diventare — Italian conjugation
to become
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 | divento | I become |
| tu | diventi | you become |
| lui/lei | diventa | he/she/it becomes |
| noi | diventiamo | we become |
| voi | diventate | you (pl.) become |
| loro | diventano | they become |
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 | diventai | I became |
| tu | diventasti | you became |
| lui/lei | diventò | he/she/it became |
| noi | diventammo | we became |
| voi | diventaste | you (pl.) became |
| loro | diventarono | they became |
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 | diventavo |
| tu | diventavi |
| lui/lei | diventava |
| noi | diventavamo |
| voi | diventavate |
| loro | diventavano |
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 | diventerei | I would become |
| tu | diventeresti | you would become |
| lui/lei | diventerebbe | he/she/it would become |
| noi | diventeremmo | we would become |
| voi | diventereste | you (pl.) would become |
| loro | diventerebbero | they would become |
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 | diventerò | I will become |
| tu | diventerai | you will become |
| lui/lei | diventerà | he/she/it will become |
| noi | diventeremo | we will become |
| voi | diventerete | you (pl.) will become |
| loro | diventeranno | they will become |
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 diventato/a | I have become |
| tu | sei diventato/a | you have become |
| lui/lei | è diventato/a | he/she/it has become |
| noi | siamo diventati/e | we have become |
| voi | siete diventati/e | you (pl.) have become |
| loro | sono diventati/e | they have become |
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 diventato/a | I had become |
| tu | eri diventato/a | you had become |
| lui/lei | era diventato/a | he/she/it had become |
| noi | eravamo diventati/e | we had become |
| voi | eravate diventati/e | you (pl.) had become |
| loro | erano diventati/e | they had become |
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 diventato/a |
| tu | saresti diventato/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe diventato/a |
| noi | saremmo diventati/e |
| voi | sareste diventati/e |
| loro | sarebbero diventati/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 diventato/a | I will have become |
| tu | sarai diventato/a | you will have become |
| lui/lei | sarà diventato/a | he/she/it will have become |
| noi | saremo diventati/e | we will have become |
| voi | sarete diventati/e | you (pl.) will have become |
| loro | saranno diventati/e | they will have become |
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 | diventi |
| tu | diventi |
| lui/lei | diventi |
| noi | diventiamo |
| voi | diventiate |
| loro | diventino |
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 | diventassi |
| tu | diventassi |
| lui/lei | diventasse |
| noi | diventassimo |
| voi | diventaste |
| loro | diventassero |
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 | diventa |
| lui/lei | diventi |
| noi | diventiamo |
| voi | diventate |
| loro | diventino |
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 diventare |
| lui/lei | non diventi |
| noi | non diventiamo |
| voi | non diventate |
| loro | non diventino |