sospirare — Italian conjugation
to sigh
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 | sospiro | I sigh |
| tu | sospiri | you sigh |
| lui/lei | sospira | he/she/it sighs |
| noi | sospiriamo | we sigh |
| voi | sospirate | you (pl.) sigh |
| loro | sospirano | they sigh |
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 | sospirai | I sighed |
| tu | sospirasti | you sighed |
| lui/lei | sospirò | he/she/it sighed |
| noi | sospirammo | we sighed |
| voi | sospiraste | you (pl.) sighed |
| loro | sospirarono | they sighed |
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 | sospiravo |
| tu | sospiravi |
| lui/lei | sospirava |
| noi | sospiravamo |
| voi | sospiravate |
| loro | sospiravano |
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 | sospirerei | I would sigh |
| tu | sospireresti | you would sigh |
| lui/lei | sospirerebbe | he/she/it would sigh |
| noi | sospireremmo | we would sigh |
| voi | sospirereste | you (pl.) would sigh |
| loro | sospirerebbero | they would sigh |
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 | sospirerò | I will sigh |
| tu | sospirerai | you will sigh |
| lui/lei | sospirerà | he/she/it will sigh |
| noi | sospireremo | we will sigh |
| voi | sospirerete | you (pl.) will sigh |
| loro | sospireranno | they will sigh |
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 sospirato | I have sighed |
| tu | hai sospirato | you have sighed |
| lui/lei | ha sospirato | he/she/it has sighed |
| noi | abbiamo sospirato | we have sighed |
| voi | avete sospirato | you (pl.) have sighed |
| loro | hanno sospirato | they have sighed |
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 sospirato | I had sighed |
| tu | avevi sospirato | you had sighed |
| lui/lei | aveva sospirato | he/she/it had sighed |
| noi | avevamo sospirato | we had sighed |
| voi | avevate sospirato | you (pl.) had sighed |
| loro | avevano sospirato | they had sighed |
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 sospirato |
| tu | avresti sospirato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sospirato |
| noi | avremmo sospirato |
| voi | avreste sospirato |
| loro | avrebbero sospirato |
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 sospirato | I will have sighed |
| tu | avrai sospirato | you will have sighed |
| lui/lei | avrà sospirato | he/she/it will have sighed |
| noi | avremo sospirato | we will have sighed |
| voi | avrete sospirato | you (pl.) will have sighed |
| loro | avranno sospirato | they will have sighed |
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 | sospiri |
| tu | sospiri |
| lui/lei | sospiri |
| noi | sospiriamo |
| voi | sospiriate |
| loro | sospirino |
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 | sospirassi |
| tu | sospirassi |
| lui/lei | sospirasse |
| noi | sospirassimo |
| voi | sospiraste |
| loro | sospirassero |
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 | sospira |
| lui/lei | sospiri |
| noi | sospiriamo |
| voi | sospirate |
| loro | sospirino |
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 sospirare |
| lui/lei | non sospiri |
| noi | non sospiriamo |
| voi | non sospirate |
| loro | non sospirino |