preparare — Italian conjugation
to prepare
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 | preparo | I prepare |
| tu | prepari | you prepare |
| lui/lei | prepara | he/she/it prepares |
| noi | prepariamo | we prepare |
| voi | preparate | you (pl.) prepare |
| loro | preparano | they prepare |
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 | preparai | I prepared |
| tu | preparasti | you prepared |
| lui/lei | preparò | he/she/it prepared |
| noi | preparammo | we prepared |
| voi | preparaste | you (pl.) prepared |
| loro | prepararono | they prepared |
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 | preparavo |
| tu | preparavi |
| lui/lei | preparava |
| noi | preparavamo |
| voi | preparavate |
| loro | preparavano |
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 | preparerei | I would prepare |
| tu | prepareresti | you would prepare |
| lui/lei | preparerebbe | he/she/it would prepare |
| noi | prepareremmo | we would prepare |
| voi | preparereste | you (pl.) would prepare |
| loro | preparerebbero | they would prepare |
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 | preparerò | I will prepare |
| tu | preparerai | you will prepare |
| lui/lei | preparerà | he/she/it will prepare |
| noi | prepareremo | we will prepare |
| voi | preparerete | you (pl.) will prepare |
| loro | prepareranno | they will prepare |
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 preparato | I have prepared |
| tu | hai preparato | you have prepared |
| lui/lei | ha preparato | he/she/it has prepared |
| noi | abbiamo preparato | we have prepared |
| voi | avete preparato | you (pl.) have prepared |
| loro | hanno preparato | they have prepared |
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 preparato | I had prepared |
| tu | avevi preparato | you had prepared |
| lui/lei | aveva preparato | he/she/it had prepared |
| noi | avevamo preparato | we had prepared |
| voi | avevate preparato | you (pl.) had prepared |
| loro | avevano preparato | they had prepared |
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 preparato |
| tu | avresti preparato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe preparato |
| noi | avremmo preparato |
| voi | avreste preparato |
| loro | avrebbero preparato |
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 preparato | I will have prepared |
| tu | avrai preparato | you will have prepared |
| lui/lei | avrà preparato | he/she/it will have prepared |
| noi | avremo preparato | we will have prepared |
| voi | avrete preparato | you (pl.) will have prepared |
| loro | avranno preparato | they will have prepared |
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 | prepari |
| tu | prepari |
| lui/lei | prepari |
| noi | prepariamo |
| voi | prepariate |
| loro | preparino |
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 | preparassi |
| tu | preparassi |
| lui/lei | preparasse |
| noi | preparassimo |
| voi | preparaste |
| loro | preparassero |
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 | prepara |
| lui/lei | prepari |
| noi | prepariamo |
| voi | preparate |
| loro | preparino |
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 preparare |
| lui/lei | non prepari |
| noi | non prepariamo |
| voi | non preparate |
| loro | non preparino |