contemplare — Italian conjugation
to contemplate
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 | contemplo | I contemplate |
| tu | contempli | you contemplate |
| lui/lei | contempla | he/she/it contemplates |
| noi | contempliamo | we contemplate |
| voi | contemplate | you (pl.) contemplate |
| loro | contemplano | they contemplate |
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 | contemplai | I contemplated |
| tu | contemplasti | you contemplated |
| lui/lei | contemplò | he/she/it contemplated |
| noi | contemplammo | we contemplated |
| voi | contemplaste | you (pl.) contemplated |
| loro | contemplarono | they contemplated |
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 | contemplavo |
| tu | contemplavi |
| lui/lei | contemplava |
| noi | contemplavamo |
| voi | contemplavate |
| loro | contemplavano |
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 | contemplerei | I would contemplate |
| tu | contempleresti | you would contemplate |
| lui/lei | contemplerebbe | he/she/it would contemplate |
| noi | contempleremmo | we would contemplate |
| voi | contemplereste | you (pl.) would contemplate |
| loro | contemplerebbero | they would contemplate |
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 | contemplerò | I will contemplate |
| tu | contemplerai | you will contemplate |
| lui/lei | contemplerà | he/she/it will contemplate |
| noi | contempleremo | we will contemplate |
| voi | contemplerete | you (pl.) will contemplate |
| loro | contempleranno | they will contemplate |
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 contemplato | I have contemplated |
| tu | hai contemplato | you have contemplated |
| lui/lei | ha contemplato | he/she/it has contemplated |
| noi | abbiamo contemplato | we have contemplated |
| voi | avete contemplato | you (pl.) have contemplated |
| loro | hanno contemplato | they have contemplated |
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 contemplato | I had contemplated |
| tu | avevi contemplato | you had contemplated |
| lui/lei | aveva contemplato | he/she/it had contemplated |
| noi | avevamo contemplato | we had contemplated |
| voi | avevate contemplato | you (pl.) had contemplated |
| loro | avevano contemplato | they had contemplated |
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 contemplato |
| tu | avresti contemplato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe contemplato |
| noi | avremmo contemplato |
| voi | avreste contemplato |
| loro | avrebbero contemplato |
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 contemplato | I will have contemplated |
| tu | avrai contemplato | you will have contemplated |
| lui/lei | avrà contemplato | he/she/it will have contemplated |
| noi | avremo contemplato | we will have contemplated |
| voi | avrete contemplato | you (pl.) will have contemplated |
| loro | avranno contemplato | they will have contemplated |
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 | contempli |
| tu | contempli |
| lui/lei | contempli |
| noi | contempliamo |
| voi | contempliate |
| loro | contemplino |
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 | contemplassi |
| tu | contemplassi |
| lui/lei | contemplasse |
| noi | contemplassimo |
| voi | contemplaste |
| loro | contemplassero |
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 | contempla |
| lui/lei | contempli |
| noi | contempliamo |
| voi | contemplate |
| loro | contemplino |
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 contemplare |
| lui/lei | non contempli |
| noi | non contempliamo |
| voi | non contemplate |
| loro | non contemplino |