consultare — Italian conjugation
to consult
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 | consulto | I consult |
| tu | consulti | you consult |
| lui/lei | consulta | he/she/it consults |
| noi | consultiamo | we consult |
| voi | consultate | you (pl.) consult |
| loro | consultano | they consult |
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 | consultai | I consulted |
| tu | consultasti | you consulted |
| lui/lei | consultò | he/she/it consulted |
| noi | consultammo | we consulted |
| voi | consultaste | you (pl.) consulted |
| loro | consultarono | they consulted |
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 | consultavo |
| tu | consultavi |
| lui/lei | consultava |
| noi | consultavamo |
| voi | consultavate |
| loro | consultavano |
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 | consulterei | I would consult |
| tu | consulteresti | you would consult |
| lui/lei | consulterebbe | he/she/it would consult |
| noi | consulteremmo | we would consult |
| voi | consultereste | you (pl.) would consult |
| loro | consulterebbero | they would consult |
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 | consulterò | I will consult |
| tu | consulterai | you will consult |
| lui/lei | consulterà | he/she/it will consult |
| noi | consulteremo | we will consult |
| voi | consulterete | you (pl.) will consult |
| loro | consulteranno | they will consult |
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 consultato | I have consulted |
| tu | hai consultato | you have consulted |
| lui/lei | ha consultato | he/she/it has consulted |
| noi | abbiamo consultato | we have consulted |
| voi | avete consultato | you (pl.) have consulted |
| loro | hanno consultato | they have consulted |
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 consultato | I had consulted |
| tu | avevi consultato | you had consulted |
| lui/lei | aveva consultato | he/she/it had consulted |
| noi | avevamo consultato | we had consulted |
| voi | avevate consultato | you (pl.) had consulted |
| loro | avevano consultato | they had consulted |
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 consultato |
| tu | avresti consultato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe consultato |
| noi | avremmo consultato |
| voi | avreste consultato |
| loro | avrebbero consultato |
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 consultato | I will have consulted |
| tu | avrai consultato | you will have consulted |
| lui/lei | avrà consultato | he/she/it will have consulted |
| noi | avremo consultato | we will have consulted |
| voi | avrete consultato | you (pl.) will have consulted |
| loro | avranno consultato | they will have consulted |
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 | consulti |
| tu | consulti |
| lui/lei | consulti |
| noi | consultiamo |
| voi | consultiate |
| loro | consultino |
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 | consultassi |
| tu | consultassi |
| lui/lei | consultasse |
| noi | consultassimo |
| voi | consultaste |
| loro | consultassero |
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 | consulta |
| lui/lei | consulti |
| noi | consultiamo |
| voi | consultate |
| loro | consultino |
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 consultare |
| lui/lei | non consulti |
| noi | non consultiamo |
| voi | non consultate |
| loro | non consultino |