Understanding verb tenses in Italian is key. They will help you spot common patterns, build compound forms, and make sense of verbs—even the ones you haven’t studied yet. And if you pair them with Italian phrases and a solid set of Italian words, you will be able to talk about everything with ease.
When you start learning Italian, getting to know some common verbs is a great first step. You’ll quickly need to focus on moods and tenses, however, to make lasting progress in your Italian journey. In this guide, learn everything you need to know to get started with Italian verb tenses.
Table of Contents
Moods, tenses, and conjugations of Italian verbs
Without verbs, you wouldn’t know what is happening in a sentence. That’s why they are one of the most important parts of speech in Italian.
Verbs tell you who is performing the action, what they’re doing, and when it’s happening. They do this through moods and tenses, while the three conjugations provide the patterns for how verbs change.
Italian verb conjugation
All Italian verbs fall into three conjugation groups based on the ending of their infinitive form (the “to” + verb in English). These groups determine the suffixes of regular verbs across tenses.
- -ARE verbs in Italian (first conjugation), like parlare (to speak)
- -ERE verbs in Italian (second conjugation), like credere (to believe)
- -IRE verbs in Italian (third conjugation), like dormire (to sleep)
There are some irregular verbs that don’t follow these three conjugation patterns strictly, but you’ll learn those as you go.
What are verb moods in Italian?
Italian verb moods are groups of tenses that show how the speaker feels about what they’re saying. In other words, they let you know if something is a fact, a wish, a doubt, or a possibility.
In Italian, there are seven verb moods:
- indicativo (indicative)
- congiuntivo (subjunctive)
- condizionale (conditional)
- imperativo (imperative)
- infinito (infinitive)
- participio (participle)
- gerundio (gerund)
How many verb tenses are there in Italian?
There are 21 verb tenses in Italian across the seven moods, each showing when an action takes place. They can be either simple or compound.
- Simple tenses consist of a single word: the verb changes its ending (“-are,” “-ere,” or “-ire”).
- dormire (to sleep) → io dormo (I sleep)
- Compound tenses are formed with two parts: an auxiliary verb essere (to be) or avere (to have) + the past participle.
- ho dormito = I have slept
You won’t use all of them in everyday conversation, so don’t rush to memorize them all at once. Still, it’s helpful to see the big picture.
Modo indicativo (indicative mood)
Want to talk about your recent vacation, discuss the news, or describe the view from the beautiful restaurants in Positano that you tried this summer? The indicativo can unlock all these stories for you.
The Italian indicativo (indicative mood) states facts, real events, or things that will happen.
It has eight tenses covering the past, present, and future. However, you’ll mainly use four: presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, and futuro semplice. Let’s learn them!
Presente
The presente corresponds to the present simple and present continuous tenses in English.
You’ll use it to describe events happening at the present moment, habitual actions, or general truths.
- Oggi mangiamo la pizza. = Today we eat pizza.
- Studio italiano tutti i giovedì. = I study Italian every Thursday.
- La Terra è un pianeta. = The Earth is a planet.
To talk about something happening while speaking in informal settings, Italians often replace the form stare (to be/to stay) + gerund (present continuous) with the present simple.
- Cosa stai facendo? = What are you doing?
- Parlo con mia sorella. (present)/Sto parlando con mia sorella. (stare + gerund) = I am speaking with my sister.
Passato prossimo
This tense corresponds to the present perfect and past simple tenses in English. Memories and experiences are what make you unique, which is why past verb tenses are so important. You use them to tell your story, and among them, the passato prossimo will be your go-to.
The passato prossimo is a compound tense formed by the present tense of essere (to be) or avere (to have) + the past participle of the verb you are conjugating. This is similar to how you would form the English present perfect tense.
Following Italian grammar, you must use it to talk about events that happened at a specific moment in the past or to describe past events that still have consequences in the present.
- Ieri ho mangiato la pasta. = Yesterday I ate pasta.
- Mi sono trasferito a New York l’anno scorso. = I moved to New York last year.
However, in modern Italian, you can actually use it in many more situations, as it has almost replaced the other past tense, passato remoto (past simple).
- George Washington è nato nel 1732. = George Washington was born in 1732.
- Ho visitato Roma tre volte quando ero piccolo. = I visited Rome three times when I was little.
Imperfetto
The imperfetto corresponds to the past continuous tense, the “used to” + verb construction in English, and sometimes, the past simple tense.
Another essential Italian past tense is the imperfetto. It is a simple tense you can use to:
- Talk about actions that happened regularly in the past.
- Carlo beveva caffè italiano tutte le mattine. = Carlo used to drink Italian coffee every morning.
- Actions in progress in the past, interrupted by another action, or two simultaneous moments in the past.
