insistere — Italian conjugation
to insist
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 | insisto | I insist |
| tu | insisti | you insist |
| lui/lei | insiste | he/she/it insists |
| noi | insistiamo | we insist |
| voi | insistete | you (pl.) insist |
| loro | insistono | they insist |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | insistei | I insisted |
| tu | insistesti | you insisted |
| lui/lei | insisté | he/she/it insisted |
| noi | insistemmo | we insisted |
| voi | insisteste | you (pl.) insisted |
| loro | insisterono | they insisted |
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 | insistevo |
| tu | insistevi |
| lui/lei | insisteva |
| noi | insistevamo |
| voi | insistevate |
| loro | insistevano |
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 | insisterei | I would insist |
| tu | insisteresti | you would insist |
| lui/lei | insisterebbe | he/she/it would insist |
| noi | insisteremmo | we would insist |
| voi | insistereste | you (pl.) would insist |
| loro | insisterebbero | they would insist |
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 | insisterò | I will insist |
| tu | insisterai | you will insist |
| lui/lei | insisterà | he/she/it will insist |
| noi | insisteremo | we will insist |
| voi | insisterete | you (pl.) will insist |
| loro | insisteranno | they will insist |
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 insistito | I have insisted |
| tu | hai insistito | you have insisted |
| lui/lei | ha insistito | he/she/it has insisted |
| noi | abbiamo insistito | we have insisted |
| voi | avete insistito | you (pl.) have insisted |
| loro | hanno insistito | they have insisted |
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 insistito | I had insisted |
| tu | avevi insistito | you had insisted |
| lui/lei | aveva insistito | he/she/it had insisted |
| noi | avevamo insistito | we had insisted |
| voi | avevate insistito | you (pl.) had insisted |
| loro | avevano insistito | they had insisted |
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 insistito |
| tu | avresti insistito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe insistito |
| noi | avremmo insistito |
| voi | avreste insistito |
| loro | avrebbero insistito |
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 insistito | I will have insisted |
| tu | avrai insistito | you will have insisted |
| lui/lei | avrà insistito | he/she/it will have insisted |
| noi | avremo insistito | we will have insisted |
| voi | avrete insistito | you (pl.) will have insisted |
| loro | avranno insistito | they will have insisted |
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 | insista |
| tu | insista |
| lui/lei | insista |
| noi | insistiamo |
| voi | insistiate |
| loro | insistano |
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 | insistessi |
| tu | insistessi |
| lui/lei | insistesse |
| noi | insistessimo |
| voi | insisteste |
| loro | insistessero |
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 | insisti |
| lui/lei | insista |
| noi | insistiamo |
| voi | insistete |
| loro | insistano |
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 insistere |
| lui/lei | non insista |
| noi | non insistiamo |
| voi | non insistete |
| loro | non insistano |