smettere — Italian conjugation
to stop
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 | smetto | I stop |
| tu | smetti | you stop |
| lui/lei | smette | he/she/it stops |
| noi | smettiamo | we stop |
| voi | smettete | you (pl.) stop |
| loro | smettono | they stop |
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 | smisi | I stopped |
| tu | smettesti | you stopped |
| lui/lei | smise | he/she/it stopped |
| noi | smettemmo | we stopped |
| voi | smetteste | you (pl.) stopped |
| loro | smisero | they stopped |
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 | smettevo |
| tu | smettevi |
| lui/lei | smetteva |
| noi | smettevamo |
| voi | smettevate |
| loro | smettevano |
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 | smetterei | I would stop |
| tu | smetteresti | you would stop |
| lui/lei | smetterebbe | he/she/it would stop |
| noi | smetteremmo | we would stop |
| voi | smettereste | you (pl.) would stop |
| loro | smetterebbero | they would stop |
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 | smetterò | I will stop |
| tu | smetterai | you will stop |
| lui/lei | smetterà | he/she/it will stop |
| noi | smetteremo | we will stop |
| voi | smetterete | you (pl.) will stop |
| loro | smetteranno | they will stop |
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 smesso | I have stopped |
| tu | hai smesso | you have stopped |
| lui/lei | ha smesso | he/she/it has stopped |
| noi | abbiamo smesso | we have stopped |
| voi | avete smesso | you (pl.) have stopped |
| loro | hanno smesso | they have stopped |
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 smesso | I had stopped |
| tu | avevi smesso | you had stopped |
| lui/lei | aveva smesso | he/she/it had stopped |
| noi | avevamo smesso | we had stopped |
| voi | avevate smesso | you (pl.) had stopped |
| loro | avevano smesso | they had stopped |
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 smesso |
| tu | avresti smesso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe smesso |
| noi | avremmo smesso |
| voi | avreste smesso |
| loro | avrebbero smesso |
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 smesso | I will have stopped |
| tu | avrai smesso | you will have stopped |
| lui/lei | avrà smesso | he/she/it will have stopped |
| noi | avremo smesso | we will have stopped |
| voi | avrete smesso | you (pl.) will have stopped |
| loro | avranno smesso | they will have stopped |
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 | smetta |
| tu | smetta |
| lui/lei | smetta |
| noi | smettiamo |
| voi | smettiate |
| loro | smettano |
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 | smettessi |
| tu | smettessi |
| lui/lei | smettesse |
| noi | smettessimo |
| voi | smetteste |
| loro | smettessero |
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 | smetti |
| lui/lei | smetta |
| noi | smettiamo |
| voi | smettete |
| loro | smettano |
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 smettere |
| lui/lei | non smetta |
| noi | non smettiamo |
| voi | non smettete |
| loro | non smettano |