seminare — Italian conjugation
to sow; to seed
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 | semino | I sow |
| tu | semini | you sow |
| lui/lei | semina | he/she/it sows |
| noi | seminiamo | we sow |
| voi | seminate | you (pl.) sow |
| loro | seminano | they sow |
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 | seminai | I sowed |
| tu | seminasti | you sowed |
| lui/lei | seminò | he/she/it sowed |
| noi | seminammo | we sowed |
| voi | seminaste | you (pl.) sowed |
| loro | seminarono | they sowed |
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 | seminavo |
| tu | seminavi |
| lui/lei | seminava |
| noi | seminavamo |
| voi | seminavate |
| loro | seminavano |
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 | seminerei | I would sow |
| tu | semineresti | you would sow |
| lui/lei | seminerebbe | he/she/it would sow |
| noi | semineremmo | we would sow |
| voi | seminereste | you (pl.) would sow |
| loro | seminerebbero | they would sow |
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 | seminerò | I will sow |
| tu | seminerai | you will sow |
| lui/lei | seminerà | he/she/it will sow |
| noi | semineremo | we will sow |
| voi | seminerete | you (pl.) will sow |
| loro | semineranno | they will sow |
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 seminato | I have sown |
| tu | hai seminato | you have sown |
| lui/lei | ha seminato | he/she/it has sown |
| noi | abbiamo seminato | we have sown |
| voi | avete seminato | you (pl.) have sown |
| loro | hanno seminato | they have sown |
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 seminato | I had sown |
| tu | avevi seminato | you had sown |
| lui/lei | aveva seminato | he/she/it had sown |
| noi | avevamo seminato | we had sown |
| voi | avevate seminato | you (pl.) had sown |
| loro | avevano seminato | they had sown |
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 seminato |
| tu | avresti seminato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe seminato |
| noi | avremmo seminato |
| voi | avreste seminato |
| loro | avrebbero seminato |
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 seminato | I will have sown |
| tu | avrai seminato | you will have sown |
| lui/lei | avrà seminato | he/she/it will have sown |
| noi | avremo seminato | we will have sown |
| voi | avrete seminato | you (pl.) will have sown |
| loro | avranno seminato | they will have sown |
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 | semini |
| tu | semini |
| lui/lei | semini |
| noi | seminiamo |
| voi | seminiate |
| loro | seminino |
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 | seminassi |
| tu | seminassi |
| lui/lei | seminasse |
| noi | seminassimo |
| voi | seminaste |
| loro | seminassero |
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 | semina |
| lui/lei | semini |
| noi | seminiamo |
| voi | seminate |
| loro | seminino |
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 seminare |
| lui/lei | non semini |
| noi | non seminiamo |
| voi | non seminate |
| loro | non seminino |