ritrattare — Italian conjugation
to portray
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 | ritratto | I portray |
| tu | ritratti | you portray |
| lui/lei | ritratta | he/she/it portrays |
| noi | ritrattiamo | we portray |
| voi | ritrattate | you (pl.) portray |
| loro | ritrattano | they portray |
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 | ritrattai | I portrayed |
| tu | ritrattasti | you portrayed |
| lui/lei | ritrattò | he/she/it portrayed |
| noi | ritrattammo | we portrayed |
| voi | ritrattaste | you (pl.) portrayed |
| loro | ritrattarono | they portrayed |
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 | ritrattavo |
| tu | ritrattavi |
| lui/lei | ritrattava |
| noi | ritrattavamo |
| voi | ritrattavate |
| loro | ritrattavano |
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 | ritratterei | I would portray |
| tu | ritratteresti | you would portray |
| lui/lei | ritratterebbe | he/she/it would portray |
| noi | ritratteremmo | we would portray |
| voi | ritrattereste | you (pl.) would portray |
| loro | ritratterebbero | they would portray |
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 | ritratterò | I will portray |
| tu | ritratterai | you will portray |
| lui/lei | ritratterà | he/she/it will portray |
| noi | ritratteremo | we will portray |
| voi | ritratterete | you (pl.) will portray |
| loro | ritratteranno | they will portray |
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 ritrattato | I have portrayed |
| tu | hai ritrattato | you have portrayed |
| lui/lei | ha ritrattato | he/she/it has portrayed |
| noi | abbiamo ritrattato | we have portrayed |
| voi | avete ritrattato | you (pl.) have portrayed |
| loro | hanno ritrattato | they have portrayed |
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 ritrattato | I had portrayed |
| tu | avevi ritrattato | you had portrayed |
| lui/lei | aveva ritrattato | he/she/it had portrayed |
| noi | avevamo ritrattato | we had portrayed |
| voi | avevate ritrattato | you (pl.) had portrayed |
| loro | avevano ritrattato | they had portrayed |
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 ritrattato |
| tu | avresti ritrattato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ritrattato |
| noi | avremmo ritrattato |
| voi | avreste ritrattato |
| loro | avrebbero ritrattato |
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 ritrattato | I will have portrayed |
| tu | avrai ritrattato | you will have portrayed |
| lui/lei | avrà ritrattato | he/she/it will have portrayed |
| noi | avremo ritrattato | we will have portrayed |
| voi | avrete ritrattato | you (pl.) will have portrayed |
| loro | avranno ritrattato | they will have portrayed |
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 | ritratti |
| tu | ritratti |
| lui/lei | ritratti |
| noi | ritrattiamo |
| voi | ritrattiate |
| loro | ritrattino |
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 | ritrattassi |
| tu | ritrattassi |
| lui/lei | ritrattasse |
| noi | ritrattassimo |
| voi | ritrattaste |
| loro | ritrattassero |
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 | ritratta |
| lui/lei | ritratti |
| noi | ritrattiamo |
| voi | ritrattate |
| loro | ritrattino |
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 ritrattare |
| lui/lei | non ritratti |
| noi | non ritrattiamo |
| voi | non ritrattate |
| loro | non ritrattino |