Italian Grammar Bank
CONDITIONAL TENSE IN ITALIAN
The conditional mode is used to indicate actions that can only be realised on condition that certain premises occur.
In fact, it is often accompanied by a subjunctive mode expressing precisely the condition on which the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of the action indicated by the conditional depends.
HOW TO USE CONDITIONAL
The conditional mode is used only under certain ‘conditions’: it is a finite mode with two tenses, a simple one (present) and a compound one (past).
It is used to indicate actions that can only be realised on condition that certain premises occur.
In fact, it is often accompanied by a subjunctive clause expressing precisely the condition on which whether or not the action indicated by the conditional depends.
The conditional mode is a verbal form that is used to express hypothetical situations, wishes, requests, suggestions or advice. In Italian, the conditional has two tenses: the conditional present and the conditional past.
PRESENT TENSE
The conditional present tense is used to express a possible or hypothetical action, advice, wish, polite request or uncertain possibility.
| Se avessi più tempo, leggerei un libro | If I had more time, I would read a book |
| Potresti passarmi il sale, per favore | Could you pass me the salt, please? |
| Mi piacerebbe uscire con te | I would like to go out with you |
| Andrei in vacanza ma devo lavorare | I would go on holiday but I have to work. |
PAST TENSE
The conditional past tense is used to express an action that could have happened in the past but did not occur.
It is formed by using the auxiliary ‘to have’ or ‘to be’ in the present conditional, followed by the past participle of the verb.
| Se avessi studiato, avrei superato l’esame | If I had studied, I would have passed the exam |
| Se tu avessi letto l’annuncio, avresti chiamato | If you had read the ad, you would have called |
| Se fossi uscito con noi, l’avresti incontrata | If you had gone out with us, you would have met her. |
| Se tu mi amassi, sarei la persona più felice del mondo! | If you loved me, I would be the happiest person in the world! |
CONDITIONAL USED ALONE
In independent sentences, the conditional may be used alone to express:
– a wish
Vorrei andare a Parigi
– I would like to go to Paris
– a polite request
Vorrei un panino, per favore
– I would like a sandwich, please
– a polite advice or order
Dovresti portarti avanti con lo studio
– You should get ahead with your studies
– doubt, disbelief or wonder
Dovrebbe nevicare anche a Roma oggi
– It should snow in Rome today too
CONDITIONAL PRESENT: CONJUGATION
At this point, a clarification is in order: Italian verbs, in the conditional and future tense, are formed following the exact same rules and have the exact same exceptions!
Yes! You got it right: it means that if you know how to form the FUTURE you can also form the CONDITIONAL… and viceversa! Convenient, isn’t it?
The only difference between the future and the conditional is obviously the desinences. The endings of the present conditional are the same for all verb groups!
Moreover, these desinences are not added to the verb root, but to the whole verb excluding the last vowel -E.
Let’s now see an example for each group:
| PARLARE | LEGGERE | DORMIRE |
|---|---|---|
| io parlerei | io leggerei | io dormirei |
| tu parleresti | tu leggeresti | tu dormiresti |
| lui / lei parlerebbe | lui / lei leggerebbe | lui / lei dormirebbe |
| noi parleremmo | noi leggeremmo | noi dormiremmo |
| voi parlereste | voi leggereste | voi dormireste |
| loro parlerebbero | loro leggerebbero | loro dormirebbero |
Have you noticed the peculiarity of verbs ending in -ARE? The letter -A in -ARE becomes an -E!
The verb essere, of course, is totally irregular! Here are the conjugations of essere and avere in the present conditional:
| ESSERE | AVERE |
|---|---|
| io sarei | io avrei |
| tu saresti | tu avresti |
| lui / lei sarebbe | lui / lei avrebbe |
| noi saremmo | noi avremmo |
| voi sareste | voi avreste |
| loro sarebbero | loro avrebbero |
ATTENTION || We still have to be careful with verbs ending in -CARE and -GARE, which take an H after the -C and the -G in all persons!
| PAGARE | COMUNICARE |
|---|---|
| io pagherei | io comunicherei |
| tu pagheresti | tu comunicheresti |
| lui / lei pagherebbe | lui / lei comunicherebbe |
| noi pagheremmo | noi comunicheremmo |
| voi paghereste | voi comunichereste |
| loro pagherebbero | loro comunicherebbero |
Instead, the verbs in -CIARE e -GIARE lose the la -I in all persons!
