distruggere — Italian conjugation
to destroy
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 | distruggo | I destroy |
| tu | distruggi | you destroy |
| lui/lei | distrugge | he/she/it destroys |
| noi | distruggiamo | we destroy |
| voi | distruggete | you (pl.) destroy |
| loro | distruggono | they destroy |
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 | distrussi | I destroyed |
| tu | distruggesti | you destroyed |
| lui/lei | distrusse | he/she/it destroyed |
| noi | distruggemmo | we destroyed |
| voi | distruggeste | you (pl.) destroyed |
| loro | distrussero | they destroyed |
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 | distruggevo |
| tu | distruggevi |
| lui/lei | distruggeva |
| noi | distruggevamo |
| voi | distruggevate |
| loro | distruggevano |
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 | distruggerei | I would destroy |
| tu | distruggeresti | you would destroy |
| lui/lei | distruggerebbe | he/she/it would destroy |
| noi | distruggeremmo | we would destroy |
| voi | distruggereste | you (pl.) would destroy |
| loro | distruggerebbero | they would destroy |
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 | distruggerò | I will destroy |
| tu | distruggerai | you will destroy |
| lui/lei | distruggerà | he/she/it will destroy |
| noi | distruggeremo | we will destroy |
| voi | distruggerete | you (pl.) will destroy |
| loro | distruggeranno | they will destroy |
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 distrutto | I have destroyed |
| tu | hai distrutto | you have destroyed |
| lui/lei | ha distrutto | he/she/it has destroyed |
| noi | abbiamo distrutto | we have destroyed |
| voi | avete distrutto | you (pl.) have destroyed |
| loro | hanno distrutto | they have destroyed |
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 distrutto | I had destroyed |
| tu | avevi distrutto | you had destroyed |
| lui/lei | aveva distrutto | he/she/it had destroyed |
| noi | avevamo distrutto | we had destroyed |
| voi | avevate distrutto | you (pl.) had destroyed |
| loro | avevano distrutto | they had destroyed |
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 distrutto |
| tu | avresti distrutto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe distrutto |
| noi | avremmo distrutto |
| voi | avreste distrutto |
| loro | avrebbero distrutto |
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 distrutto | I will have destroyed |
| tu | avrai distrutto | you will have destroyed |
| lui/lei | avrà distrutto | he/she/it will have destroyed |
| noi | avremo distrutto | we will have destroyed |
| voi | avrete distrutto | you (pl.) will have destroyed |
| loro | avranno distrutto | they will have destroyed |
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 | distrugga |
| tu | distrugga |
| lui/lei | distrugga |
| noi | distruggiamo |
| voi | distruggiate |
| loro | distruggano |
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 | distruggessi |
| tu | distruggessi |
| lui/lei | distruggesse |
| noi | distruggessimo |
| voi | distruggeste |
| loro | distruggessero |
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 | distruggi |
| lui/lei | distrugga |
| noi | distruggiamo |
| voi | distruggete |
| loro | distruggano |
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 distruggere |
| lui/lei | non distrugga |
| noi | non distruggiamo |
| voi | non distruggete |
| loro | non distruggano |