mordere — Italian conjugation
to bite
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 | mordo | I bite |
| tu | mordi | you bite |
| lui/lei | morde | he/she/it bites |
| noi | mordiamo | we bite |
| voi | mordete | you (pl.) bite |
| loro | mordono | they bite |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | morsi | I bit |
| tu | mordesti | you bit |
| lui/lei | morse | he/she/it bit |
| noi | mordemmo | we bit |
| voi | mordeste | you (pl.) bit |
| loro | morsero | they bit |
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 | mordevo |
| tu | mordevi |
| lui/lei | mordeva |
| noi | mordevamo |
| voi | mordevate |
| loro | mordevano |
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 | morderei | I would bite |
| tu | morderesti | you would bite |
| lui/lei | morderebbe | he/she/it would bite |
| noi | morderemmo | we would bite |
| voi | mordereste | you (pl.) would bite |
| loro | morderebbero | they would bite |
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 | morderò | I will bite |
| tu | morderai | you will bite |
| lui/lei | morderà | he/she/it will bite |
| noi | morderemo | we will bite |
| voi | morderete | you (pl.) will bite |
| loro | morderanno | they will bite |
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 morso | I have bitten |
| tu | hai morso | you have bitten |
| lui/lei | ha morso | he/she/it has bitten |
| noi | abbiamo morso | we have bitten |
| voi | avete morso | you (pl.) have bitten |
| loro | hanno morso | they have bitten |
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 morso | I had bitten |
| tu | avevi morso | you had bitten |
| lui/lei | aveva morso | he/she/it had bitten |
| noi | avevamo morso | we had bitten |
| voi | avevate morso | you (pl.) had bitten |
| loro | avevano morso | they had bitten |
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 morso |
| tu | avresti morso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe morso |
| noi | avremmo morso |
| voi | avreste morso |
| loro | avrebbero morso |
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 morso | I will have bitten |
| tu | avrai morso | you will have bitten |
| lui/lei | avrà morso | he/she/it will have bitten |
| noi | avremo morso | we will have bitten |
| voi | avrete morso | you (pl.) will have bitten |
| loro | avranno morso | they will have bitten |
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 | morda |
| tu | morda |
| lui/lei | morda |
| noi | mordiamo |
| voi | mordiate |
| loro | mordano |
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 | mordessi |
| tu | mordessi |
| lui/lei | mordesse |
| noi | mordessimo |
| voi | mordeste |
| loro | mordessero |
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 | mordi |
| lui/lei | morda |
| noi | mordiamo |
| voi | mordete |
| loro | mordano |
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 mordere |
| lui/lei | non morda |
| noi | non mordiamo |
| voi | non mordete |
| loro | non mordano |