governare — Italian conjugation
to govern, to rule, to control, to manage
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 | governo | I govern |
| tu | governi | you govern |
| lui/lei | governa | he/she/it governs |
| noi | governiamo | we govern |
| voi | governate | you (pl.) govern |
| loro | governano | they govern |
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 | governai | I governed |
| tu | governasti | you governed |
| lui/lei | governò | he/she/it governed |
| noi | governammo | we governed |
| voi | governaste | you (pl.) governed |
| loro | governarono | they governed |
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 | governavo |
| tu | governavi |
| lui/lei | governava |
| noi | governavamo |
| voi | governavate |
| loro | governavano |
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 | governerei | I would govern |
| tu | governeresti | you would govern |
| lui/lei | governerebbe | he/she/it would govern |
| noi | governeremmo | we would govern |
| voi | governereste | you (pl.) would govern |
| loro | governerebbero | they would govern |
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 | governerò | I will govern |
| tu | governerai | you will govern |
| lui/lei | governerà | he/she/it will govern |
| noi | governeremo | we will govern |
| voi | governerete | you (pl.) will govern |
| loro | governeranno | they will govern |
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 governato | I have governed |
| tu | hai governato | you have governed |
| lui/lei | ha governato | he/she/it has governed |
| noi | abbiamo governato | we have governed |
| voi | avete governato | you (pl.) have governed |
| loro | hanno governato | they have governed |
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 governato | I had governed |
| tu | avevi governato | you had governed |
| lui/lei | aveva governato | he/she/it had governed |
| noi | avevamo governato | we had governed |
| voi | avevate governato | you (pl.) had governed |
| loro | avevano governato | they had governed |
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 governato |
| tu | avresti governato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe governato |
| noi | avremmo governato |
| voi | avreste governato |
| loro | avrebbero governato |
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 governato | I will have governed |
| tu | avrai governato | you will have governed |
| lui/lei | avrà governato | he/she/it will have governed |
| noi | avremo governato | we will have governed |
| voi | avrete governato | you (pl.) will have governed |
| loro | avranno governato | they will have governed |
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 | governi |
| tu | governi |
| lui/lei | governi |
| noi | governiamo |
| voi | governiate |
| loro | governino |
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 | governassi |
| tu | governassi |
| lui/lei | governasse |
| noi | governassimo |
| voi | governaste |
| loro | governassero |
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 | governa |
| lui/lei | governi |
| noi | governiamo |
| voi | governate |
| loro | governino |
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 governare |
| lui/lei | non governi |
| noi | non governiamo |
| voi | non governate |
| loro | non governino |