prevalere — Italian conjugation
to prevail
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 | prevalgo | I prevail |
| tu | prevali | you prevail |
| lui/lei | prevale | he/she/it prevails |
| noi | prevaliamo | we prevail |
| voi | prevalete | you (pl.) prevail |
| loro | prevalgono | they prevail |
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 | prevalsi | I prevailed |
| tu | prevalesti | you prevailed |
| lui/lei | prevalse | he/she/it prevailed |
| noi | prevalemmo | we prevailed |
| voi | prevaleste | you (pl.) prevailed |
| loro | prevalsero | they prevailed |
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 | prevalevo |
| tu | prevalevi |
| lui/lei | prevaleva |
| noi | prevalevamo |
| voi | prevalevate |
| loro | prevalevano |
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 | prevarrei | I would prevail |
| tu | prevarresti | you would prevail |
| lui/lei | prevarrebbe | he/she/it would prevail |
| noi | prevarremmo | we would prevail |
| voi | prevarreste | you (pl.) would prevail |
| loro | prevarrebbero | they would prevail |
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 | prevarrò | I will prevail |
| tu | prevarrai | you will prevail |
| lui/lei | prevarrà | he/she/it will prevail |
| noi | prevarremo | we will prevail |
| voi | prevarrete | you (pl.) will prevail |
| loro | prevarranno | they will prevail |
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 | sono prevalso/a | I have prevailed |
| tu | sei prevalso/a | you have prevailed |
| lui/lei | è prevalso/a | he/she/it has prevailed |
| noi | siamo prevalsi/e | we have prevailed |
| voi | siete prevalsi/e | you (pl.) have prevailed |
| loro | sono prevalsi/e | they have prevailed |
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 | ero prevalso/a | I had prevailed |
| tu | eri prevalso/a | you had prevailed |
| lui/lei | era prevalso/a | he/she/it had prevailed |
| noi | eravamo prevalsi/e | we had prevailed |
| voi | eravate prevalsi/e | you (pl.) had prevailed |
| loro | erano prevalsi/e | they had prevailed |
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 | sarei prevalso/a |
| tu | saresti prevalso/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe prevalso/a |
| noi | saremmo prevalsi/e |
| voi | sareste prevalsi/e |
| loro | sarebbero prevalsi/e |
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 | sarò prevalso/a | I will have prevailed |
| tu | sarai prevalso/a | you will have prevailed |
| lui/lei | sarà prevalso/a | he/she/it will have prevailed |
| noi | saremo prevalsi/e | we will have prevailed |
| voi | sarete prevalsi/e | you (pl.) will have prevailed |
| loro | saranno prevalsi/e | they will have prevailed |
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 | prevalga |
| tu | prevalga |
| lui/lei | prevalga |
| noi | prevaliamo |
| voi | prevaliate |
| loro | prevalgano |
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 | prevalessi |
| tu | prevalessi |
| lui/lei | prevalesse |
| noi | prevalessimo |
| voi | prevaleste |
| loro | prevalessero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | prevali |
| lui/lei | prevalga |
| noi | prevaliamo |
| voi | prevalete |
| loro | prevalgano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 prevalere |
| lui/lei | non prevalga |
| noi | non prevaliamo |
| voi | non prevalete |
| loro | non prevalgano |