contenere — Italian conjugation
to contain
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 | contengo | I contain |
| tu | contieni | you contain |
| lui/lei | contiene | he/she/it contains |
| noi | conteniamo | we contain |
| voi | contenete | you (pl.) contain |
| loro | contengono | they contain |
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 | contenni | I contained |
| tu | contenesti | you contained |
| lui/lei | contenne | he/she/it contained |
| noi | contenemmo | we contained |
| voi | conteneste | you (pl.) contained |
| loro | contennero | they contained |
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 | contenevo |
| tu | contenevi |
| lui/lei | conteneva |
| noi | contenevamo |
| voi | contenevate |
| loro | contenevano |
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 | conterrei | I would contain |
| tu | conterresti | you would contain |
| lui/lei | conterrebbe | he/she/it would contain |
| noi | conterremmo | we would contain |
| voi | conterreste | you (pl.) would contain |
| loro | conterrebbero | they would contain |
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 | conterrò | I will contain |
| tu | conterrai | you will contain |
| lui/lei | conterrà | he/she/it will contain |
| noi | conterremo | we will contain |
| voi | conterrete | you (pl.) will contain |
| loro | conterranno | they will contain |
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 contenuto | I have contained |
| tu | hai contenuto | you have contained |
| lui/lei | ha contenuto | he/she/it has contained |
| noi | abbiamo contenuto | we have contained |
| voi | avete contenuto | you (pl.) have contained |
| loro | hanno contenuto | they have contained |
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 contenuto | I had contained |
| tu | avevi contenuto | you had contained |
| lui/lei | aveva contenuto | he/she/it had contained |
| noi | avevamo contenuto | we had contained |
| voi | avevate contenuto | you (pl.) had contained |
| loro | avevano contenuto | they had contained |
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 contenuto |
| tu | avresti contenuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe contenuto |
| noi | avremmo contenuto |
| voi | avreste contenuto |
| loro | avrebbero contenuto |
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 contenuto | I will have contained |
| tu | avrai contenuto | you will have contained |
| lui/lei | avrà contenuto | he/she/it will have contained |
| noi | avremo contenuto | we will have contained |
| voi | avrete contenuto | you (pl.) will have contained |
| loro | avranno contenuto | they will have contained |
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 | contenga |
| tu | contenga |
| lui/lei | contenga |
| noi | conteniamo |
| voi | conteniate |
| loro | contengano |
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 | contenessi |
| tu | contenessi |
| lui/lei | contenesse |
| noi | contenessimo |
| voi | conteneste |
| loro | contenessero |
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 | contieni |
| lui/lei | contenga |
| noi | conteniamo |
| voi | contenete |
| loro | contengano |
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 contenere |
| lui/lei | non contenga |
| noi | non conteniamo |
| voi | non contenete |
| loro | non contengano |