ubbidire — Italian conjugation
to obey (an order, one's parents, etc.)
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 | ubbidisco | I obey |
| tu | ubbidisci | you obey |
| lui/lei | ubbidisce | he/she/it obeys |
| noi | ubbidiamo | we obey |
| voi | ubbidite | you (pl.) obey |
| loro | ubbidiscono | they obey |
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 | ubbidii | I obeyed |
| tu | ubbidisti | you obeyed |
| lui/lei | ubbidì | he/she/it obeyed |
| noi | ubbidimmo | we obeyed |
| voi | ubbidiste | you (pl.) obeyed |
| loro | ubbidirono | they obeyed |
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 | ubbidivo |
| tu | ubbidivi |
| lui/lei | ubbidiva |
| noi | ubbidivamo |
| voi | ubbidivate |
| loro | ubbidivano |
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 | ubbidirei | I would obey |
| tu | ubbidiresti | you would obey |
| lui/lei | ubbidirebbe | he/she/it would obey |
| noi | ubbidiremmo | we would obey |
| voi | ubbidireste | you (pl.) would obey |
| loro | ubbidirebbero | they would obey |
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 | ubbidirò | I will obey |
| tu | ubbidirai | you will obey |
| lui/lei | ubbidirà | he/she/it will obey |
| noi | ubbidiremo | we will obey |
| voi | ubbidirete | you (pl.) will obey |
| loro | ubbidiranno | they will obey |
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 ubbidito | I have obeyed |
| tu | hai ubbidito | you have obeyed |
| lui/lei | ha ubbidito | he/she/it has obeyed |
| noi | abbiamo ubbidito | we have obeyed |
| voi | avete ubbidito | you (pl.) have obeyed |
| loro | hanno ubbidito | they have obeyed |
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 ubbidito | I had obeyed |
| tu | avevi ubbidito | you had obeyed |
| lui/lei | aveva ubbidito | he/she/it had obeyed |
| noi | avevamo ubbidito | we had obeyed |
| voi | avevate ubbidito | you (pl.) had obeyed |
| loro | avevano ubbidito | they had obeyed |
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 ubbidito |
| tu | avresti ubbidito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe ubbidito |
| noi | avremmo ubbidito |
| voi | avreste ubbidito |
| loro | avrebbero ubbidito |
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 ubbidito | I will have obeyed |
| tu | avrai ubbidito | you will have obeyed |
| lui/lei | avrà ubbidito | he/she/it will have obeyed |
| noi | avremo ubbidito | we will have obeyed |
| voi | avrete ubbidito | you (pl.) will have obeyed |
| loro | avranno ubbidito | they will have obeyed |
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 | ubbidisca |
| tu | ubbidisca |
| lui/lei | ubbidisca |
| noi | ubbidiamo |
| voi | ubbidiate |
| loro | ubbidiscano |
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 | ubbidissi |
| tu | ubbidissi |
| lui/lei | ubbidisse |
| noi | ubbidissimo |
| voi | ubbidiste |
| loro | ubbidissero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Irregular
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 | ubbidisci |
| lui/lei | ubbidisca |
| noi | ubbidiamo |
| voi | ubbidite |
| loro | ubbidiscano |
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 ubbidire |
| lui/lei | non ubbidisca |
| noi | non ubbidiamo |
| voi | non ubbidite |
| loro | non ubbidiscano |