sussurrare — Italian conjugation
to whisper
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 | sussurro | I whisper |
| tu | sussurri | you whisper |
| lui/lei | sussurra | he/she/it whispers |
| noi | sussurriamo | we whisper |
| voi | sussurrate | you (pl.) whisper |
| loro | sussurrano | they whisper |
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 | sussurrai | I whispered |
| tu | sussurrasti | you whispered |
| lui/lei | sussurrò | he/she/it whispered |
| noi | sussurrammo | we whispered |
| voi | sussurraste | you (pl.) whispered |
| loro | sussurrarono | they whispered |
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 | sussurravo |
| tu | sussurravi |
| lui/lei | sussurrava |
| noi | sussurravamo |
| voi | sussurravate |
| loro | sussurravano |
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 | sussurrerei | I would whisper |
| tu | sussurreresti | you would whisper |
| lui/lei | sussurrerebbe | he/she/it would whisper |
| noi | sussurreremmo | we would whisper |
| voi | sussurrereste | you (pl.) would whisper |
| loro | sussurrerebbero | they would whisper |
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 | sussurrerò | I will whisper |
| tu | sussurrerai | you will whisper |
| lui/lei | sussurrerà | he/she/it will whisper |
| noi | sussurreremo | we will whisper |
| voi | sussurrerete | you (pl.) will whisper |
| loro | sussurreranno | they will whisper |
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 sussurrato | I have whispered |
| tu | hai sussurrato | you have whispered |
| lui/lei | ha sussurrato | he/she/it has whispered |
| noi | abbiamo sussurrato | we have whispered |
| voi | avete sussurrato | you (pl.) have whispered |
| loro | hanno sussurrato | they have whispered |
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 sussurrato | I had whispered |
| tu | avevi sussurrato | you had whispered |
| lui/lei | aveva sussurrato | he/she/it had whispered |
| noi | avevamo sussurrato | we had whispered |
| voi | avevate sussurrato | you (pl.) had whispered |
| loro | avevano sussurrato | they had whispered |
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 sussurrato |
| tu | avresti sussurrato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe sussurrato |
| noi | avremmo sussurrato |
| voi | avreste sussurrato |
| loro | avrebbero sussurrato |
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 sussurrato | I will have whispered |
| tu | avrai sussurrato | you will have whispered |
| lui/lei | avrà sussurrato | he/she/it will have whispered |
| noi | avremo sussurrato | we will have whispered |
| voi | avrete sussurrato | you (pl.) will have whispered |
| loro | avranno sussurrato | they will have whispered |
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 | sussurri |
| tu | sussurri |
| lui/lei | sussurri |
| noi | sussurriamo |
| voi | sussurriate |
| loro | sussurrino |
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 | sussurrassi |
| tu | sussurrassi |
| lui/lei | sussurrasse |
| noi | sussurrassimo |
| voi | sussurraste |
| loro | sussurrassero |
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 | sussurra |
| lui/lei | sussurri |
| noi | sussurriamo |
| voi | sussurrate |
| loro | sussurrino |
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 sussurrare |
| lui/lei | non sussurri |
| noi | non sussurriamo |
| voi | non sussurrate |
| loro | non sussurrino |