sperare — Italian conjugation
to hope
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 | spero | I hope |
| tu | speri | you hope |
| lui/lei | spera | he/she/it hopes |
| noi | speriamo | we hope |
| voi | sperate | you (pl.) hope |
| loro | sperano | they hope |
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 | sperai | I hoped |
| tu | sperasti | you hoped |
| lui/lei | sperò | he/she/it hoped |
| noi | sperammo | we hoped |
| voi | speraste | you (pl.) hoped |
| loro | sperarono | they hoped |
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 | speravo |
| tu | speravi |
| lui/lei | sperava |
| noi | speravamo |
| voi | speravate |
| loro | speravano |
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 | spererei | I would hope |
| tu | spereresti | you would hope |
| lui/lei | spererebbe | he/she/it would hope |
| noi | spereremmo | we would hope |
| voi | sperereste | you (pl.) would hope |
| loro | spererebbero | they would hope |
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 | spererò | I will hope |
| tu | spererai | you will hope |
| lui/lei | spererà | he/she/it will hope |
| noi | spereremo | we will hope |
| voi | spererete | you (pl.) will hope |
| loro | spereranno | they will hope |
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 sperato | I have hoped |
| tu | hai sperato | you have hoped |
| lui/lei | ha sperato | he/she/it has hoped |
| noi | abbiamo sperato | we have hoped |
| voi | avete sperato | you (pl.) have hoped |
| loro | hanno sperato | they have hoped |
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 sperato | I had hoped |
| tu | avevi sperato | you had hoped |
| lui/lei | aveva sperato | he/she/it had hoped |
| noi | avevamo sperato | we had hoped |
| voi | avevate sperato | you (pl.) had hoped |
| loro | avevano sperato | they had hoped |
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 sperato |
| tu | avresti sperato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sperato |
| noi | avremmo sperato |
| voi | avreste sperato |
| loro | avrebbero sperato |
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 sperato | I will have hoped |
| tu | avrai sperato | you will have hoped |
| lui/lei | avrà sperato | he/she/it will have hoped |
| noi | avremo sperato | we will have hoped |
| voi | avrete sperato | you (pl.) will have hoped |
| loro | avranno sperato | they will have hoped |
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 | speri |
| tu | speri |
| lui/lei | speri |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | speriate |
| loro | sperino |
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 | sperassi |
| tu | sperassi |
| lui/lei | sperasse |
| noi | sperassimo |
| voi | speraste |
| loro | sperassero |
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 | spera |
| lui/lei | speri |
| noi | speriamo |
| voi | sperate |
| loro | sperino |
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 sperare |
| lui/lei | non speri |
| noi | non speriamo |
| voi | non sperate |
| loro | non sperino |