conservare — Italian conjugation
to preserve
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 | conservo | I preserve |
| tu | conservi | you preserve |
| lui/lei | conserva | he/she/it preserves |
| noi | conserviamo | we preserve |
| voi | conservate | you (pl.) preserve |
| loro | conservano | they preserve |
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 | conservai | I preserved |
| tu | conservasti | you preserved |
| lui/lei | conservò | he/she/it preserved |
| noi | conservammo | we preserved |
| voi | conservaste | you (pl.) preserved |
| loro | conservarono | they preserved |
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 | conservavo |
| tu | conservavi |
| lui/lei | conservava |
| noi | conservavamo |
| voi | conservavate |
| loro | conservavano |
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 | conserverei | I would preserve |
| tu | conserveresti | you would preserve |
| lui/lei | conserverebbe | he/she/it would preserve |
| noi | conserveremmo | we would preserve |
| voi | conservereste | you (pl.) would preserve |
| loro | conserverebbero | they would preserve |
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 | conserverò | I will preserve |
| tu | conserverai | you will preserve |
| lui/lei | conserverà | he/she/it will preserve |
| noi | conserveremo | we will preserve |
| voi | conserverete | you (pl.) will preserve |
| loro | conserveranno | they will preserve |
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 conservato | I have preserved |
| tu | hai conservato | you have preserved |
| lui/lei | ha conservato | he/she/it has preserved |
| noi | abbiamo conservato | we have preserved |
| voi | avete conservato | you (pl.) have preserved |
| loro | hanno conservato | they have preserved |
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 conservato | I had preserved |
| tu | avevi conservato | you had preserved |
| lui/lei | aveva conservato | he/she/it had preserved |
| noi | avevamo conservato | we had preserved |
| voi | avevate conservato | you (pl.) had preserved |
| loro | avevano conservato | they had preserved |
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 conservato |
| tu | avresti conservato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe conservato |
| noi | avremmo conservato |
| voi | avreste conservato |
| loro | avrebbero conservato |
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 conservato | I will have preserved |
| tu | avrai conservato | you will have preserved |
| lui/lei | avrà conservato | he/she/it will have preserved |
| noi | avremo conservato | we will have preserved |
| voi | avrete conservato | you (pl.) will have preserved |
| loro | avranno conservato | they will have preserved |
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 | conservi |
| tu | conservi |
| lui/lei | conservi |
| noi | conserviamo |
| voi | conserviate |
| loro | conservino |
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 | conservassi |
| tu | conservassi |
| lui/lei | conservasse |
| noi | conservassimo |
| voi | conservaste |
| loro | conservassero |
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 | conserva |
| lui/lei | conservi |
| noi | conserviamo |
| voi | conservate |
| loro | conservino |
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 conservare |
| lui/lei | non conservi |
| noi | non conserviamo |
| voi | non conservate |
| loro | non conservino |