potere — Italian conjugation
to be able (verb, modal verb indicating ability)
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 | posso | I am able |
| tu | puoi | you are able |
| lui/lei | può | he/she/it is able |
| noi | possiamo | we are able |
| voi | potete | you (pl.) are able |
| loro | possono | they are able |
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 | potei | I was able |
| tu | potesti | you were able |
| lui/lei | poté | he/she/it was able |
| noi | potemmo | we were able |
| voi | poteste | you (pl.) were able |
| loro | poterono | they were able |
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 | potevo |
| tu | potevi |
| lui/lei | poteva |
| noi | potevamo |
| voi | potevate |
| loro | potevano |
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 | potrei | I would be able |
| tu | potresti | you would be able |
| lui/lei | potrebbe | he/she/it would be able |
| noi | potremmo | we would be able |
| voi | potreste | you (pl.) would be able |
| loro | potrebbero | they would be able |
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 | potrò | I will be able |
| tu | potrai | you will be able |
| lui/lei | potrà | he/she/it will be able |
| noi | potremo | we will be able |
| voi | potrete | you (pl.) will be able |
| loro | potranno | they will be able |
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 potuto | I have been able |
| tu | hai potuto | you have been able |
| lui/lei | ha potuto | he/she/it has been able |
| noi | abbiamo potuto | we have been able |
| voi | avete potuto | you (pl.) have been able |
| loro | hanno potuto | they have been able |
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 potuto | I had been able |
| tu | avevi potuto | you had been able |
| lui/lei | aveva potuto | he/she/it had been able |
| noi | avevamo potuto | we had been able |
| voi | avevate potuto | you (pl.) had been able |
| loro | avevano potuto | they had been able |
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 potuto |
| tu | avresti potuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe potuto |
| noi | avremmo potuto |
| voi | avreste potuto |
| loro | avrebbero potuto |
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 potuto | I will have been able |
| tu | avrai potuto | you will have been able |
| lui/lei | avrà potuto | he/she/it will have been able |
| noi | avremo potuto | we will have been able |
| voi | avrete potuto | you (pl.) will have been able |
| loro | avranno potuto | they will have been able |
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 | possa |
| tu | possa |
| lui/lei | possa |
| noi | possiamo |
| voi | possiate |
| loro | possano |
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 | potessi |
| tu | potessi |
| lui/lei | potesse |
| noi | potessimo |
| voi | poteste |
| loro | potessero |