The conditional is a verbal 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!
To form the present conditional of regular verbs, simply follow these three steps:
Start with the verb in the form:
partire
to leave/depart
Drop the final -e of the infinitive:
partir-
Add the present conditional ending appropriate to the :
io = -ei
partir-ei
I would leave/depart
Check the full conjugations of 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 | scrivereste | dormireste |
loro | -ebbero | aspetterebbero | scriverebbero | dormirebbero |
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!
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.
The following are some verbs in the present conditional. These are called “stem-changing verbs” because they take the regular endings, but the has to change.
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 | potere |
|---|---|---|
io | dovrei | potrei |
tu | dovresti | potresti |
lui/lei/Lei | dovrebbe | potrebbe |
noi | dovremmo | potremmo |
voi | dovreste | potreste |
loro | dovrebbero | potrebbero |
The modal verb volere(to want) drops le and doubles the r:
Subject Pronoun | volere |
|---|---|
io | vorrei |
tu | vorresti |
lui/lei/Lei | vorrebbe |
noi | vorremmo |
voi | vorreste |
loro | vorrebbero |
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
The present conditional in Italian is often used to express a condition, either in the or paired with a se(if) 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.
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 .
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.
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.
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 or . 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.
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.
= Ogni domenica andavo a fare una passeggiata.
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. |
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 , 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 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.
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!
