sapere — Italian conjugation
to know (facts, how to)
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 | so | I know |
| tu | sai | you know |
| lui/lei | sa | he/she/it knows |
| noi | sappiamo | we know |
| voi | sapete | you (pl.) know |
| loro | sanno | they know |
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 | seppi | I knew |
| tu | sapesti | you knew |
| lui/lei | seppe | he/she/it knew |
| noi | sapemmo | we knew |
| voi | sapeste | you (pl.) knew |
| loro | seppero | they knew |
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 | sapevo |
| tu | sapevi |
| lui/lei | sapeva |
| noi | sapevamo |
| voi | sapevate |
| loro | sapevano |
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 | saprei | I would know |
| tu | sapresti | you would know |
| lui/lei | saprebbe | he/she/it would know |
| noi | sapremmo | we would know |
| voi | sapreste | you (pl.) would know |
| loro | saprebbero | they would know |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | saprò | I will know |
| tu | saprai | you will know |
| lui/lei | saprà | he/she/it will know |
| noi | sapremo | we will know |
| voi | saprete | you (pl.) will know |
| loro | sapranno | they will know |
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 saputo | I have known |
| tu | hai saputo | you have known |
| lui/lei | ha saputo | he/she/it has known |
| noi | abbiamo saputo | we have known |
| voi | avete saputo | you (pl.) have known |
| loro | hanno saputo | they have known |
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 saputo | I had known |
| tu | avevi saputo | you had known |
| lui/lei | aveva saputo | he/she/it had known |
| noi | avevamo saputo | we had known |
| voi | avevate saputo | you (pl.) had known |
| loro | avevano saputo | they had known |
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 saputo |
| tu | avresti saputo |
| lui/lei | avrebbe saputo |
| noi | avremmo saputo |
| voi | avreste saputo |
| loro | avrebbero saputo |
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 saputo | I will have known |
| tu | avrai saputo | you will have known |
| lui/lei | avrà saputo | he/she/it will have known |
| noi | avremo saputo | we will have known |
| voi | avrete saputo | you (pl.) will have known |
| loro | avranno saputo | they will have known |
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 | sappia |
| tu | sappia |
| lui/lei | sappia |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sappiate |
| loro | sappiano |
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 | sapessi |
| tu | sapessi |
| lui/lei | sapesse |
| noi | sapessimo |
| voi | sapeste |
| loro | sapessero |
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 | sappi |
| lui/lei | sappia |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sappiate |
| loro | sappiano |
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 sapere |
| lui/lei | non sappia |
| noi | non sappiamo |
| voi | non sappiate |
| loro | non sappiano |