sprecare — Italian conjugation
to waste
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 | spreco | I waste |
| tu | sprechi | you waste |
| lui/lei | spreca | he/she/it wastes |
| noi | sprechiamo | we waste |
| voi | sprecate | you (pl.) waste |
| loro | sprecano | they waste |
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 | sprecai | I wasted |
| tu | sprecasti | you wasted |
| lui/lei | sprecò | he/she/it wasted |
| noi | sprecammo | we wasted |
| voi | sprecaste | you (pl.) wasted |
| loro | sprecarono | they wasted |
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 | sprecavo |
| tu | sprecavi |
| lui/lei | sprecava |
| noi | sprecavamo |
| voi | sprecavate |
| loro | sprecavano |
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 | sprecherei | I would waste |
| tu | sprecheresti | you would waste |
| lui/lei | sprecherebbe | he/she/it would waste |
| noi | sprecheremmo | we would waste |
| voi | sprechereste | you (pl.) would waste |
| loro | sprecherebbero | they would waste |
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 | sprecherò | I will waste |
| tu | sprecherai | you will waste |
| lui/lei | sprecherà | he/she/it will waste |
| noi | sprecheremo | we will waste |
| voi | sprecherete | you (pl.) will waste |
| loro | sprecheranno | they will waste |
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 sprecato | I have wasted |
| tu | hai sprecato | you have wasted |
| lui/lei | ha sprecato | he/she/it has wasted |
| noi | abbiamo sprecato | we have wasted |
| voi | avete sprecato | you (pl.) have wasted |
| loro | hanno sprecato | they have wasted |
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 sprecato | I had wasted |
| tu | avevi sprecato | you had wasted |
| lui/lei | aveva sprecato | he/she/it had wasted |
| noi | avevamo sprecato | we had wasted |
| voi | avevate sprecato | you (pl.) had wasted |
| loro | avevano sprecato | they had wasted |
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 sprecato |
| tu | avresti sprecato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sprecato |
| noi | avremmo sprecato |
| voi | avreste sprecato |
| loro | avrebbero sprecato |
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 sprecato | I will have wasted |
| tu | avrai sprecato | you will have wasted |
| lui/lei | avrà sprecato | he/she/it will have wasted |
| noi | avremo sprecato | we will have wasted |
| voi | avrete sprecato | you (pl.) will have wasted |
| loro | avranno sprecato | they will have wasted |
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 | sprechi |
| tu | sprechi |
| lui/lei | sprechi |
| noi | sprechiamo |
| voi | sprechiate |
| loro | sprechino |
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 | sprecassi |
| tu | sprecassi |
| lui/lei | sprecasse |
| noi | sprecassimo |
| voi | sprecaste |
| loro | sprecassero |
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 | spreca |
| lui/lei | sprechi |
| noi | sprechiamo |
| voi | sprecate |
| loro | sprechino |
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 sprecare |
| lui/lei | non sprechi |
| noi | non sprechiamo |
| voi | non sprecate |
| loro | non sprechino |