scherzare — Italian conjugation
to joke
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 | scherzo | I joke |
| tu | scherzi | you joke |
| lui/lei | scherza | he/she/it jokes |
| noi | scherziamo | we joke |
| voi | scherzate | you (pl.) joke |
| loro | scherzano | they joke |
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 | scherzai | I joked |
| tu | scherzasti | you joked |
| lui/lei | scherzò | he/she/it joked |
| noi | scherzammo | we joked |
| voi | scherzaste | you (pl.) joked |
| loro | scherzarono | they joked |
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 | scherzavo |
| tu | scherzavi |
| lui/lei | scherzava |
| noi | scherzavamo |
| voi | scherzavate |
| loro | scherzavano |
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 | scherzerei | I would joke |
| tu | scherzeresti | you would joke |
| lui/lei | scherzerebbe | he/she/it would joke |
| noi | scherzeremmo | we would joke |
| voi | scherzereste | you (pl.) would joke |
| loro | scherzerebbero | they would joke |
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 | scherzerò | I will joke |
| tu | scherzerai | you will joke |
| lui/lei | scherzerà | he/she/it will joke |
| noi | scherzeremo | we will joke |
| voi | scherzerete | you (pl.) will joke |
| loro | scherzeranno | they will joke |
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 scherzato | I have joked |
| tu | hai scherzato | you have joked |
| lui/lei | ha scherzato | he/she/it has joked |
| noi | abbiamo scherzato | we have joked |
| voi | avete scherzato | you (pl.) have joked |
| loro | hanno scherzato | they have joked |
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 scherzato | I had joked |
| tu | avevi scherzato | you had joked |
| lui/lei | aveva scherzato | he/she/it had joked |
| noi | avevamo scherzato | we had joked |
| voi | avevate scherzato | you (pl.) had joked |
| loro | avevano scherzato | they had joked |
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 scherzato |
| tu | avresti scherzato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe scherzato |
| noi | avremmo scherzato |
| voi | avreste scherzato |
| loro | avrebbero scherzato |
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 scherzato | I will have joked |
| tu | avrai scherzato | you will have joked |
| lui/lei | avrà scherzato | he/she/it will have joked |
| noi | avremo scherzato | we will have joked |
| voi | avrete scherzato | you (pl.) will have joked |
| loro | avranno scherzato | they will have joked |
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 | scherzi |
| tu | scherzi |
| lui/lei | scherzi |
| noi | scherziamo |
| voi | scherziate |
| loro | scherzino |
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 | scherzassi |
| tu | scherzassi |
| lui/lei | scherzasse |
| noi | scherzassimo |
| voi | scherzaste |
| loro | scherzassero |
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 | scherza |
| lui/lei | scherzi |
| noi | scherziamo |
| voi | scherzate |
| loro | scherzino |
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 scherzare |
| lui/lei | non scherzi |
| noi | non scherziamo |
| voi | non scherzate |
| loro | non scherzino |