parlare — Italian conjugation
to speak
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 | parlo | I speak |
| tu | parli | you speak |
| lui/lei | parla | he/she/it speaks |
| noi | parliamo | we speak |
| voi | parlate | you (pl.) speak |
| loro | parlano | they speak |
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 | parlai | I spoke |
| tu | parlasti | you spoke |
| lui/lei | parlò | he/she/it spoke |
| noi | parlammo | we spoke |
| voi | parlaste | you (pl.) spoke |
| loro | parlarono | they spoke |
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 | parlavo |
| tu | parlavi |
| lui/lei | parlava |
| noi | parlavamo |
| voi | parlavate |
| loro | parlavano |
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 | parlerei | I would speak |
| tu | parleresti | you would speak |
| lui/lei | parlerebbe | he/she/it would speak |
| noi | parleremmo | we would speak |
| voi | parlereste | you (pl.) would speak |
| loro | parlerebbero | they would speak |
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 | parlerò | I will speak |
| tu | parlerai | you will speak |
| lui/lei | parlerà | he/she/it will speak |
| noi | parleremo | we will speak |
| voi | parlerete | you (pl.) will speak |
| loro | parleranno | they will speak |
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 parlato | I have spoken |
| tu | hai parlato | you have spoken |
| lui/lei | ha parlato | he/she/it has spoken |
| noi | abbiamo parlato | we have spoken |
| voi | avete parlato | you (pl.) have spoken |
| loro | hanno parlato | they have spoken |
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 parlato | I had spoken |
| tu | avevi parlato | you had spoken |
| lui/lei | aveva parlato | he/she/it had spoken |
| noi | avevamo parlato | we had spoken |
| voi | avevate parlato | you (pl.) had spoken |
| loro | avevano parlato | they had spoken |
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 parlato |
| tu | avresti parlato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe parlato |
| noi | avremmo parlato |
| voi | avreste parlato |
| loro | avrebbero parlato |
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 parlato | I will have spoken |
| tu | avrai parlato | you will have spoken |
| lui/lei | avrà parlato | he/she/it will have spoken |
| noi | avremo parlato | we will have spoken |
| voi | avrete parlato | you (pl.) will have spoken |
| loro | avranno parlato | they will have spoken |
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 | parli |
| tu | parli |
| lui/lei | parli |
| noi | parliamo |
| voi | parliate |
| loro | parlino |
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 | parlassi |
| tu | parlassi |
| lui/lei | parlasse |
| noi | parlassimo |
| voi | parlaste |
| loro | parlassero |
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 | parla |
| lui/lei | parli |
| noi | parliamo |
| voi | parlate |
| loro | parlino |
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 parlare |
| lui/lei | non parli |
| noi | non parliamo |
| voi | non parlate |
| loro | non parlino |