tendere — Italian conjugation
to stretch
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 | tendo | I stretch |
| tu | tendi | you stretch |
| lui/lei | tende | he/she/it stretches |
| noi | tendiamo | we stretch |
| voi | tendete | you (pl.) stretch |
| loro | tendono | they stretch |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | tesi | I stretched |
| tu | tendesti | you stretched |
| lui/lei | tese | he/she/it stretched |
| noi | tendemmo | we stretched |
| voi | tendeste | you (pl.) stretched |
| loro | tesero | they stretched |
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 | tendevo |
| tu | tendevi |
| lui/lei | tendeva |
| noi | tendevamo |
| voi | tendevate |
| loro | tendevano |
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 | tenderei | I would stretch |
| tu | tenderesti | you would stretch |
| lui/lei | tenderebbe | he/she/it would stretch |
| noi | tenderemmo | we would stretch |
| voi | tendereste | you (pl.) would stretch |
| loro | tenderebbero | they would stretch |
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 | tenderò | I will stretch |
| tu | tenderai | you will stretch |
| lui/lei | tenderà | he/she/it will stretch |
| noi | tenderemo | we will stretch |
| voi | tenderete | you (pl.) will stretch |
| loro | tenderanno | they will stretch |
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 teso | I have stretched |
| tu | hai teso | you have stretched |
| lui/lei | ha teso | he/she/it has stretched |
| noi | abbiamo teso | we have stretched |
| voi | avete teso | you (pl.) have stretched |
| loro | hanno teso | they have stretched |
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 teso | I had stretched |
| tu | avevi teso | you had stretched |
| lui/lei | aveva teso | he/she/it had stretched |
| noi | avevamo teso | we had stretched |
| voi | avevate teso | you (pl.) had stretched |
| loro | avevano teso | they had stretched |
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 teso |
| tu | avresti teso |
| lui/lei | avrebbe teso |
| noi | avremmo teso |
| voi | avreste teso |
| loro | avrebbero teso |
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 teso | I will have stretched |
| tu | avrai teso | you will have stretched |
| lui/lei | avrà teso | he/she/it will have stretched |
| noi | avremo teso | we will have stretched |
| voi | avrete teso | you (pl.) will have stretched |
| loro | avranno teso | they will have stretched |
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 | tenda |
| tu | tenda |
| lui/lei | tenda |
| noi | tendiamo |
| voi | tendiate |
| loro | tendano |
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 | tendessi |
| tu | tendessi |
| lui/lei | tendesse |
| noi | tendessimo |
| voi | tendeste |
| loro | tendessero |
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 | tendi |
| lui/lei | tenda |
| noi | tendiamo |
| voi | tendete |
| loro | tendano |
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 tendere |
| lui/lei | non tenda |
| noi | non tendiamo |
| voi | non tendete |
| loro | non tendano |