provare — Italian conjugation
to try
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 | provo | I try |
| tu | provi | you try |
| lui/lei | prova | he/she/it tries |
| noi | proviamo | we try |
| voi | provate | you (pl.) try |
| loro | provano | they try |
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 | provai | I tried |
| tu | provasti | you tried |
| lui/lei | provò | he/she/it tried |
| noi | provammo | we tried |
| voi | provaste | you (pl.) tried |
| loro | provarono | they tried |
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 | provavo |
| tu | provavi |
| lui/lei | provava |
| noi | provavamo |
| voi | provavate |
| loro | provavano |
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 | proverei | I would try |
| tu | proveresti | you would try |
| lui/lei | proverebbe | he/she/it would try |
| noi | proveremmo | we would try |
| voi | provereste | you (pl.) would try |
| loro | proverebbero | they would try |
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 | proverò | I will try |
| tu | proverai | you will try |
| lui/lei | proverà | he/she/it will try |
| noi | proveremo | we will try |
| voi | proverete | you (pl.) will try |
| loro | proveranno | they will try |
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 provato | I have tried |
| tu | hai provato | you have tried |
| lui/lei | ha provato | he/she/it has tried |
| noi | abbiamo provato | we have tried |
| voi | avete provato | you (pl.) have tried |
| loro | hanno provato | they have tried |
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 provato | I had tried |
| tu | avevi provato | you had tried |
| lui/lei | aveva provato | he/she/it had tried |
| noi | avevamo provato | we had tried |
| voi | avevate provato | you (pl.) had tried |
| loro | avevano provato | they had tried |
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 provato |
| tu | avresti provato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe provato |
| noi | avremmo provato |
| voi | avreste provato |
| loro | avrebbero provato |
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 provato | I will have tried |
| tu | avrai provato | you will have tried |
| lui/lei | avrà provato | he/she/it will have tried |
| noi | avremo provato | we will have tried |
| voi | avrete provato | you (pl.) will have tried |
| loro | avranno provato | they will have tried |
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 | provi |
| tu | provi |
| lui/lei | provi |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | proviate |
| loro | provino |
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 | provassi |
| tu | provassi |
| lui/lei | provasse |
| noi | provassimo |
| voi | provaste |
| loro | provassero |
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 | prova |
| lui/lei | provi |
| noi | proviamo |
| voi | provate |
| loro | provino |
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 provare |
| lui/lei | non provi |
| noi | non proviamo |
| voi | non provate |
| loro | non provino |