controllare — Italian conjugation
to check
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 | controllo | I check |
| tu | controlli | you check |
| lui/lei | controlla | he/she/it checks |
| noi | controlliamo | we check |
| voi | controllate | you (pl.) check |
| loro | controllano | they check |
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 | controllai | I checked |
| tu | controllasti | you checked |
| lui/lei | controllò | he/she/it checked |
| noi | controllammo | we checked |
| voi | controllaste | you (pl.) checked |
| loro | controllarono | they checked |
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 | controllavo |
| tu | controllavi |
| lui/lei | controllava |
| noi | controllavamo |
| voi | controllavate |
| loro | controllavano |
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 | controllerei | I would check |
| tu | controlleresti | you would check |
| lui/lei | controllerebbe | he/she/it would check |
| noi | controlleremmo | we would check |
| voi | controllereste | you (pl.) would check |
| loro | controllerebbero | they would check |
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 | controllerò | I will check |
| tu | controllerai | you will check |
| lui/lei | controllerà | he/she/it will check |
| noi | controlleremo | we will check |
| voi | controllerete | you (pl.) will check |
| loro | controlleranno | they will check |
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 controllato | I have checked |
| tu | hai controllato | you have checked |
| lui/lei | ha controllato | he/she/it has checked |
| noi | abbiamo controllato | we have checked |
| voi | avete controllato | you (pl.) have checked |
| loro | hanno controllato | they have checked |
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 controllato | I had checked |
| tu | avevi controllato | you had checked |
| lui/lei | aveva controllato | he/she/it had checked |
| noi | avevamo controllato | we had checked |
| voi | avevate controllato | you (pl.) had checked |
| loro | avevano controllato | they had checked |
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 controllato |
| tu | avresti controllato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe controllato |
| noi | avremmo controllato |
| voi | avreste controllato |
| loro | avrebbero controllato |
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 controllato | I will have checked |
| tu | avrai controllato | you will have checked |
| lui/lei | avrà controllato | he/she/it will have checked |
| noi | avremo controllato | we will have checked |
| voi | avrete controllato | you (pl.) will have checked |
| loro | avranno controllato | they will have checked |
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 | controlli |
| tu | controlli |
| lui/lei | controlli |
| noi | controlliamo |
| voi | controlliate |
| loro | controllino |
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 | controllassi |
| tu | controllassi |
| lui/lei | controllasse |
| noi | controllassimo |
| voi | controllaste |
| loro | controllassero |
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 | controlla |
| lui/lei | controlli |
| noi | controlliamo |
| voi | controllate |
| loro | controllino |
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 controllare |
| lui/lei | non controlli |
| noi | non controlliamo |
| voi | non controllate |
| loro | non controllino |