- Mentre leggevo, è squillato il telefono. = While I was reading, the phone rang.
- Quando vivevo in Italia, lavoravo in un ufficio. = When I lived in Italy, I worked in an office.
- Describing people, places, or situations in the past.
- Mia nonna aveva i capelli rossi da ragazza. = My grandmother had red hair when she was young.
Passato remoto
This tense corresponds to the past simple in English. Technically, the passato remoto is the simple Italian verb tense to describe a distant past that doesn’t have influence over the present.
However, since it has been almost entirely replaced by the passato prossimo, it is now mostly used for events that are distant not only chronologically, but also emotionally.
You will find it in literature, novels, history books, and when talking about distant events in a neutral, objective way without emotional involvement.
- George Washington nacque nel 1732. = George Washington was born in 1732.
However, if you like it and want to sound more formal, you can totally use it. This tense is still alive in some regions, especially in Tuscany and Sicily. So if you want to say: “My great-grandfather emigrated to the United States at the end of the 19th century,” you can do it in two ways:
- Il mio bisnonno emigrò negli Stati Uniti a fine ottocento. (passato remoto)
- Il mio bisnonno è emigrato negli Stati Uniti a fine ottocento. (passato prossimo)
Futuro semplice
The futuro semplice corresponds to the future simple (“will” + verb) tense in English. You have almost mastered all the verb tenses in Italian to connect with people and make great new friendships in Italy.
With some practice, you will be confident enough to discuss the past and present. The only thing missing now is knowing how to share your goals and plans: that’s where the futuro semplice comes into action.
The indicativo futuro semplice (indicative future simple) is one of the two verb tenses in Italian to express the future. You can use it to talk about an event that will happen (even if you don’t know when), in informal language, and to make an educated guess.
- Domani parlerò con il professore. = Tomorrow I will speak with the professor.
- Quando visiterò l’Italia, cercherò di parlare in italiano il più possibile. = When I (will) visit Italy, I’ll try to speak Italian as much as possible.
- Saranno le cinque e mezza. = It must be half past five.
Other Italian tenses of the indicative mood
You’ll eventually come across the other tenses of the indicativo, especially in books and formal writing. But you won’t need them much in everyday conversations. Here’s a quick tour with one example each.
- Trapassato prossimo corresponds to the past perfect tense in English. It describes something that happened before another past action.
- Quando sono arrivata all’aeroporto, erano già atterrati. = When I arrived at the airport, they had already landed.
- Trapassato remoto is even rarer, corresponding to the English past perfect continuous. It shows an action completed before another past action in passato remoto.
- Appena ebbe finito di mangiare, uscì di casa. = As soon as he had finished eating, he left the house.
- Futuro anteriore is the future perfect in English. Use it to talk about the first of two future actions. It is often introduced by time expressions.
- Entro domani avrò finito il progetto. = By tomorrow, I will have finished the project.
- Sarò già andato a dormire quando rientrerai = I will have already gone to bed by the time you get back.
Modo condizionale (conditional mood)
If the indicative is the Italian mood of reality and certainty, the condizionale is the one to express wishes, conditions for something to happen, doubts, or personal opinions.
You’ll also need it when you want to sound extra polite when saying “please” in Italian doesn’t feel enough. It only has two verb tenses in Italian: the present and the past.
Condizionale presente
This tense corresponds to the present conditional (“would” + verb), and modal forms like “could,” “might,” should,” “would like to” in English.
The condizionale presente is probably the most used Italian verb tense after the indicative mood. It is a simple tense, so it is quite easy to memorize.
- Se avesse più tempo, andrebbe al mare. = If he had more time, he would go to the beach.
- Vorrei un caffè, per favore. = I would like a coffee, please.
- Se fossi in te, chiamerei il dentista. = If I were you, I would call the dentist.
Condizionale passato
The condizionale passato corresponds to the past conditional (“would have” + verb), and modal verbs + “could have,” “might have,” and “should have” in English.
It is the only compound tense of the Italian conditional mood. Following the same rules as the indicative compound tenses, it combines the auxiliary verb in the present conditional with the past participle.
You’ll hear it less often than the condizionale presente, but it’s still useful because it expresses regrets or “what could have been.”
- Avrei studiato di più se avessi avuto tempo. = I would have studied more if I had had time.
- Sarei venuto alla festa, ma ero malato. = I would have come to the party, but I was sick.
Modo congiuntivo (subjunctive mood)
Ah, the (in)famous congiuntivo! Even many Italians struggle with this one. The Italian subjunctive mood expresses doubt, wishes, opinions, or uncertainty.
It only works in subordinate clauses introduced by che (that) and after a verb that expresses doubt, uncertainty, hope, or opinion—like credere (to believe), pensare (to think), sperare (to hope), etc.
