finire — Italian conjugation
to finish
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 | finisco | I finish |
| tu | finisci | you finish |
| lui/lei | finisce | he/she/it finishes |
| noi | finiamo | we finish |
| voi | finite | you (pl.) finish |
| loro | finiscono | they finish |
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 | finii | I finished |
| tu | finisti | you finished |
| lui/lei | finì | he/she/it finished |
| noi | finimmo | we finished |
| voi | finiste | you (pl.) finished |
| loro | finirono | they finished |
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 | finivo |
| tu | finivi |
| lui/lei | finiva |
| noi | finivamo |
| voi | finivate |
| loro | finivano |
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 | finirei | I would finish |
| tu | finiresti | you would finish |
| lui/lei | finirebbe | he/she/it would finish |
| noi | finiremmo | we would finish |
| voi | finireste | you (pl.) would finish |
| loro | finirebbero | they would finish |
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 | finirò | I will finish |
| tu | finirai | you will finish |
| lui/lei | finirà | he/she/it will finish |
| noi | finiremo | we will finish |
| voi | finirete | you (pl.) will finish |
| loro | finiranno | they will finish |
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 finito | I have finished |
| tu | hai finito | you have finished |
| lui/lei | ha finito | he/she/it has finished |
| noi | abbiamo finito | we have finished |
| voi | avete finito | you (pl.) have finished |
| loro | hanno finito | they have finished |
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 finito | I had finished |
| tu | avevi finito | you had finished |
| lui/lei | aveva finito | he/she/it had finished |
| noi | avevamo finito | we had finished |
| voi | avevate finito | you (pl.) had finished |
| loro | avevano finito | they had finished |
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 finito |
| tu | avresti finito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe finito |
| noi | avremmo finito |
| voi | avreste finito |
| loro | avrebbero finito |
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 finito | I will have finished |
| tu | avrai finito | you will have finished |
| lui/lei | avrà finito | he/she/it will have finished |
| noi | avremo finito | we will have finished |
| voi | avrete finito | you (pl.) will have finished |
| loro | avranno finito | they will have finished |
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 | finisca |
| tu | finisca |
| lui/lei | finisca |
| noi | finiamo |
| voi | finiate |
| loro | finiscano |
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 | finissi |
| tu | finissi |
| lui/lei | finisse |
| noi | finissimo |
| voi | finiste |
| loro | finissero |
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 | finisci |
| lui/lei | finisca |
| noi | finiamo |
| voi | finite |
| loro | finiscano |
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 finire |
| lui/lei | non finisca |
| noi | non finiamo |
| voi | non finite |
| loro | non finiscano |