pensare — Italian conjugation
to think
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 | penso | I think |
| tu | pensi | you think |
| lui/lei | pensa | he/she/it thinks |
| noi | pensiamo | we think |
| voi | pensate | you (pl.) think |
| loro | pensano | they think |
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 | pensai | I thought |
| tu | pensasti | you thought |
| lui/lei | pensò | he/she/it thought |
| noi | pensammo | we thought |
| voi | pensaste | you (pl.) thought |
| loro | pensarono | they thought |
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 | pensavo |
| tu | pensavi |
| lui/lei | pensava |
| noi | pensavamo |
| voi | pensavate |
| loro | pensavano |
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 | penserei | I would think |
| tu | penseresti | you would think |
| lui/lei | penserebbe | he/she/it would think |
| noi | penseremmo | we would think |
| voi | pensereste | you (pl.) would think |
| loro | penserebbero | they would think |
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 | penserò | I will think |
| tu | penserai | you will think |
| lui/lei | penserà | he/she/it will think |
| noi | penseremo | we will think |
| voi | penserete | you (pl.) will think |
| loro | penseranno | they will think |
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 pensato | I have thought |
| tu | hai pensato | you have thought |
| lui/lei | ha pensato | he/she/it has thought |
| noi | abbiamo pensato | we have thought |
| voi | avete pensato | you (pl.) have thought |
| loro | hanno pensato | they have thought |
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 pensato | I had thought |
| tu | avevi pensato | you had thought |
| lui/lei | aveva pensato | he/she/it had thought |
| noi | avevamo pensato | we had thought |
| voi | avevate pensato | you (pl.) had thought |
| loro | avevano pensato | they had thought |
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 pensato |
| tu | avresti pensato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe pensato |
| noi | avremmo pensato |
| voi | avreste pensato |
| loro | avrebbero pensato |
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 pensato | I will have thought |
| tu | avrai pensato | you will have thought |
| lui/lei | avrà pensato | he/she/it will have thought |
| noi | avremo pensato | we will have thought |
| voi | avrete pensato | you (pl.) will have thought |
| loro | avranno pensato | they will have thought |
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 | pensi |
| tu | pensi |
| lui/lei | pensi |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensiate |
| loro | pensino |
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 | pensassi |
| tu | pensassi |
| lui/lei | pensasse |
| noi | pensassimo |
| voi | pensaste |
| loro | pensassero |
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 | pensa |
| lui/lei | pensi |
| noi | pensiamo |
| voi | pensate |
| loro | pensino |
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 pensare |
| lui/lei | non pensi |
| noi | non pensiamo |
| voi | non pensate |
| loro | non pensino |