- Spero che tu stia bene. = I hope you are well.
Many Italians replace the subjunctive with the indicative imperfetto. Technically, this is incorrect, but it’s very common in spoken Italian.
Our advice? Don’t stress too much about it at the beginning. Focus on the other moods and tenses you’ll use most, and save the subjunctive for a second learning phase.
Italian subjunctive tenses
The congiuntivo has four tenses.
- Presente (present subjunctive): verb stem + subjunctive endings.
- Dubito che parli italiano. = I doubt he/she speaks Italian.
- Passato (past subjunctive): subjunctive present of the auxiliary verb + past participle.
- È incredibile che tu abbia visitato così tanti paesi. = It’s incredible that you have visited so many countries.
- Imperfetto (imperfect subjunctive): verb stem + subjunctive endings.
- Non pensava che io parlassi bene l’italiano. = He didn’t think I spoke Italian well.
- Trapassato (pluperfect subjunctive): subjunctive imperfect of the auxiliary verb + past participle.
- Non pensavo che loro avessero parlato con il professore. = I didn’t think they had spoken with the professor.
Modo imperativo (imperative mood)
The modo imperativo corresponds to the imperative in English and it works in exactly the same way as the imperative in English: you use it to give commands, advice, or encouragement. It exists only in the present tense, because it’s all about the “here and now.”
In English, commands can sometimes sound bossy, but in Italian, that’s not always the case. In certain situations, the imperative can be a polite but firm request in informal situations if paired with per favore (please), and in a formal setting when used with the formal “you” and the verb pregare (to beg).
- Passa il sale, per favore. = Pass the salt, please.
- La prego, mi ascolti. = Please, listen to me. (formal “you”)
However, be careful with this tense/mood, because using the imperative when demanding something from a stranger (like asking for an espresso at a bar) is considered rude in Italy.
The non-finite moods in Italian
The last three moods of Italian grammar are called “non-finite,” and they are a piece of cake compared to the other moods.
The Infinito (infinitive), participio (participle), and gerundio (gerund) have only one form for each tense that doesn’t change according to the subject pronouns.
Learning them is essential because they are the building blocks of compound tenses, the passive voice, and some special Italian expressions.
Infinito (infinitive mood)
The infinito (infinitive mood) corresponds to the basic infinitive form (“to” + verb) or the “-ing” verb form in English and has two only tenses in Italian: the present and the past.
The present infinitive helps you identify which conjugation a verb belongs to. In a sentence, you can use it with verbs like volere (to want), after conjunctions like prima di (before), or as the subject or object of a sentence.
- Voglio parlare con te. = I want to speak with you.
- Prima di studiare l’italiano, ho imparato il francese. = Before studying Italian, I learned French.
- Leggere è il mio passatempo preferito. = Reading is my favorite hobby
- Il mio obiettivo è visitare Roma e Venezia. = My goal is to visit Rome and Venice.
The past infinitive is a compound tense formed with the infinitive of essere (to be) or avere (to have) + the past participle. It is often used in subordinate clauses to indicate the cause of an event or an action that was completed before another action.
- Li ho ringraziati per essere venuti in aeroporto. = I thanked them for coming to the airport.
- Dopo aver mangiato, sono uscito. = After having eaten, I went out.
Participio (participle mood)
The participio (participle mood) also has only two tenses and uses the same form for every subject pronoun in each tense.
The past tense is the most common because it forms all compound tenses.
- Ho parlato con Jack. = I have spoken with Jack.
Even though it does not change with the pronouns, if the auxiliary verb is essere (to be), the participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. For example, the past participle of andare (to go) is:
- sono andato (masculine singular)
- sono andata (feminine singular)
- sono andati (masculine plural)
- sono andate (feminine plural)
The present is rare as a verb form and mostly works as an adjective.
- il grillo parlante = the Talking Cricket
Gerundio (gerund mood)
This gerundio (gerund mood) shows how or why an action happens. Paired with the verb stare (to stay/to be), it indicates an ongoing action. It has a present (simple) and a past (compound) tense.
- Sono andato a casa camminando. = I went home walking.
- Sto parlando con mia sorella. = I am speaking with my sister.
- Avendo finito il lavoro, sono andato a casa. = Having finished the work, I went home.
Use verb tenses in Italian like a local with Rosetta Stone
Evviva! (Hurray!) You’ve reached the end of the guide, and now have a clear overview of verb tenses in Italian. Focus on mastering the most common tenses first and practice them regularly: this is how to learn Italian naturally and start speaking confidently without feeling overwhelmed.
Also, let an expert guide you: participating in Rosetta Stone tutoring lessons is a fantastic way to clarify doubts with a language instructor in an immersive and online small-group setting.
0 Commentaires