sostenere — Italian conjugation
to support
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
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 | sostengo | I support |
| tu | sostieni | you support |
| lui/lei | sostiene | he/she/it supports |
| noi | sosteniamo | we support |
| voi | sostenete | you (pl.) support |
| loro | sostengono | they support |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | sostenni | I supported |
| tu | sostenesti | you supported |
| lui/lei | sostenne | he/she/it supported |
| noi | sostenemmo | we supported |
| voi | sosteneste | you (pl.) supported |
| loro | sostennero | they supported |
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 | sostenevo |
| tu | sostenevi |
| lui/lei | sosteneva |
| noi | sostenevamo |
| voi | sostenevate |
| loro | sostenevano |
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 | sosterrei | I would support |
| tu | sosterresti | you would support |
| lui/lei | sosterrebbe | he/she/it would support |
| noi | sosterremmo | we would support |
| voi | sosterreste | you (pl.) would support |
| loro | sosterrebbero | they would support |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | sosterrò | I will support |
| tu | sosterrai | you will support |
| lui/lei | sosterrà | he/she/it will support |
| noi | sosterremo | we will support |
| voi | sosterrete | you (pl.) will support |
| loro | sosterranno | they will support |
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 sostenuto | I have supported |
| tu | hai sostenuto | you have supported |
| lui/lei | ha sostenuto | he/she/it has supported |
| noi | abbiamo sostenuto | we have supported |
| voi | avete sostenuto | you (pl.) have supported |
| loro | hanno sostenuto | they have supported |
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 sostenuto | I had supported |
| tu | avevi sostenuto | you had supported |
| lui/lei | aveva sostenuto | he/she/it had supported |
| noi | avevamo sostenuto | we had supported |
| voi | avevate sostenuto | you (pl.) had supported |
| loro | avevano sostenuto | they had supported |
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 sostenuto |
| tu | avresti sostenuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sostenuto |
| noi | avremmo sostenuto |
| voi | avreste sostenuto |
| loro | avrebbero sostenuto |
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 sostenuto | I will have supported |
| tu | avrai sostenuto | you will have supported |
| lui/lei | avrà sostenuto | he/she/it will have supported |
| noi | avremo sostenuto | we will have supported |
| voi | avrete sostenuto | you (pl.) will have supported |
| loro | avranno sostenuto | they will have supported |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
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 | sostenga |
| tu | sostenga |
| lui/lei | sostenga |
| noi | sosteniamo |
| voi | sosteniate |
| loro | sostengano |
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 | sostenessi |
| tu | sostenessi |
| lui/lei | sostenesse |
| noi | sostenessimo |
| voi | sosteneste |
| loro | sostenessero |
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 | sostieni |
| lui/lei | sostenga |
| noi | sosteniamo |
| voi | sostenete |
| loro | sostengano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 sostenere |
| lui/lei | non sostenga |
| noi | non sosteniamo |
| voi | non sostenete |
| loro | non sostengano |