vergognarsi — Italian conjugation
to be ashamed
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 | mi vergogno | I am ashamed |
| tu | ti vergogni | you are ashamed |
| lui/lei | si vergogna | he/she/it is ashamed |
| noi | ci vergogniamo | we are ashamed |
| voi | vi vergognate | you (pl.) are ashamed |
| loro | si vergognano | they are ashamed |
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 | mi vergognai | I was ashamed |
| tu | ti vergognasti | you were ashamed |
| lui/lei | si vergognò | he/she/it was ashamed |
| noi | ci vergognammo | we were ashamed |
| voi | vi vergognaste | you (pl.) were ashamed |
| loro | si vergognarono | they were ashamed |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Irregular
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 | mi vergognavo |
| tu | ti vergognavi |
| lui/lei | si vergognava |
| noi | ci vergognavamo |
| voi | vi vergognavate |
| loro | si vergognavano |
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 | mi vergognerei | I would be ashamed |
| tu | ti vergogneresti | you would be ashamed |
| lui/lei | si vergognerebbe | he/she/it would be ashamed |
| noi | ci vergogneremmo | we would be ashamed |
| voi | vi vergognereste | you (pl.) would be ashamed |
| loro | si vergognerebbero | they would be ashamed |
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 | mi vergognerò | I will be ashamed |
| tu | ti vergognerai | you will be ashamed |
| lui/lei | si vergognerà | he/she/it will be ashamed |
| noi | ci vergogneremo | we will be ashamed |
| voi | vi vergognerete | you (pl.) will be ashamed |
| loro | si vergogneranno | they will be ashamed |
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 | mi sono vergognato/a | I have been ashamed |
| tu | ti sei vergognato/a | you have been ashamed |
| lui/lei | si è vergognato/a | he/she/it has been ashamed |
| noi | ci siamo vergognati/e | we have been ashamed |
| voi | vi siete vergognati/e | you (pl.) have been ashamed |
| loro | si sono vergognati/e | they have been ashamed |
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 | mi ero vergognato/a | I had been ashamed |
| tu | ti eri vergognato/a | you had been ashamed |
| lui/lei | si era vergognato/a | he/she/it had been ashamed |
| noi | ci eravamo vergognati/e | we had been ashamed |
| voi | vi eravate vergognati/e | you (pl.) had been ashamed |
| loro | si erano vergognati/e | they had been ashamed |
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 | mi sarei vergognato/a |
| tu | ti saresti vergognato/a |
| lui/lei | si sarebbe vergognato/a |
| noi | ci saremmo vergognati/e |
| voi | vi sareste vergognati/e |
| loro | si sarebbero vergognati/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 | mi sarò vergognato/a | I will have been ashamed |
| tu | ti sarai vergognato/a | you will have been ashamed |
| lui/lei | si sarà vergognato/a | he/she/it will have been ashamed |
| noi | ci saremo vergognati/e | we will have been ashamed |
| voi | vi sarete vergognati/e | you (pl.) will have been ashamed |
| loro | si saranno vergognati/e | they will have been ashamed |
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 | mi vergogni |
| tu | ti vergogni |
| lui/lei | si vergogni |
| noi | ci vergogniamo |
| voi | vi vergogniate |
| loro | si vergognino |
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 | mi vergognassi |
| tu | ti vergognassi |
| lui/lei | si vergognasse |
| noi | ci vergognassimo |
| voi | vi vergognaste |
| loro | si vergognassero |
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 | vergognati |
| lui/lei | si vergogni |
| noi | vergogniamoci |
| voi | vergognatevi |
| loro | si vergognino |
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 vergognarti |
| lui/lei | non si vergogni |
| noi | non vergogniamoci |
| voi | non vergognatevi |
| loro | non si vergognino |