How to use the past conditional in Italian?

The past conditional is used to express a wish or a desire, as well as to make hypotheses about what could have happened in the past. For instance, when you find yourself in the situation of having to explain why you changed a plan, why you could not do something you intended to do, in Italian you would use the past conditional.

In English, the past conditional is most often the equivalent of “would have + verb-ed.” How do you form the past conditional in Italian? Keep reading to find out! One day you don't want to find yourself saying to a friend Se solo avessi letto quel post, ieri avrei usato bene condizionale passato!(If only I had read that post, yesterday I would have used past conditional well!)

The past conditional is a compound tense. This means that, like all other Italian compound tenses (e.g. passato prossimo, congiuntivo trapassato, and so on), you need two words to form it. For the past conditional, those two words are:

• the present conditional of either avere(to have) or essere(to be) (depending on the verb) functioning as an auxiliary verbNo definition set for auxiliary verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..

  Subject Pronoun	Present conditional of avere(to have)	Present conditional of essere(to be)
  io	avrei	sarei
  tu	avresti	saresti
  lui/lei/Lei	avrebbe	saresti
  noi	avremmo	saremmo
  voi	avreste	sareste
  loro	avrebbero	sarebbero

• the past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the verb, which can be regularNo definition set for regularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (ending in -ato, -uto, or -ito) or an irregular Italian past participle.

  Take a look at the full conjugations of some verbs with regular past participle in the table below:

  Subject Pronoun	-are verbs	-ere verbs	-ire verbs
  	aspettare (to wait)	vendere (to sell)	partire (to leave, to depart)
  io	avrei aspettato	avrei venduto	sarei partito/a
  tu	avresti aspettato	avresti venduto	saresti partito/a
  lui/lei/Lei	avrebbe aspettato	avrebbe venduto	sarebbe partito/a
  noi	avremmo aspettato	avremmo venduto	saremmo partiti/e
  voi	avreste aspettato	avreste venduto	sareste partiti/e
  loro	avrebbero aspettato	avrebbero venduto	sarei partiti/e

  As with all compound tenses in Italian, you need to know which auxiliary (essere vs. avere) to use and how to form the agreement between the subject and the past particle. To refresh your memory on these rules, read our post on essere vs. avere in Italian compound tenses, since the past conditional follows the same rules.

The Italian past conditional is used in hypothetical sentences, to talk about unfulfilled actions in the past, to express unrealized desires or wishes, to talk about the future of the past, and to report unconfirmed information. Let’s break down each of these uses.

• Unrealized or impossible hypothesis in the past

  The past conditional is used to form hypotheses about unrealized or impossible hypotheses – in other words, about what would have happened if something else had taken place.

  These types of sentences are called type 3 hypothetical sentences in Italian. Like in English if-then sentences, Italian hypotheticals contain two clausesNo definition set for clausesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.: an “if clause” and a consequence (“then”) clause.

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

  Main Clause
  past conditional

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

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

  Note that since the condition was not met/realized in the past (they did not buy the tickets), the consequence (going to the concert yesterday) could not be realized. The past conditional expresses the impossibility of that outcome in the past.

  If the outcome would have taken place in the present or future, you’ll use the Italian present conditional instead!

  Check out our post on the Italian past perfect subjunctive if you need a little refresher on this tense!

  Important

  When forming hypothetical sentences, remember to respect the so-called consecutio temporumNo definition set for Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (the law of tenses and moods combinations). In the case of Type 3 hypotheticals, it requires you to have the past perfect subjunctive in the “if clause.”

  Therefore, be careful never to put a verb in the conditional straight after se(if).

  ❌ Se saremmo andati a Roma, avremmo visto il Colosseo.
  ✅ Se fossimo andati a Roma, avremmo visto il Colosseo.

  If we had gone to Rome, we would have seen the Colosseum.

• Unfulfilled actions and plans in the past

  Since the past conditional is used to talk about actions that did not, or cannot happen, in Italian, you can also use it in phrases that express a condition introduced by other conditional conjunctionsNo definition set for conditional conjunctionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or adversative conjunctionsNo definition set for adversative conjunctionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. as well.

