indagare — Italian conjugation
to investigate
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 | indago | I investigate |
| tu | indaghi | you investigate |
| lui/lei | indaga | he/she/it investigates |
| noi | indaghiamo | we investigate |
| voi | indagate | you (pl.) investigate |
| loro | indagano | they investigate |
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 | indagai | I investigated |
| tu | indagasti | you investigated |
| lui/lei | indagò | he/she/it investigated |
| noi | indagammo | we investigated |
| voi | indagaste | you (pl.) investigated |
| loro | indagarono | they investigated |
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 | indagavo |
| tu | indagavi |
| lui/lei | indagava |
| noi | indagavamo |
| voi | indagavate |
| loro | indagavano |
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 | indagherei | I would investigate |
| tu | indagheresti | you would investigate |
| lui/lei | indagherebbe | he/she/it would investigate |
| noi | indagheremmo | we would investigate |
| voi | indaghereste | you (pl.) would investigate |
| loro | indagherebbero | they would investigate |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | indagherò | I will investigate |
| tu | indagherai | you will investigate |
| lui/lei | indagherà | he/she/it will investigate |
| noi | indagheremo | we will investigate |
| voi | indagherete | you (pl.) will investigate |
| loro | indagheranno | they will investigate |
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 indagato | I have investigated |
| tu | hai indagato | you have investigated |
| lui/lei | ha indagato | he/she/it has investigated |
| noi | abbiamo indagato | we have investigated |
| voi | avete indagato | you (pl.) have investigated |
| loro | hanno indagato | they have investigated |
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 indagato | I had investigated |
| tu | avevi indagato | you had investigated |
| lui/lei | aveva indagato | he/she/it had investigated |
| noi | avevamo indagato | we had investigated |
| voi | avevate indagato | you (pl.) had investigated |
| loro | avevano indagato | they had investigated |
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 indagato |
| tu | avresti indagato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe indagato |
| noi | avremmo indagato |
| voi | avreste indagato |
| loro | avrebbero indagato |
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 indagato | I will have investigated |
| tu | avrai indagato | you will have investigated |
| lui/lei | avrà indagato | he/she/it will have investigated |
| noi | avremo indagato | we will have investigated |
| voi | avrete indagato | you (pl.) will have investigated |
| loro | avranno indagato | they will have investigated |
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 | indaghi |
| tu | indaghi |
| lui/lei | indaghi |
| noi | indaghiamo |
| voi | indaghiate |
| loro | indaghino |
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 | indagassi |
| tu | indagassi |
| lui/lei | indagasse |
| noi | indagassimo |
| voi | indagaste |
| loro | indagassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | indaga |
| lui/lei | indaghi |
| noi | indaghiamo |
| voi | indagate |
| loro | indaghino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 indagare |
| lui/lei | non indaghi |
| noi | non indaghiamo |
| voi | non indagate |
| loro | non indaghino |