distinguere — Italian conjugation
to distinguish
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 | distinguo | I distinguish |
| tu | distingui | you distinguish |
| lui/lei | distingue | he/she/it distinguishes |
| noi | distinguiamo | we distinguish |
| voi | distinguete | you (pl.) distinguish |
| loro | distinguono | they distinguish |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | distinsi | I distinguished |
| tu | distinguesti | you distinguished |
| lui/lei | distinse | he/she/it distinguished |
| noi | distinguemmo | we distinguished |
| voi | distingueste | you (pl.) distinguished |
| loro | distinsero | they distinguished |
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 | distinguevo |
| tu | distinguevi |
| lui/lei | distingueva |
| noi | distinguevamo |
| voi | distinguevate |
| loro | distinguevano |
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 | distinguerei | I would distinguish |
| tu | distingueresti | you would distinguish |
| lui/lei | distinguerebbe | he/she/it would distinguish |
| noi | distingueremmo | we would distinguish |
| voi | distinguereste | you (pl.) would distinguish |
| loro | distinguerebbero | they would distinguish |
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 | distinguerò | I will distinguish |
| tu | distinguerai | you will distinguish |
| lui/lei | distinguerà | he/she/it will distinguish |
| noi | distingueremo | we will distinguish |
| voi | distinguerete | you (pl.) will distinguish |
| loro | distingueranno | they will distinguish |
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 distinto | I have distinguished |
| tu | hai distinto | you have distinguished |
| lui/lei | ha distinto | he/she/it has distinguished |
| noi | abbiamo distinto | we have distinguished |
| voi | avete distinto | you (pl.) have distinguished |
| loro | hanno distinto | they have distinguished |
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 distinto | I had distinguished |
| tu | avevi distinto | you had distinguished |
| lui/lei | aveva distinto | he/she/it had distinguished |
| noi | avevamo distinto | we had distinguished |
| voi | avevate distinto | you (pl.) had distinguished |
| loro | avevano distinto | they had distinguished |
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 distinto |
| tu | avresti distinto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe distinto |
| noi | avremmo distinto |
| voi | avreste distinto |
| loro | avrebbero distinto |
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 distinto | I will have distinguished |
| tu | avrai distinto | you will have distinguished |
| lui/lei | avrà distinto | he/she/it will have distinguished |
| noi | avremo distinto | we will have distinguished |
| voi | avrete distinto | you (pl.) will have distinguished |
| loro | avranno distinto | they will have distinguished |
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 | distingua |
| tu | distingua |
| lui/lei | distingua |
| noi | distinguiamo |
| voi | distinguiate |
| loro | distinguano |
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 | distinguessi |
| tu | distinguessi |
| lui/lei | distinguesse |
| noi | distinguessimo |
| voi | distingueste |
| loro | distinguessero |
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 | distingui |
| lui/lei | distingua |
| noi | distinguiamo |
| voi | distinguete |
| loro | distinguano |
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 distinguere |
| lui/lei | non distingua |
| noi | non distinguiamo |
| voi | non distinguete |
| loro | non distinguano |