contare — Italian conjugation
to count
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 | conto | I count |
| tu | conti | you count |
| lui/lei | conta | he/she/it counts |
| noi | contiamo | we count |
| voi | contate | you (pl.) count |
| loro | contano | they count |
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 | contai | I counted |
| tu | contasti | you counted |
| lui/lei | contò | he/she/it counted |
| noi | contammo | we counted |
| voi | contaste | you (pl.) counted |
| loro | contarono | they counted |
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 | contavo |
| tu | contavi |
| lui/lei | contava |
| noi | contavamo |
| voi | contavate |
| loro | contavano |
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 | conterei | I would count |
| tu | conteresti | you would count |
| lui/lei | conterebbe | he/she/it would count |
| noi | conteremmo | we would count |
| voi | contereste | you (pl.) would count |
| loro | conterebbero | they would count |
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 | conterò | I will count |
| tu | conterai | you will count |
| lui/lei | conterà | he/she/it will count |
| noi | conteremo | we will count |
| voi | conterete | you (pl.) will count |
| loro | conteranno | they will count |
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 contato | I have counted |
| tu | hai contato | you have counted |
| lui/lei | ha contato | he/she/it has counted |
| noi | abbiamo contato | we have counted |
| voi | avete contato | you (pl.) have counted |
| loro | hanno contato | they have counted |
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 contato | I had counted |
| tu | avevi contato | you had counted |
| lui/lei | aveva contato | he/she/it had counted |
| noi | avevamo contato | we had counted |
| voi | avevate contato | you (pl.) had counted |
| loro | avevano contato | they had counted |
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 contato |
| tu | avresti contato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe contato |
| noi | avremmo contato |
| voi | avreste contato |
| loro | avrebbero contato |
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 contato | I will have counted |
| tu | avrai contato | you will have counted |
| lui/lei | avrà contato | he/she/it will have counted |
| noi | avremo contato | we will have counted |
| voi | avrete contato | you (pl.) will have counted |
| loro | avranno contato | they will have counted |
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 | conti |
| tu | conti |
| lui/lei | conti |
| noi | contiamo |
| voi | contiate |
| loro | contino |
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 | contassi |
| tu | contassi |
| lui/lei | contasse |
| noi | contassimo |
| voi | contaste |
| loro | contassero |
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 | conta |
| lui/lei | conti |
| noi | contiamo |
| voi | contate |
| loro | contino |
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 contare |
| lui/lei | non conti |
| noi | non contiamo |
| voi | non contate |
| loro | non contino |