sbirciare — Italian conjugation
to peek
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 | sbircio | I peek |
| tu | sbirci | you peek |
| lui/lei | sbircia | he/she/it peeks |
| noi | sbirciamo | we peek |
| voi | sbirciate | you (pl.) peek |
| loro | sbirciano | they peek |
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 | sbirciai | I peeked |
| tu | sbirciasti | you peeked |
| lui/lei | sbirciò | he/she/it peeked |
| noi | sbirciammo | we peeked |
| voi | sbirciaste | you (pl.) peeked |
| loro | sbirciarono | they peeked |
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 | sbirciavo |
| tu | sbirciavi |
| lui/lei | sbirciava |
| noi | sbirciavamo |
| voi | sbirciavate |
| loro | sbirciavano |
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 | sbircerei | I would peek |
| tu | sbirceresti | you would peek |
| lui/lei | sbircerebbe | he/she/it would peek |
| noi | sbirceremmo | we would peek |
| voi | sbircereste | you (pl.) would peek |
| loro | sbircerebbero | they would peek |
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 | sbircerò | I will peek |
| tu | sbircerai | you will peek |
| lui/lei | sbircerà | he/she/it will peek |
| noi | sbirceremo | we will peek |
| voi | sbircerete | you (pl.) will peek |
| loro | sbirceranno | they will peek |
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 sbirciato | I have peeked |
| tu | hai sbirciato | you have peeked |
| lui/lei | ha sbirciato | he/she/it has peeked |
| noi | abbiamo sbirciato | we have peeked |
| voi | avete sbirciato | you (pl.) have peeked |
| loro | hanno sbirciato | they have peeked |
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 sbirciato | I had peeked |
| tu | avevi sbirciato | you had peeked |
| lui/lei | aveva sbirciato | he/she/it had peeked |
| noi | avevamo sbirciato | we had peeked |
| voi | avevate sbirciato | you (pl.) had peeked |
| loro | avevano sbirciato | they had peeked |
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 sbirciato |
| tu | avresti sbirciato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sbirciato |
| noi | avremmo sbirciato |
| voi | avreste sbirciato |
| loro | avrebbero sbirciato |
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 sbirciato | I will have peeked |
| tu | avrai sbirciato | you will have peeked |
| lui/lei | avrà sbirciato | he/she/it will have peeked |
| noi | avremo sbirciato | we will have peeked |
| voi | avrete sbirciato | you (pl.) will have peeked |
| loro | avranno sbirciato | they will have peeked |
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 | sbirci |
| tu | sbirci |
| lui/lei | sbirci |
| noi | sbirciamo |
| voi | sbirciate |
| loro | sbircino |
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 | sbirciassi |
| tu | sbirciassi |
| lui/lei | sbirciasse |
| noi | sbirciassimo |
| voi | sbirciaste |
| loro | sbirciassero |
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 | sbircia |
| lui/lei | sbirci |
| noi | sbirciamo |
| voi | sbirciate |
| loro | sbircino |
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 sbirciare |
| lui/lei | non sbirci |
| noi | non sbirciamo |
| voi | non sbirciate |
| loro | non sbircino |