conversare — Italian conjugation
to converse, to talk
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 | converso | I converse |
| tu | conversi | you converse |
| lui/lei | conversa | he/she/it converses |
| noi | conversiamo | we converse |
| voi | conversate | you (pl.) converse |
| loro | conversano | they converse |
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 | conversai | I conversed |
| tu | conversasti | you conversed |
| lui/lei | conversò | he/she/it conversed |
| noi | conversammo | we conversed |
| voi | conversaste | you (pl.) conversed |
| loro | conversarono | they conversed |
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 | conversavo |
| tu | conversavi |
| lui/lei | conversava |
| noi | conversavamo |
| voi | conversavate |
| loro | conversavano |
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 | converserei | I would converse |
| tu | converseresti | you would converse |
| lui/lei | converserebbe | he/she/it would converse |
| noi | converseremmo | we would converse |
| voi | conversereste | you (pl.) would converse |
| loro | converserebbero | they would converse |
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 | converserò | I will converse |
| tu | converserai | you will converse |
| lui/lei | converserà | he/she/it will converse |
| noi | converseremo | we will converse |
| voi | converserete | you (pl.) will converse |
| loro | converseranno | they will converse |
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 conversato | I have conversed |
| tu | hai conversato | you have conversed |
| lui/lei | ha conversato | he/she/it has conversed |
| noi | abbiamo conversato | we have conversed |
| voi | avete conversato | you (pl.) have conversed |
| loro | hanno conversato | they have conversed |
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 conversato | I had conversed |
| tu | avevi conversato | you had conversed |
| lui/lei | aveva conversato | he/she/it had conversed |
| noi | avevamo conversato | we had conversed |
| voi | avevate conversato | you (pl.) had conversed |
| loro | avevano conversato | they had conversed |
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 conversato |
| tu | avresti conversato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe conversato |
| noi | avremmo conversato |
| voi | avreste conversato |
| loro | avrebbero conversato |
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 conversato | I will have conversed |
| tu | avrai conversato | you will have conversed |
| lui/lei | avrà conversato | he/she/it will have conversed |
| noi | avremo conversato | we will have conversed |
| voi | avrete conversato | you (pl.) will have conversed |
| loro | avranno conversato | they will have conversed |
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 | conversi |
| tu | conversi |
| lui/lei | conversi |
| noi | conversiamo |
| voi | conversiate |
| loro | conversino |
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 | conversassi |
| tu | conversassi |
| lui/lei | conversasse |
| noi | conversassimo |
| voi | conversaste |
| loro | conversassero |
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 | conversa |
| lui/lei | conversi |
| noi | conversiamo |
| voi | conversate |
| loro | conversino |
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 conversare |
| lui/lei | non conversi |
| noi | non conversiamo |
| voi | non conversate |
| loro | non conversino |