scalare — Italian conjugation
to climb, to scale
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 | scalo | I climb |
| tu | scali | you climb |
| lui/lei | scala | he/she/it climbs |
| noi | scaliamo | we climb |
| voi | scalate | you (pl.) climb |
| loro | scalano | they climb |
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 | scalai | I climbed |
| tu | scalasti | you climbed |
| lui/lei | scalò | he/she/it climbed |
| noi | scalammo | we climbed |
| voi | scalaste | you (pl.) climbed |
| loro | scalarono | they climbed |
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 | scalavo |
| tu | scalavi |
| lui/lei | scalava |
| noi | scalavamo |
| voi | scalavate |
| loro | scalavano |
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 | scalerei | I would climb |
| tu | scaleresti | you would climb |
| lui/lei | scalerebbe | he/she/it would climb |
| noi | scaleremmo | we would climb |
| voi | scalereste | you (pl.) would climb |
| loro | scalerebbero | they would climb |
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 | scalerò | I will climb |
| tu | scalerai | you will climb |
| lui/lei | scalerà | he/she/it will climb |
| noi | scaleremo | we will climb |
| voi | scalerete | you (pl.) will climb |
| loro | scaleranno | they will climb |
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 scalato | I have climbed |
| tu | hai scalato | you have climbed |
| lui/lei | ha scalato | he/she/it has climbed |
| noi | abbiamo scalato | we have climbed |
| voi | avete scalato | you (pl.) have climbed |
| loro | hanno scalato | they have climbed |
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 scalato | I had climbed |
| tu | avevi scalato | you had climbed |
| lui/lei | aveva scalato | he/she/it had climbed |
| noi | avevamo scalato | we had climbed |
| voi | avevate scalato | you (pl.) had climbed |
| loro | avevano scalato | they had climbed |
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 scalato |
| tu | avresti scalato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe scalato |
| noi | avremmo scalato |
| voi | avreste scalato |
| loro | avrebbero scalato |
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 scalato | I will have climbed |
| tu | avrai scalato | you will have climbed |
| lui/lei | avrà scalato | he/she/it will have climbed |
| noi | avremo scalato | we will have climbed |
| voi | avrete scalato | you (pl.) will have climbed |
| loro | avranno scalato | they will have climbed |
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 | scali |
| tu | scali |
| lui/lei | scali |
| noi | scaliamo |
| voi | scaliate |
| loro | scalino |
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 | scalassi |
| tu | scalassi |
| lui/lei | scalasse |
| noi | scalassimo |
| voi | scalaste |
| loro | scalassero |
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 | scala |
| lui/lei | scali |
| noi | scaliamo |
| voi | scalate |
| loro | scalino |
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 scalare |
| lui/lei | non scali |
| noi | non scaliamo |
| voi | non scalate |
| loro | non scalino |