ha competuto | he/she/it has competed |
| noi | abbiamo competuto | we have competed |
| voi | avete competuto | you (pl.) have competed |
| loro | hanno competuto | they have competed |
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 competuto | I had competed |
| tu | avevi competuto | you had competed |
| lui/lei | aveva competuto | he/she/it had competed |
| noi | avevamo competuto | we had competed |
| voi | avevate competuto | you (pl.) had competed |
| loro | avevano competuto | they had competed |
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 competuto |
| tu | avresti competuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe competuto |
| noi | avremmo competuto |
| voi | avreste competuto |
| loro | avrebbero competuto |
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 competuto | I will have competed |
| tu | avrai competuto | you will have competed |
| lui/lei | avrà competuto | he/she/it will have competed |
| noi | avremo competuto | we will have competed |
| voi | avrete competuto | you (pl.) will have competed |
| loro | avranno competuto | they will have competed |
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 | competa |
| tu | competa |
| lui/lei | competa |
| noi | competiamo |
| voi | competiate |
| loro | competano |
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 | competessi |
| tu | competessi |
| lui/lei | competesse |
| noi | competessimo |
| voi | competeste |
| loro | competessero |
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 | competi |
| lui/lei | competa |
| noi | competiamo |
| voi | competete |
| loro | competano |
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 competere |
| lui/lei | non competa |
| noi | non competiamo |
| voi | non competete |
| loro | non competano |