fallire — Italian conjugation
to fail
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 | fallisco | I fail |
| tu | fallisci | you fail |
| lui/lei | fallisce | he/she/it fails |
| noi | falliamo | we fail |
| voi | fallite | you (pl.) fail |
| loro | falliscono | they fail |
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 | fallii | I failed |
| tu | fallisti | you failed |
| lui/lei | fallì | he/she/it failed |
| noi | fallimmo | we failed |
| voi | falliste | you (pl.) failed |
| loro | fallirono | they failed |
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 | fallivo |
| tu | fallivi |
| lui/lei | falliva |
| noi | fallivamo |
| voi | fallivate |
| loro | fallivano |
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 | fallirei | I would fail |
| tu | falliresti | you would fail |
| lui/lei | fallirebbe | he/she/it would fail |
| noi | falliremmo | we would fail |
| voi | fallireste | you (pl.) would fail |
| loro | fallirebbero | they would fail |
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 | fallirò | I will fail |
| tu | fallirai | you will fail |
| lui/lei | fallirà | he/she/it will fail |
| noi | falliremo | we will fail |
| voi | fallirete | you (pl.) will fail |
| loro | falliranno | they will fail |
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 fallito | I have failed |
| tu | hai fallito | you have failed |
| lui/lei | ha fallito | he/she/it has failed |
| noi | abbiamo fallito | we have failed |
| voi | avete fallito | you (pl.) have failed |
| loro | hanno fallito | they have failed |
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 fallito | I had failed |
| tu | avevi fallito | you had failed |
| lui/lei | aveva fallito | he/she/it had failed |
| noi | avevamo fallito | we had failed |
| voi | avevate fallito | you (pl.) had failed |
| loro | avevano fallito | they had failed |
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 fallito |
| tu | avresti fallito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe fallito |
| noi | avremmo fallito |
| voi | avreste fallito |
| loro | avrebbero fallito |
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 fallito | I will have failed |
| tu | avrai fallito | you will have failed |
| lui/lei | avrà fallito | he/she/it will have failed |
| noi | avremo fallito | we will have failed |
| voi | avrete fallito | you (pl.) will have failed |
| loro | avranno fallito | they will have failed |
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 | fallisca |
| tu | fallisca |
| lui/lei | fallisca |
| noi | falliamo |
| voi | falliate |
| loro | falliscano |
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 | fallissi |
| tu | fallissi |
| lui/lei | fallisse |
| noi | fallissimo |
| voi | falliste |
| loro | fallissero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | fallisci |
| lui/lei | fallisca |
| noi | falliamo |
| voi | fallite |
| loro | falliscano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 fallire |
| lui/lei | non fallisca |
| noi | non falliamo |
| voi | non fallite |
| loro | non falliscano |