illustrare — Italian conjugation
to illustrate (a book or other publication)
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 | illustro | I illustrate |
| tu | illustri | you illustrate |
| lui/lei | illustra | he/she/it illustrates |
| noi | illustriamo | we illustrate |
| voi | illustrate | you (pl.) illustrate |
| loro | illustrano | they illustrate |
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 | illustrai | I illustrated |
| tu | illustrasti | you illustrated |
| lui/lei | illustrò | he/she/it illustrated |
| noi | illustrammo | we illustrated |
| voi | illustraste | you (pl.) illustrated |
| loro | illustrarono | they illustrated |
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 | illustravo |
| tu | illustravi |
| lui/lei | illustrava |
| noi | illustravamo |
| voi | illustravate |
| loro | illustravano |
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 | illustrerei | I would illustrate |
| tu | illustreresti | you would illustrate |
| lui/lei | illustrerebbe | he/she/it would illustrate |
| noi | illustreremmo | we would illustrate |
| voi | illustrereste | you (pl.) would illustrate |
| loro | illustrerebbero | they would illustrate |
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 | illustrerò | I will illustrate |
| tu | illustrerai | you will illustrate |
| lui/lei | illustrerà | he/she/it will illustrate |
| noi | illustreremo | we will illustrate |
| voi | illustrerete | you (pl.) will illustrate |
| loro | illustreranno | they will illustrate |
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 illustrato | I have illustrated |
| tu | hai illustrato | you have illustrated |
| lui/lei | ha illustrato | he/she/it has illustrated |
| noi | abbiamo illustrato | we have illustrated |
| voi | avete illustrato | you (pl.) have illustrated |
| loro | hanno illustrato | they have illustrated |
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 illustrato | I had illustrated |
| tu | avevi illustrato | you had illustrated |
| lui/lei | aveva illustrato | he/she/it had illustrated |
| noi | avevamo illustrato | we had illustrated |
| voi | avevate illustrato | you (pl.) had illustrated |
| loro | avevano illustrato | they had illustrated |
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 illustrato |
| tu | avresti illustrato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe illustrato |
| noi | avremmo illustrato |
| voi | avreste illustrato |
| loro | avrebbero illustrato |
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 illustrato | I will have illustrated |
| tu | avrai illustrato | you will have illustrated |
| lui/lei | avrà illustrato | he/she/it will have illustrated |
| noi | avremo illustrato | we will have illustrated |
| voi | avrete illustrato | you (pl.) will have illustrated |
| loro | avranno illustrato | they will have illustrated |
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 | illustri |
| tu | illustri |
| lui/lei | illustri |
| noi | illustriamo |
| voi | illustriate |
| loro | illustrino |
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 | illustrassi |
| tu | illustrassi |
| lui/lei | illustrasse |
| noi | illustrassimo |
| voi | illustraste |
| loro | illustrassero |
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 | illustra |
| lui/lei | illustri |
| noi | illustriamo |
| voi | illustrate |
| loro | illustrino |
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 illustrare |
| lui/lei | non illustri |
| noi | non illustriamo |
| voi | non illustrate |
| loro | non illustrino |