ricoprire — Italian conjugation
to cover
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 | ricopro | I cover |
| tu | ricopri | you cover |
| lui/lei | ricopre | he/she/it covers |
| noi | ricopriamo | we cover |
| voi | ricoprite | you (pl.) cover |
| loro | ricoprono | they cover |
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 | ricoprii | I covered |
| tu | ricopristi | you covered |
| lui/lei | ricoprì | he/she/it covered |
| noi | ricoprimmo | we covered |
| voi | ricopriste | you (pl.) covered |
| loro | ricoprirono | they covered |
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 | ricoprivo |
| tu | ricoprivi |
| lui/lei | ricopriva |
| noi | ricoprivamo |
| voi | ricoprivate |
| loro | ricoprivano |
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 | ricoprirei | I would cover |
| tu | ricopriresti | you would cover |
| lui/lei | ricoprirebbe | he/she/it would cover |
| noi | ricopriremmo | we would cover |
| voi | ricoprireste | you (pl.) would cover |
| loro | ricoprirebbero | they would cover |
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 | ricoprirò | I will cover |
| tu | ricoprirai | you will cover |
| lui/lei | ricoprirà | he/she/it will cover |
| noi | ricopriremo | we will cover |
| voi | ricoprirete | you (pl.) will cover |
| loro | ricopriranno | they will cover |
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 ricoperto | I have covered |
| tu | hai ricoperto | you have covered |
| lui/lei | ha ricoperto | he/she/it has covered |
| noi | abbiamo ricoperto | we have covered |
| voi | avete ricoperto | you (pl.) have covered |
| loro | hanno ricoperto | they have covered |
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 ricoperto | I had covered |
| tu | avevi ricoperto | you had covered |
| lui/lei | aveva ricoperto | he/she/it had covered |
| noi | avevamo ricoperto | we had covered |
| voi | avevate ricoperto | you (pl.) had covered |
| loro | avevano ricoperto | they had covered |
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 ricoperto |
| tu | avresti ricoperto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ricoperto |
| noi | avremmo ricoperto |
| voi | avreste ricoperto |
| loro | avrebbero ricoperto |
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 ricoperto | I will have covered |
| tu | avrai ricoperto | you will have covered |
| lui/lei | avrà ricoperto | he/she/it will have covered |
| noi | avremo ricoperto | we will have covered |
| voi | avrete ricoperto | you (pl.) will have covered |
| loro | avranno ricoperto | they will have covered |
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 | ricopra |
| tu | ricopra |
| lui/lei | ricopra |
| noi | ricopriamo |
| voi | ricopriate |
| loro | ricoprano |
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 | ricoprissi |
| tu | ricoprissi |
| lui/lei | ricoprisse |
| noi | ricoprissimo |
| voi | ricopriste |
| loro | ricoprissero |
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 | ricopri |
| lui/lei | ricopra |
| noi | ricopriamo |
| voi | ricoprite |
| loro | ricoprano |
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 ricoprire |
| lui/lei | non ricopra |
| noi | non ricopriamo |
| voi | non ricoprite |
| loro | non ricoprano |