curare — Italian conjugation
to care for
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 | curo | I care for |
| tu | curi | you care for |
| lui/lei | cura | he/she/it cares for |
| noi | curiamo | we care for |
| voi | curate | you (pl.) care for |
| loro | curano | they care for |
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 | curai | I cared for |
| tu | curasti | you cared for |
| lui/lei | curò | he/she/it cared for |
| noi | curammo | we cared for |
| voi | curaste | you (pl.) cared for |
| loro | curarono | they cared for |
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 | curavo |
| tu | curavi |
| lui/lei | curava |
| noi | curavamo |
| voi | curavate |
| loro | curavano |
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 | curerei | I would care for |
| tu | cureresti | you would care for |
| lui/lei | curerebbe | he/she/it would care for |
| noi | cureremmo | we would care for |
| voi | curereste | you (pl.) would care for |
| loro | curerebbero | they would care for |
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 | curerò | I will care for |
| tu | curerai | you will care for |
| lui/lei | curerà | he/she/it will care for |
| noi | cureremo | we will care for |
| voi | curerete | you (pl.) will care for |
| loro | cureranno | they will care for |
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 curato | I have cared for |
| tu | hai curato | you have cared for |
| lui/lei | ha curato | he/she/it has cared for |
| noi | abbiamo curato | we have cared for |
| voi | avete curato | you (pl.) have cared for |
| loro | hanno curato | they have cared for |
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 curato | I had cared for |
| tu | avevi curato | you had cared for |
| lui/lei | aveva curato | he/she/it had cared for |
| noi | avevamo curato | we had cared for |
| voi | avevate curato | you (pl.) had cared for |
| loro | avevano curato | they had cared for |
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 curato |
| tu | avresti curato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe curato |
| noi | avremmo curato |
| voi | avreste curato |
| loro | avrebbero curato |
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 curato | I will have cared for |
| tu | avrai curato | you will have cared for |
| lui/lei | avrà curato | he/she/it will have cared for |
| noi | avremo curato | we will have cared for |
| voi | avrete curato | you (pl.) will have cared for |
| loro | avranno curato | they will have cared for |
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 | curi |
| tu | curi |
| lui/lei | curi |
| noi | curiamo |
| voi | curiate |
| loro | curino |
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 | curassi |
| tu | curassi |
| lui/lei | curasse |
| noi | curassimo |
| voi | curaste |
| loro | curassero |
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 | cura |
| lui/lei | curi |
| noi | curiamo |
| voi | curate |
| loro | curino |
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 curare |
| lui/lei | non curi |
| noi | non curiamo |
| voi | non curate |
| loro | non curino |