limitare — Italian conjugation
to limit
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 | limito | I limit |
| tu | limiti | you limit |
| lui/lei | limita | he/she/it limits |
| noi | limitiamo | we limit |
| voi | limitate | you (pl.) limit |
| loro | limitano | they limit |
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 | limitai | I limited |
| tu | limitasti | you limited |
| lui/lei | limitò | he/she/it limited |
| noi | limitammo | we limited |
| voi | limitaste | you (pl.) limited |
| loro | limitarono | they limited |
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 | limitavo |
| tu | limitavi |
| lui/lei | limitava |
| noi | limitavamo |
| voi | limitavate |
| loro | limitavano |
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 | limiterei | I would limit |
| tu | limiteresti | you would limit |
| lui/lei | limiterebbe | he/she/it would limit |
| noi | limiteremmo | we would limit |
| voi | limitereste | you (pl.) would limit |
| loro | limiterebbero | they would limit |
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 | limiterò | I will limit |
| tu | limiterai | you will limit |
| lui/lei | limiterà | he/she/it will limit |
| noi | limiteremo | we will limit |
| voi | limiterete | you (pl.) will limit |
| loro | limiteranno | they will limit |
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 limitato | I have limited |
| tu | hai limitato | you have limited |
| lui/lei | ha limitato | he/she/it has limited |
| noi | abbiamo limitato | we have limited |
| voi | avete limitato | you (pl.) have limited |
| loro | hanno limitato | they have limited |
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 limitato | I had limited |
| tu | avevi limitato | you had limited |
| lui/lei | aveva limitato | he/she/it had limited |
| noi | avevamo limitato | we had limited |
| voi | avevate limitato | you (pl.) had limited |
| loro | avevano limitato | they had limited |
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 limitato |
| tu | avresti limitato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe limitato |
| noi | avremmo limitato |
| voi | avreste limitato |
| loro | avrebbero limitato |
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 limitato | I will have limited |
| tu | avrai limitato | you will have limited |
| lui/lei | avrà limitato | he/she/it will have limited |
| noi | avremo limitato | we will have limited |
| voi | avrete limitato | you (pl.) will have limited |
| loro | avranno limitato | they will have limited |
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 | limiti |
| tu | limiti |
| lui/lei | limiti |
| noi | limitiamo |
| voi | limitiate |
| loro | limitino |
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 | limitassi |
| tu | limitassi |
| lui/lei | limitasse |
| noi | limitassimo |
| voi | limitaste |
| loro | limitassero |
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 | limita |
| lui/lei | limiti |
| noi | limitiamo |
| voi | limitate |
| loro | limitino |
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 limitare |
| lui/lei | non limiti |
| noi | non limitiamo |
| voi | non limitate |
| loro | non limitino |