lavorare — Italian conjugation
to work
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 | lavoro | I work |
| tu | lavori | you work |
| lui/lei | lavora | he/she/it works |
| noi | lavoriamo | we work |
| voi | lavorate | you (pl.) work |
| loro | lavorano | they work |
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 | lavorai | I worked |
| tu | lavorasti | you worked |
| lui/lei | lavorò | he/she/it worked |
| noi | lavorammo | we worked |
| voi | lavoraste | you (pl.) worked |
| loro | lavorarono | they worked |
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 | lavoravo |
| tu | lavoravi |
| lui/lei | lavorava |
| noi | lavoravamo |
| voi | lavoravate |
| loro | lavoravano |
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 | lavorerei | I would work |
| tu | lavoreresti | you would work |
| lui/lei | lavorerebbe | he/she/it would work |
| noi | lavoreremmo | we would work |
| voi | lavorereste | you (pl.) would work |
| loro | lavorerebbero | they would work |
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 | lavorerò | I will work |
| tu | lavorerai | you will work |
| lui/lei | lavorerà | he/she/it will work |
| noi | lavoreremo | we will work |
| voi | lavorerete | you (pl.) will work |
| loro | lavoreranno | they will work |
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 lavorato | I have worked |
| tu | hai lavorato | you have worked |
| lui/lei | ha lavorato | he/she/it has worked |
| noi | abbiamo lavorato | we have worked |
| voi | avete lavorato | you (pl.) have worked |
| loro | hanno lavorato | they have worked |
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 lavorato | I had worked |
| tu | avevi lavorato | you had worked |
| lui/lei | aveva lavorato | he/she/it had worked |
| noi | avevamo lavorato | we had worked |
| voi | avevate lavorato | you (pl.) had worked |
| loro | avevano lavorato | they had worked |
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 lavorato |
| tu | avresti lavorato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe lavorato |
| noi | avremmo lavorato |
| voi | avreste lavorato |
| loro | avrebbero lavorato |
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 lavorato | I will have worked |
| tu | avrai lavorato | you will have worked |
| lui/lei | avrà lavorato | he/she/it will have worked |
| noi | avremo lavorato | we will have worked |
| voi | avrete lavorato | you (pl.) will have worked |
| loro | avranno lavorato | they will have worked |
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 | lavori |
| tu | lavori |
| lui/lei | lavori |
| noi | lavoriamo |
| voi | lavoriate |
| loro | lavorino |
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 | lavorassi |
| tu | lavorassi |
| lui/lei | lavorasse |
| noi | lavorassimo |
| voi | lavoraste |
| loro | lavorassero |
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 | lavora |
| lui/lei | lavori |
| noi | lavoriamo |
| voi | lavorate |
| loro | lavorino |
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 lavorare |
| lui/lei | non lavori |
| noi | non lavoriamo |
| voi | non lavorate |
| loro | non lavorino |