macinare — Italian conjugation
to grind
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 | macino | I grind |
| tu | macini | you grind |
| lui/lei | macina | he/she/it grinds |
| noi | maciniamo | we grind |
| voi | macinate | you (pl.) grind |
| loro | macinano | they grind |
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 | macinai | I ground |
| tu | macinasti | you ground |
| lui/lei | macinò | he/she/it ground |
| noi | macinammo | we ground |
| voi | macinaste | you (pl.) ground |
| loro | macinarono | they ground |
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 | macinavo |
| tu | macinavi |
| lui/lei | macinava |
| noi | macinavamo |
| voi | macinavate |
| loro | macinavano |
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 | macinerei | I would grind |
| tu | macineresti | you would grind |
| lui/lei | macinerebbe | he/she/it would grind |
| noi | macineremmo | we would grind |
| voi | macinereste | you (pl.) would grind |
| loro | macinerebbero | they would grind |
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 | macinerò | I will grind |
| tu | macinerai | you will grind |
| lui/lei | macinerà | he/she/it will grind |
| noi | macineremo | we will grind |
| voi | macinerete | you (pl.) will grind |
| loro | macineranno | they will grind |
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 macinato | I have ground |
| tu | hai macinato | you have ground |
| lui/lei | ha macinato | he/she/it has ground |
| noi | abbiamo macinato | we have ground |
| voi | avete macinato | you (pl.) have ground |
| loro | hanno macinato | they have ground |
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 macinato | I had ground |
| tu | avevi macinato | you had ground |
| lui/lei | aveva macinato | he/she/it had ground |
| noi | avevamo macinato | we had ground |
| voi | avevate macinato | you (pl.) had ground |
| loro | avevano macinato | they had ground |
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 macinato |
| tu | avresti macinato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe macinato |
| noi | avremmo macinato |
| voi | avreste macinato |
| loro | avrebbero macinato |
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 macinato | I will have ground |
| tu | avrai macinato | you will have ground |
| lui/lei | avrà macinato | he/she/it will have ground |
| noi | avremo macinato | we will have ground |
| voi | avrete macinato | you (pl.) will have ground |
| loro | avranno macinato | they will have ground |
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 | macini |
| tu | macini |
| lui/lei | macini |
| noi | maciniamo |
| voi | maciniate |
| loro | macinino |
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 | macinassi |
| tu | macinassi |
| lui/lei | macinasse |
| noi | macinassimo |
| voi | macinaste |
| loro | macinassero |
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 | macina |
| lui/lei | macini |
| noi | maciniamo |
| voi | macinate |
| loro | macinino |
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 macinare |
| lui/lei | non macini |
| noi | non maciniamo |
| voi | non macinate |
| loro | non macinino |