imitare — Italian conjugation
to imitate
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 | imito | I imitate |
| tu | imiti | you imitate |
| lui/lei | imita | he/she/it imitates |
| noi | imitiamo | we imitate |
| voi | imitate | you (pl.) imitate |
| loro | imitano | they imitate |
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 | imitai | I imitated |
| tu | imitasti | you imitated |
| lui/lei | imitò | he/she/it imitated |
| noi | imitammo | we imitated |
| voi | imitaste | you (pl.) imitated |
| loro | imitarono | they imitated |
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 | imitavo |
| tu | imitavi |
| lui/lei | imitava |
| noi | imitavamo |
| voi | imitavate |
| loro | imitavano |
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 | imiterei | I would imitate |
| tu | imiteresti | you would imitate |
| lui/lei | imiterebbe | he/she/it would imitate |
| noi | imiteremmo | we would imitate |
| voi | imitereste | you (pl.) would imitate |
| loro | imiterebbero | they would imitate |
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 | imiterò | I will imitate |
| tu | imiterai | you will imitate |
| lui/lei | imiterà | he/she/it will imitate |
| noi | imiteremo | we will imitate |
| voi | imiterete | you (pl.) will imitate |
| loro | imiteranno | they will imitate |
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 imitato | I have imitated |
| tu | hai imitato | you have imitated |
| lui/lei | ha imitato | he/she/it has imitated |
| noi | abbiamo imitato | we have imitated |
| voi | avete imitato | you (pl.) have imitated |
| loro | hanno imitato | they have imitated |
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 imitato | I had imitated |
| tu | avevi imitato | you had imitated |
| lui/lei | aveva imitato | he/she/it had imitated |
| noi | avevamo imitato | we had imitated |
| voi | avevate imitato | you (pl.) had imitated |
| loro | avevano imitato | they had imitated |
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 imitato |
| tu | avresti imitato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe imitato |
| noi | avremmo imitato |
| voi | avreste imitato |
| loro | avrebbero imitato |
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 imitato | I will have imitated |
| tu | avrai imitato | you will have imitated |
| lui/lei | avrà imitato | he/she/it will have imitated |
| noi | avremo imitato | we will have imitated |
| voi | avrete imitato | you (pl.) will have imitated |
| loro | avranno imitato | they will have imitated |
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 | imiti |
| tu | imiti |
| lui/lei | imiti |
| noi | imitiamo |
| voi | imitiate |
| loro | imitino |
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 | imitassi |
| tu | imitassi |
| lui/lei | imitasse |
| noi | imitassimo |
| voi | imitaste |
| loro | imitassero |
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 | imita |
| lui/lei | imiti |
| noi | imitiamo |
| voi | imitate |
| loro | imitino |
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 imitare |
| lui/lei | non imiti |
| noi | non imitiamo |
| voi | non imitate |
| loro | non imitino |