delineare — Italian conjugation
to outline
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 | delineo | I outline |
| tu | delinei | you outline |
| lui/lei | delinea | he/she/it outlines |
| noi | delineiamo | we outline |
| voi | delineate | you (pl.) outline |
| loro | delineano | they outline |
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 | delineai | I outlined |
| tu | delineasti | you outlined |
| lui/lei | delineò | he/she/it outlined |
| noi | delineammo | we outlined |
| voi | delineaste | you (pl.) outlined |
| loro | delinearono | they outlined |
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 | delineavo |
| tu | delineavi |
| lui/lei | delineava |
| noi | delineavamo |
| voi | delineavate |
| loro | delineavano |
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 | delineerei | I would outline |
| tu | delineeresti | you would outline |
| lui/lei | delineerebbe | he/she/it would outline |
| noi | delineeremmo | we would outline |
| voi | delineereste | you (pl.) would outline |
| loro | delineerebbero | they would outline |
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 | delineerò | I will outline |
| tu | delineerai | you will outline |
| lui/lei | delineerà | he/she/it will outline |
| noi | delineeremo | we will outline |
| voi | delineerete | you (pl.) will outline |
| loro | delineeranno | they will outline |
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 delineato | I have outlined |
| tu | hai delineato | you have outlined |
| lui/lei | ha delineato | he/she/it has outlined |
| noi | abbiamo delineato | we have outlined |
| voi | avete delineato | you (pl.) have outlined |
| loro | hanno delineato | they have outlined |
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 delineato | I had outlined |
| tu | avevi delineato | you had outlined |
| lui/lei | aveva delineato | he/she/it had outlined |
| noi | avevamo delineato | we had outlined |
| voi | avevate delineato | you (pl.) had outlined |
| loro | avevano delineato | they had outlined |
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 delineato |
| tu | avresti delineato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe delineato |
| noi | avremmo delineato |
| voi | avreste delineato |
| loro | avrebbero delineato |
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 delineato | I will have outlined |
| tu | avrai delineato | you will have outlined |
| lui/lei | avrà delineato | he/she/it will have outlined |
| noi | avremo delineato | we will have outlined |
| voi | avrete delineato | you (pl.) will have outlined |
| loro | avranno delineato | they will have outlined |
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 | delinei |
| tu | delinei |
| lui/lei | delinei |
| noi | delineiamo |
| voi | delineiate |
| loro | delineino |
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 | delineassi |
| tu | delineassi |
| lui/lei | delineasse |
| noi | delineassimo |
| voi | delineaste |
| loro | delineassero |
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 | delinea |
| lui/lei | delinei |
| noi | delineiamo |
| voi | delineate |
| loro | delineino |
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 delineare |
| lui/lei | non delinei |
| noi | non delineiamo |
| voi | non delineate |
| loro | non delineino |