formare — Italian conjugation
to form
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 | formo | I form |
| tu | formi | you form |
| lui/lei | forma | he/she/it forms |
| noi | formiamo | we form |
| voi | formate | you (pl.) form |
| loro | formano | they form |
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 | formai | I formed |
| tu | formasti | you formed |
| lui/lei | formò | he/she/it formed |
| noi | formammo | we formed |
| voi | formaste | you (pl.) formed |
| loro | formarono | they formed |
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 | formavo |
| tu | formavi |
| lui/lei | formava |
| noi | formavamo |
| voi | formavate |
| loro | formavano |
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 | formerei | I would form |
| tu | formeresti | you would form |
| lui/lei | formerebbe | he/she/it would form |
| noi | formeremmo | we would form |
| voi | formereste | you (pl.) would form |
| loro | formerebbero | they would form |
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 | formerò | I will form |
| tu | formerai | you will form |
| lui/lei | formerà | he/she/it will form |
| noi | formeremo | we will form |
| voi | formerete | you (pl.) will form |
| loro | formeranno | they will form |
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 formato | I have formed |
| tu | hai formato | you have formed |
| lui/lei | ha formato | he/she/it has formed |
| noi | abbiamo formato | we have formed |
| voi | avete formato | you (pl.) have formed |
| loro | hanno formato | they have formed |
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 formato | I had formed |
| tu | avevi formato | you had formed |
| lui/lei | aveva formato | he/she/it had formed |
| noi | avevamo formato | we had formed |
| voi | avevate formato | you (pl.) had formed |
| loro | avevano formato | they had formed |
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 formato |
| tu | avresti formato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe formato |
| noi | avremmo formato |
| voi | avreste formato |
| loro | avrebbero formato |
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 formato | I will have formed |
| tu | avrai formato | you will have formed |
| lui/lei | avrà formato | he/she/it will have formed |
| noi | avremo formato | we will have formed |
| voi | avrete formato | you (pl.) will have formed |
| loro | avranno formato | they will have formed |
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 | formi |
| tu | formi |
| lui/lei | formi |
| noi | formiamo |
| voi | formiate |
| loro | formino |
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 | formassi |
| tu | formassi |
| lui/lei | formasse |
| noi | formassimo |
| voi | formaste |
| loro | formassero |
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 | forma |
| lui/lei | formi |
| noi | formiamo |
| voi | formate |
| loro | formino |
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 formare |
| lui/lei | non formi |
| noi | non formiamo |
| voi | non formate |
| loro | non formino |