sparare — Italian conjugation
to shoot
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 | sparo | I shoot |
| tu | spari | you shoot |
| lui/lei | spara | he/she/it shoots |
| noi | spariamo | we shoot |
| voi | sparate | you (pl.) shoot |
| loro | sparano | they shoot |
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 | sparai | I shot |
| tu | sparasti | you shot |
| lui/lei | sparò | he/she/it shot |
| noi | sparammo | we shot |
| voi | sparaste | you (pl.) shot |
| loro | spararono | they shot |
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 | sparavo |
| tu | sparavi |
| lui/lei | sparava |
| noi | sparavamo |
| voi | sparavate |
| loro | sparavano |
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 | sparerei | I would shoot |
| tu | spareresti | you would shoot |
| lui/lei | sparerebbe | he/she/it would shoot |
| noi | spareremmo | we would shoot |
| voi | sparereste | you (pl.) would shoot |
| loro | sparerebbero | they would shoot |
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 | sparerò | I will shoot |
| tu | sparerai | you will shoot |
| lui/lei | sparerà | he/she/it will shoot |
| noi | spareremo | we will shoot |
| voi | sparerete | you (pl.) will shoot |
| loro | spareranno | they will shoot |
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 sparato | I have shot |
| tu | hai sparato | you have shot |
| lui/lei | ha sparato | he/she/it has shot |
| noi | abbiamo sparato | we have shot |
| voi | avete sparato | you (pl.) have shot |
| loro | hanno sparato | they have shot |
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 sparato | I had shot |
| tu | avevi sparato | you had shot |
| lui/lei | aveva sparato | he/she/it had shot |
| noi | avevamo sparato | we had shot |
| voi | avevate sparato | you (pl.) had shot |
| loro | avevano sparato | they had shot |
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 sparato |
| tu | avresti sparato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sparato |
| noi | avremmo sparato |
| voi | avreste sparato |
| loro | avrebbero sparato |
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 sparato | I will have shot |
| tu | avrai sparato | you will have shot |
| lui/lei | avrà sparato | he/she/it will have shot |
| noi | avremo sparato | we will have shot |
| voi | avrete sparato | you (pl.) will have shot |
| loro | avranno sparato | they will have shot |
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 | spari |
| tu | spari |
| lui/lei | spari |
| noi | spariamo |
| voi | spariate |
| loro | sparino |
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 | sparassi |
| tu | sparassi |
| lui/lei | sparasse |
| noi | sparassimo |
| voi | sparaste |
| loro | sparassero |
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 | spara |
| lui/lei | spari |
| noi | spariamo |
| voi | sparate |
| loro | sparino |
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 sparare |
| lui/lei | non spari |
| noi | non spariamo |
| voi | non sparate |
| loro | non sparino |