negare — Italian conjugation
to deny
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 | nego | I deny |
| tu | neghi | you deny |
| lui/lei | nega | he/she/it denies |
| noi | neghiamo | we deny |
| voi | negate | you (pl.) deny |
| loro | negano | they deny |
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 | negai | I denied |
| tu | negasti | you denied |
| lui/lei | negò | he/she/it denied |
| noi | negammo | we denied |
| voi | negaste | you (pl.) denied |
| loro | negarono | they denied |
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 | negavo |
| tu | negavi |
| lui/lei | negava |
| noi | negavamo |
| voi | negavate |
| loro | negavano |
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 | negherei | I would deny |
| tu | negheresti | you would deny |
| lui/lei | negherebbe | he/she/it would deny |
| noi | negheremmo | we would deny |
| voi | neghereste | you (pl.) would deny |
| loro | negherebbero | they would deny |
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 | negherò | I will deny |
| tu | negherai | you will deny |
| lui/lei | negherà | he/she/it will deny |
| noi | negheremo | we will deny |
| voi | negherete | you (pl.) will deny |
| loro | negheranno | they will deny |
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 negato | I have denied |
| tu | hai negato | you have denied |
| lui/lei | ha negato | he/she/it has denied |
| noi | abbiamo negato | we have denied |
| voi | avete negato | you (pl.) have denied |
| loro | hanno negato | they have denied |
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 negato | I had denied |
| tu | avevi negato | you had denied |
| lui/lei | aveva negato | he/she/it had denied |
| noi | avevamo negato | we had denied |
| voi | avevate negato | you (pl.) had denied |
| loro | avevano negato | they had denied |
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 negato |
| tu | avresti negato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe negato |
| noi | avremmo negato |
| voi | avreste negato |
| loro | avrebbero negato |
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 negato | I will have denied |
| tu | avrai negato | you will have denied |
| lui/lei | avrà negato | he/she/it will have denied |
| noi | avremo negato | we will have denied |
| voi | avrete negato | you (pl.) will have denied |
| loro | avranno negato | they will have denied |
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 | neghi |
| tu | neghi |
| lui/lei | neghi |
| noi | neghiamo |
| voi | neghiate |
| loro | neghino |
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 | negassi |
| tu | negassi |
| lui/lei | negasse |
| noi | negassimo |
| voi | negaste |
| loro | negassero |
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 | nega |
| lui/lei | neghi |
| noi | neghiamo |
| voi | negate |
| loro | neghino |
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 negare |
| lui/lei | non neghi |
| noi | non neghiamo |
| voi | non negate |
| loro | non neghino |