ricostruire — Italian conjugation
to reconstruct
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
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 | ricostruisco | I reconstruct |
| tu | ricostruisci | you reconstruct |
| lui/lei | ricostruisce | he/she/it reconstructs |
| noi | ricostruiamo | we reconstruct |
| voi | ricostruite | you (pl.) reconstruct |
| loro | ricostruiscono | they reconstruct |
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 | ricostruii | I reconstructed |
| tu | ricostruisti | you reconstructed |
| lui/lei | ricostruì | he/she/it reconstructed |
| noi | ricostruimmo | we reconstructed |
| voi | ricostruiste | you (pl.) reconstructed |
| loro | ricostruirono | they reconstructed |
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 | ricostruivo |
| tu | ricostruivi |
| lui/lei | ricostruiva |
| noi | ricostruivamo |
| voi | ricostruivate |
| loro | ricostruivano |
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 | ricostruirei | I would reconstruct |
| tu | ricostruiresti | you would reconstruct |
| lui/lei | ricostruirebbe | he/she/it would reconstruct |
| noi | ricostruiremmo | we would reconstruct |
| voi | ricostruireste | you (pl.) would reconstruct |
| loro | ricostruirebbero | they would reconstruct |
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 | ricostruirò | I will reconstruct |
| tu | ricostruirai | you will reconstruct |
| lui/lei | ricostruirà | he/she/it will reconstruct |
| noi | ricostruiremo | we will reconstruct |
| voi | ricostruirete | you (pl.) will reconstruct |
| loro | ricostruiranno | they will reconstruct |
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 ricostruito | I have reconstructed |
| tu | hai ricostruito | you have reconstructed |
| lui/lei | ha ricostruito | he/she/it has reconstructed |
| noi | abbiamo ricostruito | we have reconstructed |
| voi | avete ricostruito | you (pl.) have reconstructed |
| loro | hanno ricostruito | they have reconstructed |
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 ricostruito | I had reconstructed |
| tu | avevi ricostruito | you had reconstructed |
| lui/lei | aveva ricostruito | he/she/it had reconstructed |
| noi | avevamo ricostruito | we had reconstructed |
| voi | avevate ricostruito | you (pl.) had reconstructed |
| loro | avevano ricostruito | they had reconstructed |
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 ricostruito |
| tu | avresti ricostruito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ricostruito |
| noi | avremmo ricostruito |
| voi | avreste ricostruito |
| loro | avrebbero ricostruito |
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 ricostruito | I will have reconstructed |
| tu | avrai ricostruito | you will have reconstructed |
| lui/lei | avrà ricostruito | he/she/it will have reconstructed |
| noi | avremo ricostruito | we will have reconstructed |
| voi | avrete ricostruito | you (pl.) will have reconstructed |
| loro | avranno ricostruito | they will have reconstructed |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
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 | ricostruisca |
| tu | ricostruisca |
| lui/lei | ricostruisca |
| noi | ricostruiamo |
| voi | ricostruiate |
| loro | ricostruiscano |
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 | ricostruissi |
| tu | ricostruissi |
| lui/lei | ricostruisse |
| noi | ricostruissimo |
| voi | ricostruiste |
| loro | ricostruissero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | ricostruisci |
| lui/lei | ricostruisca |
| noi | ricostruiamo |
| voi | ricostruite |
| loro | ricostruiscano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 ricostruire |
| lui/lei | non ricostruisca |
| noi | non ricostruiamo |
| voi | non ricostruite |
| loro | non ricostruiscano |