essere — Italian conjugation
to be (essence, identity)
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 | sono | I am |
| tu | sei | you are |
| lui/lei | è | he/she/it is |
| noi | siamo | we are |
| voi | siete | you (pl.) are |
| loro | sono | they are |
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 | fui | I was |
| tu | fosti | you were |
| lui/lei | fu | he/she/it was |
| noi | fummo | we were |
| voi | foste | you (pl.) were |
| loro | furono | they were |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Irregular
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 | ero |
| tu | eri |
| lui/lei | era |
| noi | eravamo |
| voi | eravate |
| loro | erano |
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 | sarei | I would be |
| tu | saresti | you would be |
| lui/lei | sarebbe | he/she/it would be |
| noi | saremmo | we would be |
| voi | sareste | you (pl.) would be |
| loro | sarebbero | they would be |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | sarò | I will be |
| tu | sarai | you will be |
| lui/lei | sarà | he/she/it will be |
| noi | saremo | we will be |
| voi | sarete | you (pl.) will be |
| loro | saranno | they will be |
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 stato/a | I have been |
| tu | sei stato/a | you have been |
| lui/lei | è stato/a | he/she/it has been |
| noi | siamo stati/e | we have been |
| voi | siete stati/e | you (pl.) have been |
| loro | sono stati/e | they have been |
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 stato/a | I had been |
| tu | eri stato/a | you had been |
| lui/lei | era stato/a | he/she/it had been |
| noi | eravamo stati/e | we had been |
| voi | eravate stati/e | you (pl.) had been |
| loro | erano stati/e | they had been |
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 stato/a |
| tu | saresti stato/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe stato/a |
| noi | saremmo stati/e |
| voi | sareste stati/e |
| loro | sarebbero stati/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 stato/a | I will have been |
| tu | sarai stato/a | you will have been |
| lui/lei | sarà stato/a | he/she/it will have been |
| noi | saremo stati/e | we will have been |
| voi | sarete stati/e | you (pl.) will have been |
| loro | saranno stati/e | they will have been |
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 | sia |
| tu | sia |
| lui/lei | sia |
| noi | siamo |
| voi | siate |
| loro | siano |
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 | fossi |
| tu | fossi |
| lui/lei | fosse |
| noi | fossimo |
| voi | foste |
| loro | fossero |
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 | sii |
| lui/lei | sia |
| noi | siamo |
| voi | siate |
| loro | siano |
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 essere |
| lui/lei | non sia |
| noi | non siamo |
| voi | non siate |
| loro | non siano |