mancare — Italian conjugation
to miss
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
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 | manco | I miss |
| tu | manchi | you miss |
| lui/lei | manca | he/she/it misses |
| noi | manchiamo | we miss |
| voi | mancate | you (pl.) miss |
| loro | mancano | they miss |
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 | mancai | I missed |
| tu | mancasti | you missed |
| lui/lei | mancò | he/she/it missed |
| noi | mancammo | we missed |
| voi | mancaste | you (pl.) missed |
| loro | mancarono | they missed |
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 | mancavo |
| tu | mancavi |
| lui/lei | mancava |
| noi | mancavamo |
| voi | mancavate |
| loro | mancavano |
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 | mancherei | I would miss |
| tu | mancheresti | you would miss |
| lui/lei | mancherebbe | he/she/it would miss |
| noi | mancheremmo | we would miss |
| voi | manchereste | you (pl.) would miss |
| loro | mancherebbero | they would miss |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | mancherò | I will miss |
| tu | mancherai | you will miss |
| lui/lei | mancherà | he/she/it will miss |
| noi | mancheremo | we will miss |
| voi | mancherete | you (pl.) will miss |
| loro | mancheranno | they will miss |
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 | sono mancato/a | I have missed |
| tu | sei mancato/a | you have missed |
| lui/lei | è mancato/a | he/she/it has missed |
| noi | siamo mancati/e | we have missed |
| voi | siete mancati/e | you (pl.) have missed |
| loro | sono mancati/e | they have missed |
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 | ero mancato/a | I had missed |
| tu | eri mancato/a | you had missed |
| lui/lei | era mancato/a | he/she/it had missed |
| noi | eravamo mancati/e | we had missed |
| voi | eravate mancati/e | you (pl.) had missed |
| loro | erano mancati/e | they had missed |
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 | sarei mancato/a |
| tu | saresti mancato/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe mancato/a |
| noi | saremmo mancati/e |
| voi | sareste mancati/e |
| loro | sarebbero mancati/e |
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 | sarò mancato/a | I will have missed |
| tu | sarai mancato/a | you will have missed |
| lui/lei | sarà mancato/a | he/she/it will have missed |
| noi | saremo mancati/e | we will have missed |
| voi | sarete mancati/e | you (pl.) will have missed |
| loro | saranno mancati/e | they will have missed |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
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 | manchi |
| tu | manchi |
| lui/lei | manchi |
| noi | manchiamo |
| voi | manchiate |
| loro | manchino |
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 | mancassi |
| tu | mancassi |
| lui/lei | mancasse |
| noi | mancassimo |
| voi | mancaste |
| loro | mancassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | manca |
| lui/lei | manchi |
| noi | manchiamo |
| voi | mancate |
| loro | manchino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 mancare |
| lui/lei | non manchi |
| noi | non manchiamo |
| voi | non mancate |
| loro | non manchino |