piangere — Italian conjugation
to cry
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 | piango | I cry |
| tu | piangi | you cry |
| lui/lei | piange | he/she/it cries |
| noi | piangiamo | we cry |
| voi | piangete | you (pl.) cry |
| loro | piangono | they cry |
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 | piansi | I cried |
| tu | piangesti | you cried |
| lui/lei | pianse | he/she/it cried |
| noi | piangemmo | we cried |
| voi | piangeste | you (pl.) cried |
| loro | piansero | they cried |
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 | piangevo |
| tu | piangevi |
| lui/lei | piangeva |
| noi | piangevamo |
| voi | piangevate |
| loro | piangevano |
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 | piangerei | I would cry |
| tu | piangeresti | you would cry |
| lui/lei | piangerebbe | he/she/it would cry |
| noi | piangeremmo | we would cry |
| voi | piangereste | you (pl.) would cry |
| loro | piangerebbero | they would cry |
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 | piangerò | I will cry |
| tu | piangerai | you will cry |
| lui/lei | piangerà | he/she/it will cry |
| noi | piangeremo | we will cry |
| voi | piangerete | you (pl.) will cry |
| loro | piangeranno | they will cry |
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 pianto | I have cried |
| tu | hai pianto | you have cried |
| lui/lei | ha pianto | he/she/it has cried |
| noi | abbiamo pianto | we have cried |
| voi | avete pianto | you (pl.) have cried |
| loro | hanno pianto | they have cried |
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 pianto | I had cried |
| tu | avevi pianto | you had cried |
| lui/lei | aveva pianto | he/she/it had cried |
| noi | avevamo pianto | we had cried |
| voi | avevate pianto | you (pl.) had cried |
| loro | avevano pianto | they had cried |
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 pianto |
| tu | avresti pianto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe pianto |
| noi | avremmo pianto |
| voi | avreste pianto |
| loro | avrebbero pianto |
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 pianto | I will have cried |
| tu | avrai pianto | you will have cried |
| lui/lei | avrà pianto | he/she/it will have cried |
| noi | avremo pianto | we will have cried |
| voi | avrete pianto | you (pl.) will have cried |
| loro | avranno pianto | they will have cried |
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 | pianga |
| tu | pianga |
| lui/lei | pianga |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangiate |
| loro | piangano |
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 | piangessi |
| tu | piangessi |
| lui/lei | piangesse |
| noi | piangessimo |
| voi | piangeste |
| loro | piangessero |
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 | piangi |
| lui/lei | pianga |
| noi | piangiamo |
| voi | piangete |
| loro | piangano |
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 piangere |
| lui/lei | non pianga |
| noi | non piangiamo |
| voi | non piangete |
| loro | non piangano |