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How to form and use the present conditional in Italian?

By: Miriam Muccione Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Verbs, Conditional Mood

The conditional is a verbal mood used to express a wish or a desire, to request something politely, to give advice, and to imagine possible outcomes. The conditional has two tenses: the present conditional and the past conditional.

In this post we are going to focus on the present conditional: how to use it and form it. In English, the present conditional is the equivalent of “would + verb.” Keep reading to learn more about it!

Table of Contents

    How to form the Italian present conditional?

    To form the present conditional of regular verbs, simply follow these three steps:

    • Start with the verb in the infinitive form:

      partire

      to leave/depart

    • Drop the final -e of the infinitive:

      partir-

    • Add the present conditional ending appropriate to the subject:

      io = -ei

      partir-ei

      I would leave/depart

    Check the full conjugations of regular verbs in the following table:

    Person
    Ending
    -are
    -ere
    -ire
    aspettare(to wait)
    scrivere(to write)
    dormire(to sleep)

    io

    -ei

    aspetterei

    scriverei

    dormirei

    tu

    -esti

    aspetteresti

    scriveresti

    dormiresti

    lui/lei/Lei

    -ebbe

    aspetterebbe

    scriverebbe

    dormirebbe

    noi

    -emmo

    aspetteremmo

    scriveremmo

    dormiremmo

    voi

    -este

    aspettereste

    scriverei

    dormirei

    io

    -ei

    aspetterei

    scriverei

    dormirei

    Tip

    Out of the three verbal groups, only the verbs in -are present a small spelling change, since, in the present conditional, the a of the infinitive ending -arebecomes e.

    • aspettare(to wait)aspetterei, aspetteresti, ...

    • guidare(to drive)guiderei, guideresti, ...

    Other than that, the endings are the same for all three groups!

    Exception!

    The method above does not apply to irregular verbs like essere(to be) or avere(to have), therefore you will need to learn them by heart (or keep reading to find a shortcut)!

    Even though regular and irregular verbs have the same endings in the present conditional, irregular verbs change stem when conjugated. We’ll talk about a few irregular verbs below, but check out this list of common irregular verbs in the Italian present conditional to learn more.

    How to conjugate irregular verbs in the present conditional?

    The following are some irregular verbs in the present conditional. These are called “stem-changing verbs” because they take the regular endings, but the stem you attach the endings to changes.

    • Essere(to be) and avere(to have, to own) change their stem.

      The stem of essere becomes sar-.
      The stem of avere drops the first e and becomes avr-.

      Subject Pronoun
      essere
      (to be)
      avere
      (to have)

      io

      sarei

      avrei

      tu

      saresti

      avresti

      lui/lei/Lei

      sarebbe

      avrebbe

      noi

      saremmo

      avremmo

      voi

      sareste

      avreste

      loro

      sarebbero

      avrebbero

    • Verbs in -cіare(to be) and -gіare drop the i in all persons.

      Subject Pronoun
      cominciare
      (to begin)
      mangiare
      (to eat)

      io

      comincerei

      NOT comincierei!

      mangerei

      NOT mangierei!

      tu

      cominceresti

      mangeresti

      lui/lei/Lei

      comincerebbe

      mangerebbe

      noi

      cominceremmo

      mangeremmo

      voi

      comincereste

      mangereste

      loro

      comincerebbero

      mangerebbero

    • The modal verbs dovere(must, have to) and potere(can, be able to), drop the e in -ere before adding the ending:

      Subject Pronoun
      dovere
      (must, have to)
      potere
      (to eat)

      io

      dovrei

      potrei

      tu

      dovresti

      potresti

      lui/lei/Lei

      dovrebbe

      potrebbe

      noi

      dovremmo

      potrebbero

      voi

      dovreste

      potreste

      loro

      dovrebbero

      potrebbero

    • The modal verb volere(to want) drops le and doubles the r:

      Subject Pronoun
      volere
      (must, have to)

      io

      vorrei

      tu

      vorresti

      lui/lei/Lei

      vorrebbe

      noi

      vorremmo

      voi

      vorreste

      vorrebbero

      vorrei

    Tip

    It might be helpful to know that the verbs that are irregular in the present conditional are the same as those that are irregular in the future and their future and conditional forms share the same stem!

    So, if you remember which verbs are irregular in the future tense, you also know the irregular verbs in the present conditional.

    Look at this example with andare(to go) in the future and in the present conditional:

    Simple future:

    • io andrò

    • tu andrai

    • lui/lei/Lei andrà

    • noi andremo

    • voi andrete

    • loro andranno

    Present conditional:

    • io andrei

    • tu andresti

    • lui/lei/Lei andrebbe

    • noi andremmo

    • voi andreste

    • loro andrebbero

    How to use the present conditional?

    The present conditional in Italian is often used to express a condition, either in the main clause or paired with a se(if) clause to express unlikely and unfulfilled conditions. Furthermore, it can also be used to express desires, requests, doubts, and to give advice. Let’s review all the uses of the present conditional next.

    Using the present conditional in a hypothetical sentence

    In Italian, the present conditional is used to form type 2 hypothetical sentences and type 3 hypothetical sentences. These are two types of “if-then” sentences which, like in English, contain two clauses, and the present conditional can be used in the main clause.

