frenare — Italian conjugation
to brake
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 | freno | I brake |
| tu | freni | you brake |
| lui/lei | frena | he/she/it brakes |
| noi | freniamo | we brake |
| voi | frenate | you (pl.) brake |
| loro | frenano | they brake |
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 | frenai | I braked |
| tu | frenasti | you braked |
| lui/lei | frenò | he/she/it braked |
| noi | frenammo | we braked |
| voi | frenaste | you (pl.) braked |
| loro | frenarono | they braked |
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 | frenavo |
| tu | frenavi |
| lui/lei | frenava |
| noi | frenavamo |
| voi | frenavate |
| loro | frenavano |
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 | frenerei | I would brake |
| tu | freneresti | you would brake |
| lui/lei | frenerebbe | he/she/it would brake |
| noi | freneremmo | we would brake |
| voi | frenereste | you (pl.) would brake |
| loro | frenerebbero | they would brake |
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 | frenerò | I will brake |
| tu | frenerai | you will brake |
| lui/lei | frenerà | he/she/it will brake |
| noi | freneremo | we will brake |
| voi | frenerete | you (pl.) will brake |
| loro | freneranno | they will brake |
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 frenato | I have braked |
| tu | hai frenato | you have braked |
| lui/lei | ha frenato | he/she/it has braked |
| noi | abbiamo frenato | we have braked |
| voi | avete frenato | you (pl.) have braked |
| loro | hanno frenato | they have braked |
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 frenato | I had braked |
| tu | avevi frenato | you had braked |
| lui/lei | aveva frenato | he/she/it had braked |
| noi | avevamo frenato | we had braked |
| voi | avevate frenato | you (pl.) had braked |
| loro | avevano frenato | they had braked |
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 frenato |
| tu | avresti frenato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe frenato |
| noi | avremmo frenato |
| voi | avreste frenato |
| loro | avrebbero frenato |
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 frenato | I will have braked |
| tu | avrai frenato | you will have braked |
| lui/lei | avrà frenato | he/she/it will have braked |
| noi | avremo frenato | we will have braked |
| voi | avrete frenato | you (pl.) will have braked |
| loro | avranno frenato | they will have braked |
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 | freni |
| tu | freni |
| lui/lei | freni |
| noi | freniamo |
| voi | freniate |
| loro | frenino |
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 | frenassi |
| tu | frenassi |
| lui/lei | frenasse |
| noi | frenassimo |
| voi | frenaste |
| loro | frenassero |
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 | frena |
| lui/lei | freni |
| noi | freniamo |
| voi | frenate |
| loro | frenino |
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 frenare |
| lui/lei | non freni |
| noi | non freniamo |
| voi | non frenate |
| loro | non frenino |