leccare — Italian conjugation
to lick
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 | lecco | I lick |
| tu | lecchi | you lick |
| lui/lei | lecca | he/she/it licks |
| noi | lecchiamo | we lick |
| voi | leccate | you (pl.) lick |
| loro | leccano | they lick |
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 | leccai | I licked |
| tu | leccasti | you licked |
| lui/lei | leccò | he/she/it licked |
| noi | leccammo | we licked |
| voi | leccaste | you (pl.) licked |
| loro | leccarono | they licked |
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 | leccavo |
| tu | leccavi |
| lui/lei | leccava |
| noi | leccavamo |
| voi | leccavate |
| loro | leccavano |
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 | leccherei | I would lick |
| tu | leccheresti | you would lick |
| lui/lei | leccherebbe | he/she/it would lick |
| noi | leccheremmo | we would lick |
| voi | lecchereste | you (pl.) would lick |
| loro | leccherebbero | they would lick |
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 | leccherò | I will lick |
| tu | leccherai | you will lick |
| lui/lei | leccherà | he/she/it will lick |
| noi | leccheremo | we will lick |
| voi | leccherete | you (pl.) will lick |
| loro | leccheranno | they will lick |
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 leccato | I have licked |
| tu | hai leccato | you have licked |
| lui/lei | ha leccato | he/she/it has licked |
| noi | abbiamo leccato | we have licked |
| voi | avete leccato | you (pl.) have licked |
| loro | hanno leccato | they have licked |
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 leccato | I had licked |
| tu | avevi leccato | you had licked |
| lui/lei | aveva leccato | he/she/it had licked |
| noi | avevamo leccato | we had licked |
| voi | avevate leccato | you (pl.) had licked |
| loro | avevano leccato | they had licked |
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 leccato |
| tu | avresti leccato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe leccato |
| noi | avremmo leccato |
| voi | avreste leccato |
| loro | avrebbero leccato |
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 leccato | I will have licked |
| tu | avrai leccato | you will have licked |
| lui/lei | avrà leccato | he/she/it will have licked |
| noi | avremo leccato | we will have licked |
| voi | avrete leccato | you (pl.) will have licked |
| loro | avranno leccato | they will have licked |
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 | lecchi |
| tu | lecchi |
| lui/lei | lecchi |
| noi | lecchiamo |
| voi | lecchiate |
| loro | lecchino |
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 | leccassi |
| tu | leccassi |
| lui/lei | leccasse |
| noi | leccassimo |
| voi | leccaste |
| loro | leccassero |
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 | lecca |
| lui/lei | lecchi |
| noi | lecchiamo |
| voi | leccate |
| loro | lecchino |
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 leccare |
| lui/lei | non lecchi |
| noi | non lecchiamo |
| voi | non leccate |
| loro | non lecchino |