For example:
| COMINCIARE | MANGIARE |
|---|---|
| io comincerei | io mangerei |
| tu cominceresti | tu mangeresti |
| lui / lei comincerebbe | lui / lei mangerebbe |
| noi cominceremmo | noi mangeremmo |
| voi comincereste | voi mangereste |
| loro comincerebbero | loro mangerebbero |
Other irregularities worth mentioning are:
-ARE VERBS
Some verbs in -ARE such as DARE, FARE and STARE do not change the -A into -E. Here are their complete conjugations:
| DARE | FARE | STARE |
|---|---|---|
| io darei | io farei | io starei |
| tu daresti | tu faresti | tu staresti |
| lui / lei darebbe | lui / lei farebbe | lui / lei starebbe |
| noi daremmo | noi faremmo | noi staremmo |
| voi dareste | voi fareste | voi stareste |
| loro darebbero | loro farebbero | loro starebbero |
-ERE VERBS
Some verbs in -ERE such as DOVERE, SAPERE, VIVERE, POTERE, VEDERE, CADERE (among these, also ANDARE) behave like AVERE, i.e. they also lose the first E as well as the second!
Here are the complete conjugations:
| DOVERE | SAPERE | VIVERE |
|---|---|---|
| io dovrei | io saprei | io vivrei |
| tu dovresti | tu sapresti | tu vivresti |
| lui / lei dovrebbe | lui / lei saprebbe | lui / lei vivrebbe |
| noi dovremmo | noi sapremmo | noi vivremmo |
| voi dovreste | voi sapreste | voi vivreste |
| loro dovrebbero | loro saprebbero | loro vivrebbero |
OTHER VERBS
Other verbs, on the other hand, lose not only their desinence, but also part of their root, and are characterised by the presence of the double “erre” (rr).
This happens with VENiRE, RIMANERE, MANTENERE, TENERE, VOLERE and BERE.
Here are the conjugations:
| VENIRE | RIMANERE | MANTENERE |
|---|---|---|
| io verrei | io rimarrei | io manterrei |
| tu verresti | tu rimarresti | tu manterresti |
| lui / lei verrebbe | lui / lei rimarrebbe | lui / lei manterrebbe |
| noi verremmo | noi rimarremmo | noi manterremmo |
| voi verreste | voi rimarreste | voi manterreste |
| loro verrebbero | loro rimarrebbero | loro manterrebbero |
CONDITIONAL PAST: CONJUGATION
The past conditional tense is formed in a very simple way, using the present conditional of the auxiliary TO BE or TO HAVE (depending on what the verb holds) + the past participle of the verb.
PATTERN
Auxiliary (to be, to have) + past principle
| ANDARE | FINIRE |
|---|---|
| io sarei andato/a | io avrei finito |
| tu saresti andato/a | tu avresti finito |
| lui / lei sarebbe andato/a | lui / lei avrebbe finito |
| noi saremmo andati/e | noi avremmo finito |
| voi sareste andati/e | voi avreste finito |
| loro sarebbero andati/e | loro avrebbero finito |
The past conditional is used to express an event that would have occurred in the past if a certain condition had first occurred, or to express a doubt or opinion, always referring to the past.
Basically, we find it in the same cases as in the present, but with reference to past actions and events.
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FAQs
What is the conditional tense used for in Italian?
The conditional tense (condizionale) is used to express polite requests, hypothetical situations, desires, or actions that depend on a condition, like in “Vorrei un caffè” (I would like a coffee).
How do you form the conditional tense in Italian?
The conditional is formed by taking the verb stem and adding the conditional endings: for -are and -ere verbs, the endings are -erei, -eresti, -erebbe, -eremmo, -ereste, -erebbero; for -ire verbs, the endings are -irei, -iresti, -irebbe, -iremmo, -ireste, -irebbero.
Present and past conditional: what differences?
The present conditional expresses actions that would happen under certain conditions (e.g., “Andrei al mare” – I would go to the beach).
The past conditional expresses actions that would have happened but didn’t (e.g., “Sarei andato al mare” – I would have gone to the beach).
When is the conditional tense used with “se”?
The conditional is often used in the second part of “if” (se) sentences to express hypothetical situations, such as “Se avessi tempo, verrei” (If I had time, I would come).
Any irregular verbs in the conditional tense?
Yes, many common verbs have irregular stems in the conditional tense.
For example, “avere” becomes “avrei,” “essere” becomes “sarei,” and “andare” becomes “andrei.” The endings remain regular, but the stems change.
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