contrattare — Italian conjugation
to negotiate
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 | contratto | I negotiate |
| tu | contratti | you negotiate |
| lui/lei | contratta | he/she/it negotiates |
| noi | contrattiamo | we negotiate |
| voi | contrattate | you (pl.) negotiate |
| loro | contrattano | they negotiate |
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 | contrattai | I negotiated |
| tu | contrattasti | you negotiated |
| lui/lei | contrattò | he/she/it negotiated |
| noi | contrattammo | we negotiated |
| voi | contrattaste | you (pl.) negotiated |
| loro | contrattarono | they negotiated |
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 | contrattavo |
| tu | contrattavi |
| lui/lei | contrattava |
| noi | contrattavamo |
| voi | contrattavate |
| loro | contrattavano |
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 | contratterei | I would negotiate |
| tu | contratteresti | you would negotiate |
| lui/lei | contratterebbe | he/she/it would negotiate |
| noi | contratteremmo | we would negotiate |
| voi | contrattereste | you (pl.) would negotiate |
| loro | contratterebbero | they would negotiate |
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 | contratterò | I will negotiate |
| tu | contratterai | you will negotiate |
| lui/lei | contratterà | he/she/it will negotiate |
| noi | contratteremo | we will negotiate |
| voi | contratterete | you (pl.) will negotiate |
| loro | contratteranno | they will negotiate |
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 contrattato | I have negotiated |
| tu | hai contrattato | you have negotiated |
| lui/lei | ha contrattato | he/she/it has negotiated |
| noi | abbiamo contrattato | we have negotiated |
| voi | avete contrattato | you (pl.) have negotiated |
| loro | hanno contrattato | they have negotiated |
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 contrattato | I had negotiated |
| tu | avevi contrattato | you had negotiated |
| lui/lei | aveva contrattato | he/she/it had negotiated |
| noi | avevamo contrattato | we had negotiated |
| voi | avevate contrattato | you (pl.) had negotiated |
| loro | avevano contrattato | they had negotiated |
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 contrattato |
| tu | avresti contrattato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe contrattato |
| noi | avremmo contrattato |
| voi | avreste contrattato |
| loro | avrebbero contrattato |
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 contrattato | I will have negotiated |
| tu | avrai contrattato | you will have negotiated |
| lui/lei | avrà contrattato | he/she/it will have negotiated |
| noi | avremo contrattato | we will have negotiated |
| voi | avrete contrattato | you (pl.) will have negotiated |
| loro | avranno contrattato | they will have negotiated |
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 | contratti |
| tu | contratti |
| lui/lei | contratti |
| noi | contrattiamo |
| voi | contrattiate |
| loro | contrattino |
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 | contrattassi |
| tu | contrattassi |
| lui/lei | contrattasse |
| noi | contrattassimo |
| voi | contrattaste |
| loro | contrattassero |
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 | contratta |
| lui/lei | contratti |
| noi | contrattiamo |
| voi | contrattate |
| loro | contrattino |
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 contrattare |
| lui/lei | non contratti |
| noi | non contrattiamo |
| voi | non contrattate |
| loro | non contrattino |