custodire — Italian conjugation
to guard; to look after
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
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 | custodisco | I guard |
| tu | custodisci | you guard |
| lui/lei | custodisce | he/she/it guards |
| noi | custodiamo | we guard |
| voi | custodite | you (pl.) guard |
| loro | custodiscono | they guard |
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 | custodii | I guarded |
| tu | custodisti | you guarded |
| lui/lei | custodì | he/she/it guarded |
| noi | custodimmo | we guarded |
| voi | custodiste | you (pl.) guarded |
| loro | custodirono | they guarded |
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 | custodivo |
| tu | custodivi |
| lui/lei | custodiva |
| noi | custodivamo |
| voi | custodivate |
| loro | custodivano |
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 | custodirei | I would guard |
| tu | custodiresti | you would guard |
| lui/lei | custodirebbe | he/she/it would guard |
| noi | custodiremmo | we would guard |
| voi | custodireste | you (pl.) would guard |
| loro | custodirebbero | they would guard |
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 | custodirò | I will guard |
| tu | custodirai | you will guard |
| lui/lei | custodirà | he/she/it will guard |
| noi | custodiremo | we will guard |
| voi | custodirete | you (pl.) will guard |
| loro | custodiranno | they will guard |
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 custodito | I have guarded |
| tu | hai custodito | you have guarded |
| lui/lei | ha custodito | he/she/it has guarded |
| noi | abbiamo custodito | we have guarded |
| voi | avete custodito | you (pl.) have guarded |
| loro | hanno custodito | they have guarded |
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 custodito | I had guarded |
| tu | avevi custodito | you had guarded |
| lui/lei | aveva custodito | he/she/it had guarded |
| noi | avevamo custodito | we had guarded |
| voi | avevate custodito | you (pl.) had guarded |
| loro | avevano custodito | they had guarded |
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 custodito |
| tu | avresti custodito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe custodito |
| noi | avremmo custodito |
| voi | avreste custodito |
| loro | avrebbero custodito |
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 custodito | I will have guarded |
| tu | avrai custodito | you will have guarded |
| lui/lei | avrà custodito | he/she/it will have guarded |
| noi | avremo custodito | we will have guarded |
| voi | avrete custodito | you (pl.) will have guarded |
| loro | avranno custodito | they will have guarded |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
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 | custodisca |
| tu | custodisca |
| lui/lei | custodisca |
| noi | custodiamo |
| voi | custodiate |
| loro | custodiscano |
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 | custodissi |
| tu | custodissi |
| lui/lei | custodisse |
| noi | custodissimo |
| voi | custodiste |
| loro | custodissero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | custodisci |
| lui/lei | custodisca |
| noi | custodiamo |
| voi | custodite |
| loro | custodiscano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 custodire |
| lui/lei | non custodisca |
| noi | non custodiamo |
| voi | non custodite |
| loro | non custodiscano |