scambiare — Italian conjugation
to exchange
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 | scambio | I exchange |
| tu | scambi | you exchange |
| lui/lei | scambia | he/she/it exchanges |
| noi | scambiamo | we exchange |
| voi | scambiate | you (pl.) exchange |
| loro | scambiano | they exchange |
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 | scambiai | I exchanged |
| tu | scambiasti | you exchanged |
| lui/lei | scambiò | he/she/it exchanged |
| noi | scambiammo | we exchanged |
| voi | scambiaste | you (pl.) exchanged |
| loro | scambiarono | they exchanged |
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 | scambiavo |
| tu | scambiavi |
| lui/lei | scambiava |
| noi | scambiavamo |
| voi | scambiavate |
| loro | scambiavano |
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 | scambierei | I would exchange |
| tu | scambieresti | you would exchange |
| lui/lei | scambierebbe | he/she/it would exchange |
| noi | scambieremmo | we would exchange |
| voi | scambiereste | you (pl.) would exchange |
| loro | scambierebbero | they would exchange |
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 | scambierò | I will exchange |
| tu | scambierai | you will exchange |
| lui/lei | scambierà | he/she/it will exchange |
| noi | scambieremo | we will exchange |
| voi | scambierete | you (pl.) will exchange |
| loro | scambieranno | they will exchange |
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 scambiato | I have exchanged |
| tu | hai scambiato | you have exchanged |
| lui/lei | ha scambiato | he/she/it has exchanged |
| noi | abbiamo scambiato | we have exchanged |
| voi | avete scambiato | you (pl.) have exchanged |
| loro | hanno scambiato | they have exchanged |
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 scambiato | I had exchanged |
| tu | avevi scambiato | you had exchanged |
| lui/lei | aveva scambiato | he/she/it had exchanged |
| noi | avevamo scambiato | we had exchanged |
| voi | avevate scambiato | you (pl.) had exchanged |
| loro | avevano scambiato | they had exchanged |
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 scambiato |
| tu | avresti scambiato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe scambiato |
| noi | avremmo scambiato |
| voi | avreste scambiato |
| loro | avrebbero scambiato |
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 scambiato | I will have exchanged |
| tu | avrai scambiato | you will have exchanged |
| lui/lei | avrà scambiato | he/she/it will have exchanged |
| noi | avremo scambiato | we will have exchanged |
| voi | avrete scambiato | you (pl.) will have exchanged |
| loro | avranno scambiato | they will have exchanged |
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 | scambi |
| tu | scambi |
| lui/lei | scambi |
| noi | scambiamo |
| voi | scambiate |
| loro | scambino |
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 | scambiassi |
| tu | scambiassi |
| lui/lei | scambiasse |
| noi | scambiassimo |
| voi | scambiaste |
| loro | scambiassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | scambia |
| lui/lei | scambi |
| noi | scambiamo |
| voi | scambiate |
| loro | scambino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 scambiare |
| lui/lei | non scambi |
| noi | non scambiamo |
| voi | non scambiate |
| loro | non scambino |