lavare — Italian conjugation
to wash
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 | lavo | I wash |
| tu | lavi | you wash |
| lui/lei | lava | he/she/it washes |
| noi | laviamo | we wash |
| voi | lavate | you (pl.) wash |
| loro | lavano | they wash |
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 | lavai | I washed |
| tu | lavasti | you washed |
| lui/lei | lavò | he/she/it washed |
| noi | lavammo | we washed |
| voi | lavaste | you (pl.) washed |
| loro | lavarono | they washed |
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 | lavavo |
| tu | lavavi |
| lui/lei | lavava |
| noi | lavavamo |
| voi | lavavate |
| loro | lavavano |
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 | laverei | I would wash |
| tu | laveresti | you would wash |
| lui/lei | laverebbe | he/she/it would wash |
| noi | laveremmo | we would wash |
| voi | lavereste | you (pl.) would wash |
| loro | laverebbero | they would wash |
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 | laverò | I will wash |
| tu | laverai | you will wash |
| lui/lei | laverà | he/she/it will wash |
| noi | laveremo | we will wash |
| voi | laverete | you (pl.) will wash |
| loro | laveranno | they will wash |
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 lavato | I have washed |
| tu | hai lavato | you have washed |
| lui/lei | ha lavato | he/she/it has washed |
| noi | abbiamo lavato | we have washed |
| voi | avete lavato | you (pl.) have washed |
| loro | hanno lavato | they have washed |
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 lavato | I had washed |
| tu | avevi lavato | you had washed |
| lui/lei | aveva lavato | he/she/it had washed |
| noi | avevamo lavato | we had washed |
| voi | avevate lavato | you (pl.) had washed |
| loro | avevano lavato | they had washed |
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 lavato |
| tu | avresti lavato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe lavato |
| noi | avremmo lavato |
| voi | avreste lavato |
| loro | avrebbero lavato |
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 lavato | I will have washed |
| tu | avrai lavato | you will have washed |
| lui/lei | avrà lavato | he/she/it will have washed |
| noi | avremo lavato | we will have washed |
| voi | avrete lavato | you (pl.) will have washed |
| loro | avranno lavato | they will have washed |
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 | lavi |
| tu | lavi |
| lui/lei | lavi |
| noi | laviamo |
| voi | laviate |
| loro | lavino |
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 | lavassi |
| tu | lavassi |
| lui/lei | lavasse |
| noi | lavassimo |
| voi | lavaste |
| loro | lavassero |
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 | lava |
| lui/lei | lavi |
| noi | laviamo |
| voi | lavate |
| loro | lavino |
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 lavare |
| lui/lei | non lavi |
| noi | non laviamo |
| voi | non lavate |
| loro | non lavino |