orientare — Italian conjugation
to orient
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 | oriento | I orient |
| tu | orienti | you orient |
| lui/lei | orienta | he/she/it orients |
| noi | orientiamo | we orient |
| voi | orientate | you (pl.) orient |
| loro | orientano | they orient |
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 | orientai | I oriented |
| tu | orientasti | you oriented |
| lui/lei | orientò | he/she/it oriented |
| noi | orientammo | we oriented |
| voi | orientaste | you (pl.) oriented |
| loro | orientarono | they oriented |
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 | orientavo |
| tu | orientavi |
| lui/lei | orientava |
| noi | orientavamo |
| voi | orientavate |
| loro | orientavano |
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 | orienterei | I would orient |
| tu | orienteresti | you would orient |
| lui/lei | orienterebbe | he/she/it would orient |
| noi | orienteremmo | we would orient |
| voi | orientereste | you (pl.) would orient |
| loro | orienterebbero | they would orient |
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 | orienterò | I will orient |
| tu | orienterai | you will orient |
| lui/lei | orienterà | he/she/it will orient |
| noi | orienteremo | we will orient |
| voi | orienterete | you (pl.) will orient |
| loro | orienteranno | they will orient |
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 orientato | I have oriented |
| tu | hai orientato | you have oriented |
| lui/lei | ha orientato | he/she/it has oriented |
| noi | abbiamo orientato | we have oriented |
| voi | avete orientato | you (pl.) have oriented |
| loro | hanno orientato | they have oriented |
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 orientato | I had oriented |
| tu | avevi orientato | you had oriented |
| lui/lei | aveva orientato | he/she/it had oriented |
| noi | avevamo orientato | we had oriented |
| voi | avevate orientato | you (pl.) had oriented |
| loro | avevano orientato | they had oriented |
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 orientato |
| tu | avresti orientato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe orientato |
| noi | avremmo orientato |
| voi | avreste orientato |
| loro | avrebbero orientato |
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 orientato | I will have oriented |
| tu | avrai orientato | you will have oriented |
| lui/lei | avrà orientato | he/she/it will have oriented |
| noi | avremo orientato | we will have oriented |
| voi | avrete orientato | you (pl.) will have oriented |
| loro | avranno orientato | they will have oriented |
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 | orienti |
| tu | orienti |
| lui/lei | orienti |
| noi | orientiamo |
| voi | orientiate |
| loro | orientino |
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 | orientassi |
| tu | orientassi |
| lui/lei | orientasse |
| noi | orientassimo |
| voi | orientaste |
| loro | orientassero |
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 | orienta |
| lui/lei | orienti |
| noi | orientiamo |
| voi | orientate |
| loro | orientino |
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 orientare |
| lui/lei | non orienti |
| noi | non orientiamo |
| voi | non orientate |
| loro | non orientino |