rallentare — Italian conjugation
to slow down
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 | rallento | I slow down |
| tu | rallenti | you slow down |
| lui/lei | rallenta | he/she/it slows down |
| noi | rallentiamo | we slow down |
| voi | rallentate | you (pl.) slow down |
| loro | rallentano | they slow down |
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 | rallentai | I slowed down |
| tu | rallentasti | you slowed down |
| lui/lei | rallentò | he/she/it slowed down |
| noi | rallentammo | we slowed down |
| voi | rallentaste | you (pl.) slowed down |
| loro | rallentarono | they slowed down |
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 | rallentavo |
| tu | rallentavi |
| lui/lei | rallentava |
| noi | rallentavamo |
| voi | rallentavate |
| loro | rallentavano |
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 | rallenterei | I would slow down |
| tu | rallenteresti | you would slow down |
| lui/lei | rallenterebbe | he/she/it would slow down |
| noi | rallenteremmo | we would slow down |
| voi | rallentereste | you (pl.) would slow down |
| loro | rallenterebbero | they would slow down |
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 | rallenterò | I will slow down |
| tu | rallenterai | you will slow down |
| lui/lei | rallenterà | he/she/it will slow down |
| noi | rallenteremo | we will slow down |
| voi | rallenterete | you (pl.) will slow down |
| loro | rallenteranno | they will slow down |
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 rallentato | I have slowed down |
| tu | hai rallentato | you have slowed down |
| lui/lei | ha rallentato | he/she/it has slowed down |
| noi | abbiamo rallentato | we have slowed down |
| voi | avete rallentato | you (pl.) have slowed down |
| loro | hanno rallentato | they have slowed down |
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 rallentato | I had slowed down |
| tu | avevi rallentato | you had slowed down |
| lui/lei | aveva rallentato | he/she/it had slowed down |
| noi | avevamo rallentato | we had slowed down |
| voi | avevate rallentato | you (pl.) had slowed down |
| loro | avevano rallentato | they had slowed down |
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 rallentato |
| tu | avresti rallentato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe rallentato |
| noi | avremmo rallentato |
| voi | avreste rallentato |
| loro | avrebbero rallentato |
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 rallentato | I will have slowed down |
| tu | avrai rallentato | you will have slowed down |
| lui/lei | avrà rallentato | he/she/it will have slowed down |
| noi | avremo rallentato | we will have slowed down |
| voi | avrete rallentato | you (pl.) will have slowed down |
| loro | avranno rallentato | they will have slowed down |
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 | rallenti |
| tu | rallenti |
| lui/lei | rallenti |
| noi | rallentiamo |
| voi | rallentiate |
| loro | rallentino |
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 | rallentassi |
| tu | rallentassi |
| lui/lei | rallentasse |
| noi | rallentassimo |
| voi | rallentaste |
| loro | rallentassero |
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 | rallenta |
| lui/lei | rallenti |
| noi | rallentiamo |
| voi | rallentate |
| loro | rallentino |
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 rallentare |
| lui/lei | non rallenti |
| noi | non rallentiamo |
| voi | non rallentate |
| loro | non rallentino |