tossire — Italian conjugation
to cough
Indicative
Present (Presente) Irregular
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 | tossisco | I cough |
| tu | tossisci | you cough |
| lui/lei | tossisce | he/she/it coughs |
| noi | tossiamo | we cough |
| voi | tossite | you (pl.) cough |
| loro | tossiscono | they cough |
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 | tossii | I coughed |
| tu | tossisti | you coughed |
| lui/lei | tossì | he/she/it coughed |
| noi | tossimmo | we coughed |
| voi | tossiste | you (pl.) coughed |
| loro | tossirono | they coughed |
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 | tossivo |
| tu | tossivi |
| lui/lei | tossiva |
| noi | tossivamo |
| voi | tossivate |
| loro | tossivano |
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 | tossirei | I would cough |
| tu | tossiresti | you would cough |
| lui/lei | tossirebbe | he/she/it would cough |
| noi | tossiremmo | we would cough |
| voi | tossireste | you (pl.) would cough |
| loro | tossirebbero | they would cough |
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 | tossirò | I will cough |
| tu | tossirai | you will cough |
| lui/lei | tossirà | he/she/it will cough |
| noi | tossiremo | we will cough |
| voi | tossirete | you (pl.) will cough |
| loro | tossiranno | they will cough |
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 tossito | I have coughed |
| tu | hai tossito | you have coughed |
| lui/lei | ha tossito | he/she/it has coughed |
| noi | abbiamo tossito | we have coughed |
| voi | avete tossito | you (pl.) have coughed |
| loro | hanno tossito | they have coughed |
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 tossito | I had coughed |
| tu | avevi tossito | you had coughed |
| lui/lei | aveva tossito | he/she/it had coughed |
| noi | avevamo tossito | we had coughed |
| voi | avevate tossito | you (pl.) had coughed |
| loro | avevano tossito | they had coughed |
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 tossito |
| tu | avresti tossito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe tossito |
| noi | avremmo tossito |
| voi | avreste tossito |
| loro | avrebbero tossito |
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 tossito | I will have coughed |
| tu | avrai tossito | you will have coughed |
| lui/lei | avrà tossito | he/she/it will have coughed |
| noi | avremo tossito | we will have coughed |
| voi | avrete tossito | you (pl.) will have coughed |
| loro | avranno tossito | they will have coughed |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Irregular
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 | tossisca |
| tu | tossisca |
| lui/lei | tossisca |
| noi | tossiamo |
| voi | tossiate |
| loro | tossiscano |
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 | tossissi |
| tu | tossissi |
| lui/lei | tossisse |
| noi | tossissimo |
| voi | tossiste |
| loro | tossissero |
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 | tossisci |
| lui/lei | tossisca |
| noi | tossiamo |
| voi | tossite |
| loro | tossiscano |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Irregular
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 tossire |
| lui/lei | non tossisca |
| noi | non tossiamo |
| voi | non tossite |
| loro | non tossiscano |