intendere — Italian conjugation
to intend
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 | intendo | I intend |
| tu | intendi | you intend |
| lui/lei | intende | he/she/it intends |
| noi | intendiamo | we intend |
| voi | intendete | you (pl.) intend |
| loro | intendono | they intend |
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 | intesi | I intended |
| tu | intendesti | you intended |
| lui/lei | intese | he/she/it intended |
| noi | intendemmo | we intended |
| voi | intendeste | you (pl.) intended |
| loro | intesero | they intended |
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 | intendevo |
| tu | intendevi |
| lui/lei | intendeva |
| noi | intendevamo |
| voi | intendevate |
| loro | intendevano |
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 | intenderei | I would intend |
| tu | intenderesti | you would intend |
| lui/lei | intenderebbe | he/she/it would intend |
| noi | intenderemmo | we would intend |
| voi | intendereste | you (pl.) would intend |
| loro | intenderebbero | they would intend |
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 | intenderò | I will intend |
| tu | intenderai | you will intend |
| lui/lei | intenderà | he/she/it will intend |
| noi | intenderemo | we will intend |
| voi | intenderete | you (pl.) will intend |
| loro | intenderanno | they will intend |
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 inteso | I have intended |
| tu | hai inteso | you have intended |
| lui/lei | ha inteso | he/she/it has intended |
| noi | abbiamo inteso | we have intended |
| voi | avete inteso | you (pl.) have intended |
| loro | hanno inteso | they have intended |
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 inteso | I had intended |
| tu | avevi inteso | you had intended |
| lui/lei | aveva inteso | he/she/it had intended |
| noi | avevamo inteso | we had intended |
| voi | avevate inteso | you (pl.) had intended |
| loro | avevano inteso | they had intended |
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 inteso |
| tu | avresti inteso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe inteso |
| noi | avremmo inteso |
| voi | avreste inteso |
| loro | avrebbero inteso |
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 inteso | I will have intended |
| tu | avrai inteso | you will have intended |
| lui/lei | avrà inteso | he/she/it will have intended |
| noi | avremo inteso | we will have intended |
| voi | avrete inteso | you (pl.) will have intended |
| loro | avranno inteso | they will have intended |
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 | intenda |
| tu | intenda |
| lui/lei | intenda |
| noi | intendiamo |
| voi | intendiate |
| loro | intendano |
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 | intendessi |
| tu | intendessi |
| lui/lei | intendesse |
| noi | intendessimo |
| voi | intendeste |
| loro | intendessero |
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 | intendi |
| lui/lei | intenda |
| noi | intendiamo |
| voi | intendete |
| loro | intendano |
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 intendere |
| lui/lei | non intenda |
| noi | non intendiamo |
| voi | non intendete |
| loro | non intendano |