sondare — Italian conjugation
to probe
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 | sondo | I probe |
| tu | sondi | you probe |
| lui/lei | sonda | he/she/it probes |
| noi | sondiamo | we probe |
| voi | sondate | you (pl.) probe |
| loro | sondano | they probe |
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 | sondai | I probed |
| tu | sondasti | you probed |
| lui/lei | sondò | he/she/it probed |
| noi | sondammo | we probed |
| voi | sondaste | you (pl.) probed |
| loro | sondarono | they probed |
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 | sondavo |
| tu | sondavi |
| lui/lei | sondava |
| noi | sondavamo |
| voi | sondavate |
| loro | sondavano |
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 | sonderei | I would probe |
| tu | sonderesti | you would probe |
| lui/lei | sonderebbe | he/she/it would probe |
| noi | sonderemmo | we would probe |
| voi | sondereste | you (pl.) would probe |
| loro | sonderebbero | they would probe |
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 | sonderò | I will probe |
| tu | sonderai | you will probe |
| lui/lei | sonderà | he/she/it will probe |
| noi | sonderemo | we will probe |
| voi | sonderete | you (pl.) will probe |
| loro | sonderanno | they will probe |
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 sondato | I have probed |
| tu | hai sondato | you have probed |
| lui/lei | ha sondato | he/she/it has probed |
| noi | abbiamo sondato | we have probed |
| voi | avete sondato | you (pl.) have probed |
| loro | hanno sondato | they have probed |
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 sondato | I had probed |
| tu | avevi sondato | you had probed |
| lui/lei | aveva sondato | he/she/it had probed |
| noi | avevamo sondato | we had probed |
| voi | avevate sondato | you (pl.) had probed |
| loro | avevano sondato | they had probed |
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 sondato |
| tu | avresti sondato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sondato |
| noi | avremmo sondato |
| voi | avreste sondato |
| loro | avrebbero sondato |
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 sondato | I will have probed |
| tu | avrai sondato | you will have probed |
| lui/lei | avrà sondato | he/she/it will have probed |
| noi | avremo sondato | we will have probed |
| voi | avrete sondato | you (pl.) will have probed |
| loro | avranno sondato | they will have probed |
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 | sondi |
| tu | sondi |
| lui/lei | sondi |
| noi | sondiamo |
| voi | sondiate |
| loro | sondino |
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 | sondassi |
| tu | sondassi |
| lui/lei | sondasse |
| noi | sondassimo |
| voi | sondaste |
| loro | sondassero |
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 | sonda |
| lui/lei | sondi |
| noi | sondiamo |
| voi | sondate |
| loro | sondino |
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 sondare |
| lui/lei | non sondi |
| noi | non sondiamo |
| voi | non sondate |
| loro | non sondino |