guadagnare — Italian conjugation
to earn
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 | guadagno | I earn |
| tu | guadagni | you earn |
| lui/lei | guadagna | he/she/it earns |
| noi | guadagniamo | we earn |
| voi | guadagnate | you (pl.) earn |
| loro | guadagnano | they earn |
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 | guadagnai | I earned |
| tu | guadagnasti | you earned |
| lui/lei | guadagnò | he/she/it earned |
| noi | guadagnammo | we earned |
| voi | guadagnaste | you (pl.) earned |
| loro | guadagnarono | they earned |
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 | guadagnavo |
| tu | guadagnavi |
| lui/lei | guadagnava |
| noi | guadagnavamo |
| voi | guadagnavate |
| loro | guadagnavano |
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 | guadagnerei | I would earn |
| tu | guadagneresti | you would earn |
| lui/lei | guadagnerebbe | he/she/it would earn |
| noi | guadagneremmo | we would earn |
| voi | guadagnereste | you (pl.) would earn |
| loro | guadagnerebbero | they would earn |
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 | guadagnerò | I will earn |
| tu | guadagnerai | you will earn |
| lui/lei | guadagnerà | he/she/it will earn |
| noi | guadagneremo | we will earn |
| voi | guadagnerete | you (pl.) will earn |
| loro | guadagneranno | they will earn |
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 guadagnato | I have earned |
| tu | hai guadagnato | you have earned |
| lui/lei | ha guadagnato | he/she/it has earned |
| noi | abbiamo guadagnato | we have earned |
| voi | avete guadagnato | you (pl.) have earned |
| loro | hanno guadagnato | they have earned |
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 guadagnato | I had earned |
| tu | avevi guadagnato | you had earned |
| lui/lei | aveva guadagnato | he/she/it had earned |
| noi | avevamo guadagnato | we had earned |
| voi | avevate guadagnato | you (pl.) had earned |
| loro | avevano guadagnato | they had earned |
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 guadagnato |
| tu | avresti guadagnato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe guadagnato |
| noi | avremmo guadagnato |
| voi | avreste guadagnato |
| loro | avrebbero guadagnato |
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 guadagnato | I will have earned |
| tu | avrai guadagnato | you will have earned |
| lui/lei | avrà guadagnato | he/she/it will have earned |
| noi | avremo guadagnato | we will have earned |
| voi | avrete guadagnato | you (pl.) will have earned |
| loro | avranno guadagnato | they will have earned |
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 | guadagni |
| tu | guadagni |
| lui/lei | guadagni |
| noi | guadagniamo |
| voi | guadagniate |
| loro | guadagnino |
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 | guadagnassi |
| tu | guadagnassi |
| lui/lei | guadagnasse |
| noi | guadagnassimo |
| voi | guadagnaste |
| loro | guadagnassero |
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 | guadagna |
| lui/lei | guadagni |
| noi | guadagniamo |
| voi | guadagnate |
| loro | guadagnino |
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 guadagnare |
| lui/lei | non guadagni |
| noi | non guadagniamo |
| voi | non guadagnate |
| loro | non guadagnino |