terminare — Italian conjugation
to finish
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 | termino | I finish |
| tu | termini | you finish |
| lui/lei | termina | he/she/it finishes |
| noi | terminiamo | we finish |
| voi | terminate | you (pl.) finish |
| loro | terminano | they finish |
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 | terminai | I finished |
| tu | terminasti | you finished |
| lui/lei | terminò | he/she/it finished |
| noi | terminammo | we finished |
| voi | terminaste | you (pl.) finished |
| loro | terminarono | they finished |
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 | terminavo |
| tu | terminavi |
| lui/lei | terminava |
| noi | terminavamo |
| voi | terminavate |
| loro | terminavano |
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 | terminerei | I would finish |
| tu | termineresti | you would finish |
| lui/lei | terminerebbe | he/she/it would finish |
| noi | termineremmo | we would finish |
| voi | terminereste | you (pl.) would finish |
| loro | terminerebbero | they would finish |
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 | terminerò | I will finish |
| tu | terminerai | you will finish |
| lui/lei | terminerà | he/she/it will finish |
| noi | termineremo | we will finish |
| voi | terminerete | you (pl.) will finish |
| loro | termineranno | they will finish |
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 terminato | I have finished |
| tu | hai terminato | you have finished |
| lui/lei | ha terminato | he/she/it has finished |
| noi | abbiamo terminato | we have finished |
| voi | avete terminato | you (pl.) have finished |
| loro | hanno terminato | they have finished |
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 terminato | I had finished |
| tu | avevi terminato | you had finished |
| lui/lei | aveva terminato | he/she/it had finished |
| noi | avevamo terminato | we had finished |
| voi | avevate terminato | you (pl.) had finished |
| loro | avevano terminato | they had finished |
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 terminato |
| tu | avresti terminato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe terminato |
| noi | avremmo terminato |
| voi | avreste terminato |
| loro | avrebbero terminato |
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 terminato | I will have finished |
| tu | avrai terminato | you will have finished |
| lui/lei | avrà terminato | he/she/it will have finished |
| noi | avremo terminato | we will have finished |
| voi | avrete terminato | you (pl.) will have finished |
| loro | avranno terminato | they will have finished |
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 | termini |
| tu | termini |
| lui/lei | termini |
| noi | terminiamo |
| voi | terminiate |
| loro | terminino |
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 | terminassi |
| tu | terminassi |
| lui/lei | terminasse |
| noi | terminassimo |
| voi | terminaste |
| loro | terminassero |
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 | termina |
| lui/lei | termini |
| noi | terminiamo |
| voi | terminate |
| loro | terminino |
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 terminare |
| lui/lei | non termini |
| noi | non terminiamo |
| voi | non terminate |
| loro | non terminino |