diminuire — Italian conjugation
to decrease
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 | diminuisco | I decrease |
| tu | diminuisci | you decrease |
| lui/lei | diminuisce | he/she/it decreases |
| noi | diminuiamo | we decrease |
| voi | diminuite | you (pl.) decrease |
| loro | diminuiscono | they decrease |
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 | diminuii | I decreased |
| tu | diminuisti | you decreased |
| lui/lei | diminuì | he/she/it decreased |
| noi | diminuimmo | we decreased |
| voi | diminuiste | you (pl.) decreased |
| loro | diminuirono | they decreased |
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 | diminuivo |
| tu | diminuivi |
| lui/lei | diminuiva |
| noi | diminuivamo |
| voi | diminuivate |
| loro | diminuivano |
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 | diminuirei | I would decrease |
| tu | diminuiresti | you would decrease |
| lui/lei | diminuirebbe | he/she/it would decrease |
| noi | diminuiremmo | we would decrease |
| voi | diminuireste | you (pl.) would decrease |
| loro | diminuirebbero | they would decrease |
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 | diminuirò | I will decrease |
| tu | diminuirai | you will decrease |
| lui/lei | diminuirà | he/she/it will decrease |
| noi | diminuiremo | we will decrease |
| voi | diminuirete | you (pl.) will decrease |
| loro | diminuiranno | they will decrease |
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 | sono diminuito/a | I have decreased |
| tu | sei diminuito/a | you have decreased |
| lui/lei | è diminuito/a | he/she/it has decreased |
| noi | siamo diminuiti/e | we have decreased |
| voi | siete diminuiti/e | you (pl.) have decreased |
| loro | sono diminuiti/e | they have decreased |
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 | ero diminuito/a | I had decreased |
| tu | eri diminuito/a | you had decreased |
| lui/lei | era diminuito/a | he/she/it had decreased |
| noi | eravamo diminuiti/e | we had decreased |
| voi | eravate diminuiti/e | you (pl.) had decreased |
| loro | erano diminuiti/e | they had decreased |
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 | sarei diminuito/a |
| tu | saresti diminuito/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe diminuito/a |
| noi | saremmo diminuiti/e |
| voi | sareste diminuiti/e |
| loro | sarebbero diminuiti/e |
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 | sarò diminuito/a | I will have decreased |
| tu | sarai diminuito/a | you will have decreased |
| lui/lei | sarà diminuito/a | he/she/it will have decreased |
| noi | saremo diminuiti/e | we will have decreased |
| voi | sarete diminuiti/e | you (pl.) will have decreased |
| loro | saranno diminuiti/e | they will have decreased |
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 | diminuisca |
| tu | diminuisca |
| lui/lei | diminuisca |
| noi | diminuiamo |
| voi | diminuiate |
| loro | diminuiscano |
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 | diminuissi |
| tu | diminuissi |
| lui/lei | diminuisse |
| noi | diminuissimo |
| voi | diminuiste |
| loro | diminuissero |
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 | diminuisci |
| lui/lei | diminuisca |
| noi | diminuiamo |
| voi | diminuite |
| loro | diminuiscano |
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 diminuire |
| lui/lei | non diminuisca |
| noi | non diminuiamo |
| voi | non diminuite |
| loro | non diminuiscano |