    • Type 2 Hypotheticals (for situations that are unlikely but possible):

      These sentences describe a situation that is unlikely, but possible, and its potential consequences.

      "If" clause
      se(if) + imperfect subjunctive

      Main Clause
      present conditional

      Se avessi tempo, ti darei una mano.

      If I had time, I would help you.

    • Type 3 Hypotheticals (for situations that are no longer possible):

      These sentences describe a situation that is no longer possible, usually because the chance for it to happen has passed you by.

      We use the present conditional in the main clause if the consequence that would have happened would have been realized in the present or future:

      "If" clause
      se(if) + past perfect subjunctive

      Main Clause
      present conditional

      Se avessimo comprato i biglietti, oggi saremmo al concerto.

      If we had bought the tickets​, today we would be at the concert.

      Important

      The main clause of a Type 3 hypothetical can also be in the Italian past conditional.
      The past conditional expresses the impossibility of that outcome in the past.

      Se avessimo comprato i biglietti, ieri saremmo andati al concerto.

      If we had bought the tickets, yesterday we would have gone to the concert.

    Using the present conditional for conditions without an “if clause”

    In Italian you can also use the present conditional in phrases that express something you “would” or “could” do under conditions that are introduced by certain conjunctions other than se(if). These conjunctions are called conditional conjunctions or adversative conjunctions. Here are some examples:

    • qualora(if, in case)

      Comprerei un’auto nuova, qualora fosse necessario.

      I would buy a new car if it was necessary.

    • purché(as long as)

      I ragazzi potrebbero andare in campeggio, purché abbiano una tenda sicura.

      The kids could go camping, as long as they have a secure tent.

    • ma, però(but)

      Andrei a Roma oggi, ma i treni sono in sciopero.

      I would go to Rome today, but the trains are on strike.

    Tip

    Be a little careful when translating “would” + infinitive into Italian. While you’ll often translate “would” + infinitive into Italian with the present conditional, sometimes you’ll need to use the imperfetto(imperfect) instead.

    If you can replace “would” + infinitive with “used to,” then you should use the imperfetto, not the present conditional:

    Every Sunday I would go (= I used to go) for a walk.

    Use imperfetto!

    = Ogni domenica andavo a fare una passeggiata.

    Using present conditional for requests, desires, advice, or doubts

    In Italian, the present conditional is useful to make polite requests, express your desires, give advice, and express doubt. It’s much like you might use “would” or “could” to do something similar in English. Here’s how to use the present conditional for different purposes:

    • Polite requests and kinder questions

      😐 Normal
      😊 Polite/Kind → Present Conditional

      Mi fai un piacere?

      Can you do me a favor?

      Mi faresti un piacere?

      Would you do me a favor?

      When at a café or at a restaurant, you can use the present conditional to order something you would like to drink/eat.

      😐 Normal
      😊 Polite/Kind → Present Conditional

      Voglio un cappuccino, grazie.

      I want a cappuccino, thanks.

      Vorrei un cappuccino, per favore.

      I would like a cappuccino, please.

      Tip

      To sound polite, it is common to use the verb volere(to want) in the present conditional. But note that using to want in the present indicative, e.g. voglio(I want), sounds impolite.

      When I was little, to remind me to say vorrei(I would like) instead of voglio(I want), my grandma would often tell me that…

      L’erba “voglio” non cresce neanche nel giardino del re. 😉

      (lit.) The "I want" grass does not even grow in the king's garden.

    • Desires and wishes

      Like in English, in Italian we resort to using the present conditional to express a desire or a wish.

      Che bella giornata! Oggi andrei volentieri al mare.

      What a beautiful day! Today I would gladly go to the beach.

    • Advice

      You may know that in Italian, like in English, one of the moods we use to give advice is the imperative, but in addition to the imperative, we can also use the present conditional of the modal verbs dovere(must) and potere(can) along with the infinitive of the verb you’re advising someone to do. This sounds less strong than the imperative. Compare the two sentences below to see the difference:

      Imperative 👇
      Present Conditional (softer) 😄

      Sei molto stanco… riposa un po’.

      You are very tired... rest a bit.

      Sei molto stanco… dovresti riposare un po’.

      You are very tired... you should rest a bit.

    • Doubt or uncertainty

      Finally, the present conditional appears in sentences in which we express doubt or uncertainty.

      In una situazione simile, non saprei cosa fare.

      In a similar situation, I would not know what to do.

    To sum up

    Here’s what you should remember about the present conditional in Italian:

    • The conditional is a mood that expresses conditions and uncertainty and has both a present and a past tense.

    • The Italian present conditional usually translates into English as “would + verb”

    • To form the Italian present conditional of regular verbs, just drop the final e of the infinitive and add the appropriate ending.

    • Irregular verbs in the present conditional use the same stem as in the future! Remember that when learning those verbs by heart!

    • We use the present conditional:

      • in the main clause of type 2 and type 3 hypothetical sentences

      • to express desires, uncertainty and doubts

      • to make polite requests

      • to give advice.

    Ready to practice the Italian present conditional? 💪 🧠 Click the link!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How to form & use the present conditional in Italian~Common irregular verbsHow to form & use the present conditional in Italian~Activities

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