prevenire — Italian conjugation
to prevent
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 | prevengo | I prevent |
| tu | previeni | you prevent |
| lui/lei | previene | he/she/it prevents |
| noi | preveniamo | we prevent |
| voi | prevenite | you (pl.) prevent |
| loro | prevengono | they prevent |
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 | prevenni | I prevented |
| tu | prevenisti | you prevented |
| lui/lei | prevenne | he/she/it prevented |
| noi | prevenimmo | we prevented |
| voi | preveniste | you (pl.) prevented |
| loro | prevennero | they prevented |
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 | prevenivo |
| tu | prevenivi |
| lui/lei | preveniva |
| noi | prevenivamo |
| voi | prevenivate |
| loro | prevenivano |
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 | preverrei | I would prevent |
| tu | preverresti | you would prevent |
| lui/lei | preverrebbe | he/she/it would prevent |
| noi | preverremmo | we would prevent |
| voi | preverreste | you (pl.) would prevent |
| loro | preverrebbero | they would prevent |
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 | preverrò | I will prevent |
| tu | preverrai | you will prevent |
| lui/lei | preverrà | he/she/it will prevent |
| noi | preverremo | we will prevent |
| voi | preverrete | you (pl.) will prevent |
| loro | preverranno | they will prevent |
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 prevenuto | I have prevented |
| tu | hai prevenuto | you have prevented |
| lui/lei | ha prevenuto | he/she/it has prevented |
| noi | abbiamo prevenuto | we have prevented |
| voi | avete prevenuto | you (pl.) have prevented |
| loro | hanno prevenuto | they have prevented |
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 prevenuto | I had prevented |
| tu | avevi prevenuto | you had prevented |
| lui/lei | aveva prevenuto | he/she/it had prevented |
| noi | avevamo prevenuto | we had prevented |
| voi | avevate prevenuto | you (pl.) had prevented |
| loro | avevano prevenuto | they had prevented |
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 prevenuto |
| tu | avresti prevenuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe prevenuto |
| noi | avremmo prevenuto |
| voi | avreste prevenuto |
| loro | avrebbero prevenuto |
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 prevenuto | I will have prevented |
| tu | avrai prevenuto | you will have prevented |
| lui/lei | avrà prevenuto | he/she/it will have prevented |
| noi | avremo prevenuto | we will have prevented |
| voi | avrete prevenuto | you (pl.) will have prevented |
| loro | avranno prevenuto | they will have prevented |
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 | prevenga |
| tu | prevenga |
| lui/lei | prevenga |
| noi | preveniamo |
| voi | preveniate |
| loro | prevengano |
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 | prevenissi |
| tu | prevenissi |
| lui/lei | prevenisse |
| noi | prevenissimo |
| voi | preveniste |
| loro | prevenissero |
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 | previeni |
| lui/lei | prevenga |
| noi | preveniamo |
| voi | prevenite |
| loro | prevengano |
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 prevenire |
| lui/lei | non prevenga |
| noi | non preveniamo |
| voi | non prevenite |
| loro | non prevengano |