respirare — Italian conjugation
to breathe
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 | respiro | I breathe |
| tu | respiri | you breathe |
| lui/lei | respira | he/she/it breathes |
| noi | respiriamo | we breathe |
| voi | respirate | you (pl.) breathe |
| loro | respirano | they breathe |
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 | respirai | I breathed |
| tu | respirasti | you breathed |
| lui/lei | respirò | he/she/it breathed |
| noi | respirammo | we breathed |
| voi | respiraste | you (pl.) breathed |
| loro | respirarono | they breathed |
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 | respiravo |
| tu | respiravi |
| lui/lei | respirava |
| noi | respiravamo |
| voi | respiravate |
| loro | respiravano |
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 | respirerei | I would breathe |
| tu | respireresti | you would breathe |
| lui/lei | respirerebbe | he/she/it would breathe |
| noi | respireremmo | we would breathe |
| voi | respirereste | you (pl.) would breathe |
| loro | respirerebbero | they would breathe |
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 | respirerò | I will breathe |
| tu | respirerai | you will breathe |
| lui/lei | respirerà | he/she/it will breathe |
| noi | respireremo | we will breathe |
| voi | respirerete | you (pl.) will breathe |
| loro | respireranno | they will breathe |
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 respirato | I have breathed |
| tu | hai respirato | you have breathed |
| lui/lei | ha respirato | he/she/it has breathed |
| noi | abbiamo respirato | we have breathed |
| voi | avete respirato | you (pl.) have breathed |
| loro | hanno respirato | they have breathed |
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 respirato | I had breathed |
| tu | avevi respirato | you had breathed |
| lui/lei | aveva respirato | he/she/it had breathed |
| noi | avevamo respirato | we had breathed |
| voi | avevate respirato | you (pl.) had breathed |
| loro | avevano respirato | they had breathed |
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 respirato |
| tu | avresti respirato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe respirato |
| noi | avremmo respirato |
| voi | avreste respirato |
| loro | avrebbero respirato |
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 respirato | I will have breathed |
| tu | avrai respirato | you will have breathed |
| lui/lei | avrà respirato | he/she/it will have breathed |
| noi | avremo respirato | we will have breathed |
| voi | avrete respirato | you (pl.) will have breathed |
| loro | avranno respirato | they will have breathed |
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 | respiri |
| tu | respiri |
| lui/lei | respiri |
| noi | respiriamo |
| voi | respiriate |
| loro | respirino |
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 | respirassi |
| tu | respirassi |
| lui/lei | respirasse |
| noi | respirassimo |
| voi | respiraste |
| loro | respirassero |
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 | respira |
| lui/lei | respiri |
| noi | respiriamo |
| voi | respirate |
| loro | respirino |
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 respirare |
| lui/lei | non respiri |
| noi | non respiriamo |
| voi | non respirate |
| loro | non respirino |