riferire — Italian conjugation
to refer
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 | riferisco | I refer |
| tu | riferisci | you refer |
| lui/lei | riferisce | he/she/it refers |
| noi | riferiamo | we refer |
| voi | riferite | you (pl.) refer |
| loro | riferiscono | they refer |
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 | riferii | I referred |
| tu | riferisti | you referred |
| lui/lei | riferì | he/she/it referred |
| noi | riferimmo | we referred |
| voi | riferiste | you (pl.) referred |
| loro | riferirono | they referred |
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 | riferivo |
| tu | riferivi |
| lui/lei | riferiva |
| noi | riferivamo |
| voi | riferivate |
| loro | riferivano |
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 | riferirei | I would refer |
| tu | riferiresti | you would refer |
| lui/lei | riferirebbe | he/she/it would refer |
| noi | riferiremmo | we would refer |
| voi | riferireste | you (pl.) would refer |
| loro | riferirebbero | they would refer |
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 | riferirò | I will refer |
| tu | riferirai | you will refer |
| lui/lei | riferirà | he/she/it will refer |
| noi | riferiremo | we will refer |
| voi | riferirete | you (pl.) will refer |
| loro | riferiranno | they will refer |
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 riferito | I have referred |
| tu | hai riferito | you have referred |
| lui/lei | ha riferito | he/she/it has referred |
| noi | abbiamo riferito | we have referred |
| voi | avete riferito | you (pl.) have referred |
| loro | hanno riferito | they have referred |
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 riferito | I had referred |
| tu | avevi riferito | you had referred |
| lui/lei | aveva riferito | he/she/it had referred |
| noi | avevamo riferito | we had referred |
| voi | avevate riferito | you (pl.) had referred |
| loro | avevano riferito | they had referred |
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 riferito |
| tu | avresti riferito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe riferito |
| noi | avremmo riferito |
| voi | avreste riferito |
| loro | avrebbero riferito |
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 riferito | I will have referred |
| tu | avrai riferito | you will have referred |
| lui/lei | avrà riferito | he/she/it will have referred |
| noi | avremo riferito | we will have referred |
| voi | avrete riferito | you (pl.) will have referred |
| loro | avranno riferito | they will have referred |
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 | riferisca |
| tu | riferisca |
| lui/lei | riferisca |
| noi | riferiamo |
| voi | riferiate |
| loro | riferiscano |
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 | riferissi |
| tu | riferissi |
| lui/lei | riferisse |
| noi | riferissimo |
| voi | riferiste |
| loro | riferissero |
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 | riferisci |
| lui/lei | riferisca |
| noi | riferiamo |
| voi | riferite |
| loro | riferiscano |
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 riferire |
| lui/lei | non riferisca |
| noi | non riferiamo |
| voi | non riferite |
| loro | non riferiscano |