sconfiggere — Italian conjugation
to defeat
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 | sconfiggo | I defeat |
| tu | sconfiggi | you defeat |
| lui/lei | sconfigge | he/she/it defeats |
| noi | sconfiggiamo | we defeat |
| voi | sconfiggete | you (pl.) defeat |
| loro | sconfiggono | they defeat |
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 | sconfissi | I defeated |
| tu | sconfiggesti | you defeated |
| lui/lei | sconfisse | he/she/it defeated |
| noi | sconfiggemmo | we defeated |
| voi | sconfiggeste | you (pl.) defeated |
| loro | sconfissero | they defeated |
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 | sconfiggevo |
| tu | sconfiggevi |
| lui/lei | sconfiggeva |
| noi | sconfiggevamo |
| voi | sconfiggevate |
| loro | sconfiggevano |
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 | sconfiggerei | I would defeat |
| tu | sconfiggeresti | you would defeat |
| lui/lei | sconfiggerebbe | he/she/it would defeat |
| noi | sconfiggeremmo | we would defeat |
| voi | sconfiggereste | you (pl.) would defeat |
| loro | sconfiggerebbero | they would defeat |
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 | sconfiggerò | I will defeat |
| tu | sconfiggerai | you will defeat |
| lui/lei | sconfiggerà | he/she/it will defeat |
| noi | sconfiggeremo | we will defeat |
| voi | sconfiggerete | you (pl.) will defeat |
| loro | sconfiggeranno | they will defeat |
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 sconfitto | I have defeated |
| tu | hai sconfitto | you have defeated |
| lui/lei | ha sconfitto | he/she/it has defeated |
| noi | abbiamo sconfitto | we have defeated |
| voi | avete sconfitto | you (pl.) have defeated |
| loro | hanno sconfitto | they have defeated |
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 sconfitto | I had defeated |
| tu | avevi sconfitto | you had defeated |
| lui/lei | aveva sconfitto | he/she/it had defeated |
| noi | avevamo sconfitto | we had defeated |
| voi | avevate sconfitto | you (pl.) had defeated |
| loro | avevano sconfitto | they had defeated |
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 sconfitto |
| tu | avresti sconfitto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sconfitto |
| noi | avremmo sconfitto |
| voi | avreste sconfitto |
| loro | avrebbero sconfitto |
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 sconfitto | I will have defeated |
| tu | avrai sconfitto | you will have defeated |
| lui/lei | avrà sconfitto | he/she/it will have defeated |
| noi | avremo sconfitto | we will have defeated |
| voi | avrete sconfitto | you (pl.) will have defeated |
| loro | avranno sconfitto | they will have defeated |
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 | sconfigga |
| tu | sconfigga |
| lui/lei | sconfigga |
| noi | sconfiggiamo |
| voi | sconfiggiate |
| loro | sconfiggano |
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 | sconfiggessi |
| tu | sconfiggessi |
| lui/lei | sconfiggesse |
| noi | sconfiggessimo |
| voi | sconfiggeste |
| loro | sconfiggessero |
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 | sconfiggi |
| lui/lei | sconfigga |
| noi | sconfiggiamo |
| voi | sconfiggete |
| loro | sconfiggano |
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 sconfiggere |
| lui/lei | non sconfigga |
| noi | non sconfiggiamo |
| voi | non sconfiggete |
| loro | non sconfiggano |