varcare — Italian conjugation

to cross

Frequency#1356Regular

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
iovarcoI cross
tuvarchiyou cross
lui/leivarcahe/she/it crosses
noivarchiamowe cross
voivarcateyou (pl.) cross
lorovarcanothey cross

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
iovarcaiI crossed
tuvarcastiyou crossed
lui/leivarcòhe/she/it crossed
noivarcammowe crossed
voivarcasteyou (pl.) crossed
lorovarcaronothey crossed

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.

PronounItalian
iovarcavo
tuvarcavi
lui/leivarcava
noivarcavamo
voivarcavate
lorovarcavano

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?

PronounItalianEnglish
iovarchereiI would cross
tuvarcherestiyou would cross
lui/leivarcherebbehe/she/it would cross
noivarcheremmowe would cross
voivarcheresteyou (pl.) would cross
lorovarcherebberothey would cross

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
iovarcheròI will cross
tuvarcheraiyou will cross
lui/leivarcheràhe/she/it will cross
noivarcheremowe will cross
voivarchereteyou (pl.) will cross
lorovarcherannothey will cross

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioho varcatoI have crossed
tuhai varcatoyou have crossed
lui/leiha varcatohe/she/it has crossed
noiabbiamo varcatowe have crossed
voiavete varcatoyou (pl.) have crossed
lorohanno varcatothey have crossed

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioavevo varcatoI had crossed
tuavevi varcatoyou had crossed
lui/leiaveva varcatohe/she/it had crossed
noiavevamo varcatowe had crossed
voiavevate varcatoyou (pl.) had crossed
loroavevano varcatothey had crossed

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.

PronounItalian
ioavrei varcato
tuavresti varcato
lui/leiavrebbe varcato
noiavremmo varcato
voiavreste varcato
loroavrebbero varcato

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.

PronounItalianEnglish
ioavrò varcatoI will have crossed
tuavrai varcatoyou will have crossed
lui/leiavrà varcatohe/she/it will have crossed
noiavremo varcatowe will have crossed
voiavrete varcatoyou (pl.) will have crossed
loroavranno varcatothey will have crossed

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.

PronounItalian
iovarchi
tuvarchi
lui/leivarchi
noivarchiamo
voivarchiate
lorovarchino

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.

PronounItalian
iovarcassi
tuvarcassi
lui/leivarcasse
noivarcassimo
voivarcaste
lorovarcassero

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.

PronounItalian
tuvarca
lui/leivarchi
noivarchiamo
voivarcate
lorovarchino

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.

PronounItalian
tunon varcare
lui/leinon varchi
noinon varchiamo
voinon varcate
loronon varchino