valere — Italian conjugation
to be worth
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 | valgo | I am worth |
| tu | vali | you are worth |
| lui/lei | vale | he/she/it is worth |
| noi | valiamo | we are worth |
| voi | valete | you (pl.) are worth |
| loro | valgono | they are worth |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Irregular
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 | valsi | I was worth |
| tu | valesti | you were worth |
| lui/lei | valse | he/she/it was worth |
| noi | valemmo | we were worth |
| voi | valeste | you (pl.) were worth |
| loro | valsero | they were worth |
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 | valevo |
| tu | valevi |
| lui/lei | valeva |
| noi | valevamo |
| voi | valevate |
| loro | valevano |
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 | varrei | I would be worth |
| tu | varresti | you would be worth |
| lui/lei | varrebbe | he/she/it would be worth |
| noi | varremmo | we would be worth |
| voi | varreste | you (pl.) would be worth |
| loro | varrebbero | they would be worth |
Future (Futuro semplice) Irregular
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 | varrò | I will be worth |
| tu | varrai | you will be worth |
| lui/lei | varrà | he/she/it will be worth |
| noi | varremo | we will be worth |
| voi | varrete | you (pl.) will be worth |
| loro | varranno | they will be worth |
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 | sono valso/a | I have been worth |
| tu | sei valso/a | you have been worth |
| lui/lei | è valso/a | he/she/it has been worth |
| noi | siamo valsi/e | we have been worth |
| voi | siete valsi/e | you (pl.) have been worth |
| loro | sono valsi/e | they have been worth |
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 | ero valso/a | I had been worth |
| tu | eri valso/a | you had been worth |
| lui/lei | era valso/a | he/she/it had been worth |
| noi | eravamo valsi/e | we had been worth |
| voi | eravate valsi/e | you (pl.) had been worth |
| loro | erano valsi/e | they had been worth |
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 | sarei valso/a |
| tu | saresti valso/a |
| lui/lei | sarebbe valso/a |
| noi | saremmo valsi/e |
| voi | sareste valsi/e |
| loro | sarebbero valsi/e |
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 | sarò valso/a | I will have been worth |
| tu | sarai valso/a | you will have been worth |
| lui/lei | sarà valso/a | he/she/it will have been worth |
| noi | saremo valsi/e | we will have been worth |
| voi | sarete valsi/e | you (pl.) will have been worth |
| loro | saranno valsi/e | they will have been worth |
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 | valga |
| tu | valga |
| lui/lei | valga |
| noi | valiamo |
| voi | valiate |
| loro | valgano |
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 | valessi |
| tu | valessi |
| lui/lei | valesse |
| noi | valessimo |
| voi | valeste |
| loro | valessero |
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 | vali |
| lui/lei | valga |
| noi | valiamo |
| voi | valete |
| loro | valgano |
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 valere |
| lui/lei | non valga |
| noi | non valiamo |
| voi | non valete |
| loro | non valgano |