masticare — Italian conjugation
to chew
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 | mastico | I chew |
| tu | mastichi | you chew |
| lui/lei | mastica | he/she/it chews |
| noi | mastichiamo | we chew |
| voi | masticate | you (pl.) chew |
| loro | masticano | they chew |
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 | masticai | I chewed |
| tu | masticasti | you chewed |
| lui/lei | masticò | he/she/it chewed |
| noi | masticammo | we chewed |
| voi | masticaste | you (pl.) chewed |
| loro | masticarono | they chewed |
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 | masticavo |
| tu | masticavi |
| lui/lei | masticava |
| noi | masticavamo |
| voi | masticavate |
| loro | masticavano |
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 | masticherei | I would chew |
| tu | masticheresti | you would chew |
| lui/lei | masticherebbe | he/she/it would chew |
| noi | masticheremmo | we would chew |
| voi | mastichereste | you (pl.) would chew |
| loro | masticherebbero | they would chew |
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 | masticherò | I will chew |
| tu | masticherai | you will chew |
| lui/lei | masticherà | he/she/it will chew |
| noi | masticheremo | we will chew |
| voi | masticherete | you (pl.) will chew |
| loro | masticheranno | they will chew |
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 masticato | I have chewed |
| tu | hai masticato | you have chewed |
| lui/lei | ha masticato | he/she/it has chewed |
| noi | abbiamo masticato | we have chewed |
| voi | avete masticato | you (pl.) have chewed |
| loro | hanno masticato | they have chewed |
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 masticato | I had chewed |
| tu | avevi masticato | you had chewed |
| lui/lei | aveva masticato | he/she/it had chewed |
| noi | avevamo masticato | we had chewed |
| voi | avevate masticato | you (pl.) had chewed |
| loro | avevano masticato | they had chewed |
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 masticato |
| tu | avresti masticato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe masticato |
| noi | avremmo masticato |
| voi | avreste masticato |
| loro | avrebbero masticato |
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 masticato | I will have chewed |
| tu | avrai masticato | you will have chewed |
| lui/lei | avrà masticato | he/she/it will have chewed |
| noi | avremo masticato | we will have chewed |
| voi | avrete masticato | you (pl.) will have chewed |
| loro | avranno masticato | they will have chewed |
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 | mastichi |
| tu | mastichi |
| lui/lei | mastichi |
| noi | mastichiamo |
| voi | mastichiate |
| loro | mastichino |
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 | masticassi |
| tu | masticassi |
| lui/lei | masticasse |
| noi | masticassimo |
| voi | masticaste |
| loro | masticassero |
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 | mastica |
| lui/lei | mastichi |
| noi | mastichiamo |
| voi | masticate |
| loro | mastichino |
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 masticare |
| lui/lei | non mastichi |
| noi | non mastichiamo |
| voi | non masticate |
| loro | non mastichino |