vagare — Italian conjugation
to wander, to roam, to range
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 | vago | I wander |
| tu | vaghi | you wander |
| lui/lei | vaga | he/she/it wanders |
| noi | vaghiamo | we wander |
| voi | vagate | you (pl.) wander |
| loro | vagano | they wander |
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 | vagai | I wandered |
| tu | vagasti | you wandered |
| lui/lei | vagò | he/she/it wandered |
| noi | vagammo | we wandered |
| voi | vagaste | you (pl.) wandered |
| loro | vagarono | they wandered |
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 | vagavo |
| tu | vagavi |
| lui/lei | vagava |
| noi | vagavamo |
| voi | vagavate |
| loro | vagavano |
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 | vagherei | I would wander |
| tu | vagheresti | you would wander |
| lui/lei | vagherebbe | he/she/it would wander |
| noi | vagheremmo | we would wander |
| voi | vaghereste | you (pl.) would wander |
| loro | vagherebbero | they would wander |
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 | vagherò | I will wander |
| tu | vagherai | you will wander |
| lui/lei | vagherà | he/she/it will wander |
| noi | vagheremo | we will wander |
| voi | vagherete | you (pl.) will wander |
| loro | vagheranno | they will wander |
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 vagato | I have wandered |
| tu | hai vagato | you have wandered |
| lui/lei | ha vagato | he/she/it has wandered |
| noi | abbiamo vagato | we have wandered |
| voi | avete vagato | you (pl.) have wandered |
| loro | hanno vagato | they have wandered |
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 vagato | I had wandered |
| tu | avevi vagato | you had wandered |
| lui/lei | aveva vagato | he/she/it had wandered |
| noi | avevamo vagato | we had wandered |
| voi | avevate vagato | you (pl.) had wandered |
| loro | avevano vagato | they had wandered |
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 vagato |
| tu | avresti vagato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe vagato |
| noi | avremmo vagato |
| voi | avreste vagato |
| loro | avrebbero vagato |
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 vagato | I will have wandered |
| tu | avrai vagato | you will have wandered |
| lui/lei | avrà vagato | he/she/it will have wandered |
| noi | avremo vagato | we will have wandered |
| voi | avrete vagato | you (pl.) will have wandered |
| loro | avranno vagato | they will have wandered |
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 | vaghi |
| tu | vaghi |
| lui/lei | vaghi |
| noi | vaghiamo |
| voi | vaghiate |
| loro | vaghino |
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 | vagassi |
| tu | vagassi |
| lui/lei | vagasse |
| noi | vagassimo |
| voi | vagaste |
| loro | vagassero |
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 | vaga |
| lui/lei | vaghi |
| noi | vaghiamo |
| voi | vagate |
| loro | vaghino |
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 vagare |
| lui/lei | non vaghi |
| noi | non vaghiamo |
| voi | non vagate |
| loro | non vaghino |