sminuire — Italian conjugation
to diminish
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 | sminuisco | I diminish |
| tu | sminuisci | you diminish |
| lui/lei | sminuisce | he/she/it diminishes |
| noi | sminuiamo | we diminish |
| voi | sminuite | you (pl.) diminish |
| loro | sminuiscono | they diminish |
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 | sminuii | I diminished |
| tu | sminuisti | you diminished |
| lui/lei | sminuì | he/she/it diminished |
| noi | sminuimmo | we diminished |
| voi | sminuiste | you (pl.) diminished |
| loro | sminuirono | they diminished |
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 | sminuivo |
| tu | sminuivi |
| lui/lei | sminuiva |
| noi | sminuivamo |
| voi | sminuivate |
| loro | sminuivano |
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 | sminuirei | I would diminish |
| tu | sminuiresti | you would diminish |
| lui/lei | sminuirebbe | he/she/it would diminish |
| noi | sminuiremmo | we would diminish |
| voi | sminuireste | you (pl.) would diminish |
| loro | sminuirebbero | they would diminish |
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 | sminuirò | I will diminish |
| tu | sminuirai | you will diminish |
| lui/lei | sminuirà | he/she/it will diminish |
| noi | sminuiremo | we will diminish |
| voi | sminuirete | you (pl.) will diminish |
| loro | sminuiranno | they will diminish |
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 sminuito | I have diminished |
| tu | hai sminuito | you have diminished |
| lui/lei | ha sminuito | he/she/it has diminished |
| noi | abbiamo sminuito | we have diminished |
| voi | avete sminuito | you (pl.) have diminished |
| loro | hanno sminuito | they have diminished |
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 sminuito | I had diminished |
| tu | avevi sminuito | you had diminished |
| lui/lei | aveva sminuito | he/she/it had diminished |
| noi | avevamo sminuito | we had diminished |
| voi | avevate sminuito | you (pl.) had diminished |
| loro | avevano sminuito | they had diminished |
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 sminuito |
| tu | avresti sminuito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sminuito |
| noi | avremmo sminuito |
| voi | avreste sminuito |
| loro | avrebbero sminuito |
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 sminuito | I will have diminished |
| tu | avrai sminuito | you will have diminished |
| lui/lei | avrà sminuito | he/she/it will have diminished |
| noi | avremo sminuito | we will have diminished |
| voi | avrete sminuito | you (pl.) will have diminished |
| loro | avranno sminuito | they will have diminished |
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 | sminuisca |
| tu | sminuisca |
| lui/lei | sminuisca |
| noi | sminuiamo |
| voi | sminuiate |
| loro | sminuiscano |
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 | sminuissi |
| tu | sminuissi |
| lui/lei | sminuisse |
| noi | sminuissimo |
| voi | sminuiste |
| loro | sminuissero |
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 | sminuisci |
| lui/lei | sminuisca |
| noi | sminuiamo |
| voi | sminuite |
| loro | sminuiscano |
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 sminuire |
| lui/lei | non sminuisca |
| noi | non sminuiamo |
| voi | non sminuite |
| loro | non sminuiscano |