dondolare — Italian conjugation
to sway
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 | dondolo | I sway |
| tu | dondoli | you sway |
| lui/lei | dondola | he/she/it sways |
| noi | dondoliamo | we sway |
| voi | dondolate | you (pl.) sway |
| loro | dondolano | they sway |
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 | dondolai | I swayed |
| tu | dondolasti | you swayed |
| lui/lei | dondolò | he/she/it swayed |
| noi | dondolammo | we swayed |
| voi | dondolaste | you (pl.) swayed |
| loro | dondolarono | they swayed |
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 | dondolavo |
| tu | dondolavi |
| lui/lei | dondolava |
| noi | dondolavamo |
| voi | dondolavate |
| loro | dondolavano |
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 | dondolerei | I would sway |
| tu | dondoleresti | you would sway |
| lui/lei | dondolerebbe | he/she/it would sway |
| noi | dondoleremmo | we would sway |
| voi | dondolereste | you (pl.) would sway |
| loro | dondolerebbero | they would sway |
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 | dondolerò | I will sway |
| tu | dondolerai | you will sway |
| lui/lei | dondolerà | he/she/it will sway |
| noi | dondoleremo | we will sway |
| voi | dondolerete | you (pl.) will sway |
| loro | dondoleranno | they will sway |
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 dondolato | I have swayed |
| tu | hai dondolato | you have swayed |
| lui/lei | ha dondolato | he/she/it has swayed |
| noi | abbiamo dondolato | we have swayed |
| voi | avete dondolato | you (pl.) have swayed |
| loro | hanno dondolato | they have swayed |
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 dondolato | I had swayed |
| tu | avevi dondolato | you had swayed |
| lui/lei | aveva dondolato | he/she/it had swayed |
| noi | avevamo dondolato | we had swayed |
| voi | avevate dondolato | you (pl.) had swayed |
| loro | avevano dondolato | they had swayed |
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 dondolato |
| tu | avresti dondolato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe dondolato |
| noi | avremmo dondolato |
| voi | avreste dondolato |
| loro | avrebbero dondolato |
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 dondolato | I will have swayed |
| tu | avrai dondolato | you will have swayed |
| lui/lei | avrà dondolato | he/she/it will have swayed |
| noi | avremo dondolato | we will have swayed |
| voi | avrete dondolato | you (pl.) will have swayed |
| loro | avranno dondolato | they will have swayed |
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 | dondoli |
| tu | dondoli |
| lui/lei | dondoli |
| noi | dondoliamo |
| voi | dondoliate |
| loro | dondolino |
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 | dondolassi |
| tu | dondolassi |
| lui/lei | dondolasse |
| noi | dondolassimo |
| voi | dondolaste |
| loro | dondolassero |
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 | dondola |
| lui/lei | dondoli |
| noi | dondoliamo |
| voi | dondolate |
| loro | dondolino |
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 dondolare |
| lui/lei | non dondoli |
| noi | non dondoliamo |
| voi | non dondolate |
| loro | non dondolino |