proporre — Italian conjugation

to propose

Frequency#511Irregular

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
iopropongoI propose
tuproponiyou propose
lui/leiproponehe/she/it proposes
noiproponiamowe propose
voiproponeteyou (pl.) propose
loropropongonothey propose

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioproposiI proposed
tuproponestiyou proposed
lui/leiproposehe/she/it proposed
noiproponemmowe proposed
voiproponesteyou (pl.) proposed
loroproposerothey proposed

Imperfect (Imperfetto) Irregular

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.

PronounItalian
ioproponevo
tuproponevi
lui/leiproponeva
noiproponevamo
voiproponevate
loroproponevano

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?

PronounItalianEnglish
ioproporreiI would propose
tuproporrestiyou would propose
lui/leiproporrebbehe/she/it would propose
noiproporremmowe would propose
voiproporresteyou (pl.) would propose
loroproporrebberothey would propose

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioproporròI will propose
tuproporraiyou will propose
lui/leiproporràhe/she/it will propose
noiproporremowe will propose
voiproporreteyou (pl.) will propose
loroproporrannothey will propose

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioho propostoI have proposed
tuhai propostoyou have proposed
lui/leiha propostohe/she/it has proposed
noiabbiamo propostowe have proposed
voiavete propostoyou (pl.) have proposed
lorohanno propostothey have proposed

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioavevo propostoI had proposed
tuavevi propostoyou had proposed
lui/leiaveva propostohe/she/it had proposed
noiavevamo propostowe had proposed
voiavevate propostoyou (pl.) had proposed
loroavevano propostothey had proposed

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.

PronounItalian
ioavrei proposto
tuavresti proposto
lui/leiavrebbe proposto
noiavremmo proposto
voiavreste proposto
loroavrebbero proposto

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioavrò propostoI will have proposed
tuavrai propostoyou will have proposed
lui/leiavrà propostohe/she/it will have proposed
noiavremo propostowe will have proposed
voiavrete propostoyou (pl.) will have proposed
loroavranno propostothey will have proposed

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.

PronounItalian
ioproponga
tuproponga
lui/leiproponga
noiproponiamo
voiproponiate
loropropongano

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.

PronounItalian
ioproponessi
tuproponessi
lui/leiproponesse
noiproponessimo
voiproponeste
loroproponessero

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.

PronounItalian
tuproponi
lui/leiproponga
noiproponiamo
voiproponete
loropropongano

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.

PronounItalian
tunon proporre
lui/leinon proponga
noinon proponiamo
voinon proponete
loronon propongano