ricevere — Italian conjugation
to receive
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 | ricevo | I receive |
| tu | ricevi | you receive |
| lui/lei | riceve | he/she/it receives |
| noi | riceviamo | we receive |
| voi | ricevete | you (pl.) receive |
| loro | ricevono | they receive |
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 | ricevetti | I received |
| tu | ricevesti | you received |
| lui/lei | ricevette | he/she/it received |
| noi | ricevemmo | we received |
| voi | riceveste | you (pl.) received |
| loro | ricevettero | they received |
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 | ricevevo |
| tu | ricevevi |
| lui/lei | riceveva |
| noi | ricevevamo |
| voi | ricevevate |
| loro | ricevevano |
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 | riceverei | I would receive |
| tu | riceveresti | you would receive |
| lui/lei | riceverebbe | he/she/it would receive |
| noi | riceveremmo | we would receive |
| voi | ricevereste | you (pl.) would receive |
| loro | riceverebbero | they would receive |
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 | riceverò | I will receive |
| tu | riceverai | you will receive |
| lui/lei | riceverà | he/she/it will receive |
| noi | riceveremo | we will receive |
| voi | riceverete | you (pl.) will receive |
| loro | riceveranno | they will receive |
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 ricevuto | I have received |
| tu | hai ricevuto | you have received |
| lui/lei | ha ricevuto | he/she/it has received |
| noi | abbiamo ricevuto | we have received |
| voi | avete ricevuto | you (pl.) have received |
| loro | hanno ricevuto | they have received |
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 ricevuto | I had received |
| tu | avevi ricevuto | you had received |
| lui/lei | aveva ricevuto | he/she/it had received |
| noi | avevamo ricevuto | we had received |
| voi | avevate ricevuto | you (pl.) had received |
| loro | avevano ricevuto | they had received |
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 ricevuto |
| tu | avresti ricevuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ricevuto |
| noi | avremmo ricevuto |
| voi | avreste ricevuto |
| loro | avrebbero ricevuto |
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 ricevuto | I will have received |
| tu | avrai ricevuto | you will have received |
| lui/lei | avrà ricevuto | he/she/it will have received |
| noi | avremo ricevuto | we will have received |
| voi | avrete ricevuto | you (pl.) will have received |
| loro | avranno ricevuto | they will have received |
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 | riceva |
| tu | riceva |
| lui/lei | riceva |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | riceviate |
| loro | ricevano |
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 | ricevessi |
| tu | ricevessi |
| lui/lei | ricevesse |
| noi | ricevessimo |
| voi | riceveste |
| loro | ricevessero |
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 | ricevi |
| lui/lei | riceva |
| noi | riceviamo |
| voi | ricevete |
| loro | ricevano |
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 ricevere |
| lui/lei | non riceva |
| noi | non riceviamo |
| voi | non ricevete |
| loro | non ricevano |