tutelare — Italian conjugation
to protect
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 | tutelo | I protect |
| tu | tuteli | you protect |
| lui/lei | tutela | he/she/it protects |
| noi | tuteliamo | we protect |
| voi | tutelate | you (pl.) protect |
| loro | tutelano | they protect |
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 | tutelai | I protected |
| tu | tutelasti | you protected |
| lui/lei | tutelò | he/she/it protected |
| noi | tutelammo | we protected |
| voi | tutelaste | you (pl.) protected |
| loro | tutelarono | they protected |
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 | tutelavo |
| tu | tutelavi |
| lui/lei | tutelava |
| noi | tutelavamo |
| voi | tutelavate |
| loro | tutelavano |
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 | tutelerei | I would protect |
| tu | tuteleresti | you would protect |
| lui/lei | tutelerebbe | he/she/it would protect |
| noi | tuteleremmo | we would protect |
| voi | tutelereste | you (pl.) would protect |
| loro | tutelerebbero | they would protect |
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 | tutelerò | I will protect |
| tu | tutelerai | you will protect |
| lui/lei | tutelerà | he/she/it will protect |
| noi | tuteleremo | we will protect |
| voi | tutelerete | you (pl.) will protect |
| loro | tuteleranno | they will protect |
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 tutelato | I have protected |
| tu | hai tutelato | you have protected |
| lui/lei | ha tutelato | he/she/it has protected |
| noi | abbiamo tutelato | we have protected |
| voi | avete tutelato | you (pl.) have protected |
| loro | hanno tutelato | they have protected |
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 tutelato | I had protected |
| tu | avevi tutelato | you had protected |
| lui/lei | aveva tutelato | he/she/it had protected |
| noi | avevamo tutelato | we had protected |
| voi | avevate tutelato | you (pl.) had protected |
| loro | avevano tutelato | they had protected |
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 tutelato |
| tu | avresti tutelato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe tutelato |
| noi | avremmo tutelato |
| voi | avreste tutelato |
| loro | avrebbero tutelato |
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 tutelato | I will have protected |
| tu | avrai tutelato | you will have protected |
| lui/lei | avrà tutelato | he/she/it will have protected |
| noi | avremo tutelato | we will have protected |
| voi | avrete tutelato | you (pl.) will have protected |
| loro | avranno tutelato | they will have protected |
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 | tuteli |
| tu | tuteli |
| lui/lei | tuteli |
| noi | tuteliamo |
| voi | tuteliate |
| loro | tutelino |
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 | tutelassi |
| tu | tutelassi |
| lui/lei | tutelasse |
| noi | tutelassimo |
| voi | tutelaste |
| loro | tutelassero |
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 | tutela |
| lui/lei | tuteli |
| noi | tuteliamo |
| voi | tutelate |
| loro | tutelino |
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 tutelare |
| lui/lei | non tuteli |
| noi | non tuteliamo |
| voi | non tutelate |
| loro | non tutelino |