indovinare — Italian conjugation
to guess
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 | indovino | I guess |
| tu | indovini | you guess |
| lui/lei | indovina | he/she/it guesses |
| noi | indoviniamo | we guess |
| voi | indovinate | you (pl.) guess |
| loro | indovinano | they guess |
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 | indovinai | I guessed |
| tu | indovinasti | you guessed |
| lui/lei | indovinò | he/she/it guessed |
| noi | indovinammo | we guessed |
| voi | indovinaste | you (pl.) guessed |
| loro | indovinarono | they guessed |
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 | indovinavo |
| tu | indovinavi |
| lui/lei | indovinava |
| noi | indovinavamo |
| voi | indovinavate |
| loro | indovinavano |
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 | indovinerei | I would guess |
| tu | indovineresti | you would guess |
| lui/lei | indovinerebbe | he/she/it would guess |
| noi | indovineremmo | we would guess |
| voi | indovinereste | you (pl.) would guess |
| loro | indovinerebbero | they would guess |
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 | indovinerò | I will guess |
| tu | indovinerai | you will guess |
| lui/lei | indovinerà | he/she/it will guess |
| noi | indovineremo | we will guess |
| voi | indovinerete | you (pl.) will guess |
| loro | indovineranno | they will guess |
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 indovinato | I have guessed |
| tu | hai indovinato | you have guessed |
| lui/lei | ha indovinato | he/she/it has guessed |
| noi | abbiamo indovinato | we have guessed |
| voi | avete indovinato | you (pl.) have guessed |
| loro | hanno indovinato | they have guessed |
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 indovinato | I had guessed |
| tu | avevi indovinato | you had guessed |
| lui/lei | aveva indovinato | he/she/it had guessed |
| noi | avevamo indovinato | we had guessed |
| voi | avevate indovinato | you (pl.) had guessed |
| loro | avevano indovinato | they had guessed |
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 indovinato |
| tu | avresti indovinato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe indovinato |
| noi | avremmo indovinato |
| voi | avreste indovinato |
| loro | avrebbero indovinato |
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 indovinato | I will have guessed |
| tu | avrai indovinato | you will have guessed |
| lui/lei | avrà indovinato | he/she/it will have guessed |
| noi | avremo indovinato | we will have guessed |
| voi | avrete indovinato | you (pl.) will have guessed |
| loro | avranno indovinato | they will have guessed |
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 | indovini |
| tu | indovini |
| lui/lei | indovini |
| noi | indoviniamo |
| voi | indoviniate |
| loro | indovinino |
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 | indovinassi |
| tu | indovinassi |
| lui/lei | indovinasse |
| noi | indovinassimo |
| voi | indovinaste |
| loro | indovinassero |
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 | indovina |
| lui/lei | indovini |
| noi | indoviniamo |
| voi | indovinate |
| loro | indovinino |
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 indovinare |
| lui/lei | non indovini |
| noi | non indoviniamo |
| voi | non indovinate |
| loro | non indovinino |