strofinare — Italian conjugation
to rub
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 | strofino | I rub |
| tu | strofini | you rub |
| lui/lei | strofina | he/she/it rubs |
| noi | strofiniamo | we rub |
| voi | strofinate | you (pl.) rub |
| loro | strofinano | they rub |
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 | strofinai | I rubbed |
| tu | strofinasti | you rubbed |
| lui/lei | strofinò | he/she/it rubbed |
| noi | strofinammo | we rubbed |
| voi | strofinaste | you (pl.) rubbed |
| loro | strofinarono | they rubbed |
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 | strofinavo |
| tu | strofinavi |
| lui/lei | strofinava |
| noi | strofinavamo |
| voi | strofinavate |
| loro | strofinavano |
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 | strofinerei | I would rub |
| tu | strofineresti | you would rub |
| lui/lei | strofinerebbe | he/she/it would rub |
| noi | strofineremmo | we would rub |
| voi | strofinereste | you (pl.) would rub |
| loro | strofinerebbero | they would rub |
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 | strofinerò | I will rub |
| tu | strofinerai | you will rub |
| lui/lei | strofinerà | he/she/it will rub |
| noi | strofineremo | we will rub |
| voi | strofinerete | you (pl.) will rub |
| loro | strofineranno | they will rub |
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 strofinato | I have rubbed |
| tu | hai strofinato | you have rubbed |
| lui/lei | ha strofinato | he/she/it has rubbed |
| noi | abbiamo strofinato | we have rubbed |
| voi | avete strofinato | you (pl.) have rubbed |
| loro | hanno strofinato | they have rubbed |
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 strofinato | I had rubbed |
| tu | avevi strofinato | you had rubbed |
| lui/lei | aveva strofinato | he/she/it had rubbed |
| noi | avevamo strofinato | we had rubbed |
| voi | avevate strofinato | you (pl.) had rubbed |
| loro | avevano strofinato | they had rubbed |
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 strofinato |
| tu | avresti strofinato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe strofinato |
| noi | avremmo strofinato |
| voi | avreste strofinato |
| loro | avrebbero strofinato |
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 strofinato | I will have rubbed |
| tu | avrai strofinato | you will have rubbed |
| lui/lei | avrà strofinato | he/she/it will have rubbed |
| noi | avremo strofinato | we will have rubbed |
| voi | avrete strofinato | you (pl.) will have rubbed |
| loro | avranno strofinato | they will have rubbed |
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 | strofini |
| tu | strofini |
| lui/lei | strofini |
| noi | strofiniamo |
| voi | strofiniate |
| loro | strofinino |
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 | strofinassi |
| tu | strofinassi |
| lui/lei | strofinasse |
| noi | strofinassimo |
| voi | strofinaste |
| loro | strofinassero |
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 | strofina |
| lui/lei | strofini |
| noi | strofiniamo |
| voi | strofinate |
| loro | strofinino |
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 strofinare |
| lui/lei | non strofini |
| noi | non strofiniamo |
| voi | non strofinate |
| loro | non strofinino |