  The most common adversative conjunctions are ma and però, both meaning "but."

  Sarei andata a Roma ieri, ma c’era uno sciopero dei treni.

  I would have gone to Rome yesterday, but there was a train strike.

  Tip

  If you want to avoid the past conditional, you can use the imperfect tense of the verbs dovere(must), potere(can, able to), volere(want). For example:

  Past conditional	Imperfect of dovere or potere
  Sarei andata a Roma ieri, ma c’era uno sciopero dei treni. I would have gone to Rome yesterday, but there was a train strike.	Volevo andare a Roma ieri, ma c’era uno sciopero dei treni. I wanted to go to Rome yesterday, but there was a train strike.
  Avrebbero dovuto comprare un’auto nuova ma i prezzi erano troppo alti. They would have bought a new car, but the prices were too high.	Dovevano comprare un’auto nuova ma i prezzi erano troppo alti. They had to buy a new car, but the prices were too high.
  Avrebbero potuto prendere l’autostrada per arrivare prima. They would have taken the highway to get there earlier.	Potevano prendere l’autostrada per arrivare prima. They could have taken the highway to get there earlier.

• Desires, advice, opinions, or doubt

  The Italian past conditional can also be used to express desires, advice, opinions, and doubt. Let’s take a look at each of these uses!

  • The past conditional can be used to express an unrealized desire / wish in the past.

    Avrei voluto fare un viaggio quest’estate, purtroppo però non ho potuto.

    I wanted to take a trip this summer, but unfortunately I couldn't.

  • It can be used also to give retroactive advice (perhaps useful next time... 😉).

    Ieri sera avresti potuto fare una passeggiata invece di stare a casa.

    You could have taken a walk last night instead of staying at home.

  • Use the past conditional to formulate opinions about a fact or event that occurred in the past.

    Secondo me, sarebbe stato meglio andare a Palermo in treno.

    In my opinion, it would have been better to go to Palermo by train.

  • The past conditional is also used to express doubts/uncertainty about a past event/action.

    Per il compleanno gli ho preso un trenino elettrico, ma forse avrei potuto comprare qualcos’altro.

    For his birthday I got him an electric train, but maybe I could have bought something else.

  Important

  In Italian, the past conditional is also used in a certain group of indirect questionsNo definition set for indirect questionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
  An indirect question has two clauses:

  • A main clause, having a verb expressing inquiry or doubt

  • A subordinate clause, stating a question / doubt.

  Now, when in an indirect question, the action/event expressed in the subordinate clause occurred after the action of the main clause, the verb of the subordinate clause is in the past conditional.

  Mi chiedevo se sabato sarebbe andato alla festa.

  I was wondering if he was going to the party on Saturday.

• To talk about the future in/of the past

  The past conditional is also used to talk about the future from a past perspective, that is, when the action of the subordinate clause occurred or was supposed to occur after the action expressed in the main clause.

  Mi avevate promesso che non sareste arrivati in ritardo.

  You promised me you wouldn't be late.

  lit. You had promised me that you wouldn’t have arrived late.

  Non pensavamo che avremmo trovato così tanto traffico.

  We didn't think we would find so much traffic.

  lit. We didn’t think that we would have found so much traffic.

  Important

  Note that in English the future of the past is expressed with a simple conditional (would + infinitive) rather than the past conditional (would have + infinitive). So, be careful not to use the present conditional in Italian!

• To report unconfirmed news/information

  Last but not least, the past conditional is the mood and tense of unconfirmed news.

  • Secondo le ultime notizie, i ladri avrebbero lasciato il paese.

    According to the latest news, the thieves have left the country.

  • Si dice che / Dicono che il primo ministro avrebbe volato con un jet privato.

    Rumor has it / They say the prime minister has flown in a private jet.

  • Le fonti riportano che gli uccelli migratori sarebbero ritornati nelle grandi città.

    Sources report that migratory birds would have returned to large cities.

  • Girano voci che Federica avrebbe accettato il nuovo posto di lavoro.

    There are rumors that Federica would have accepted the new job.

• The conditional is the mood that expresses all conditions of uncertainty and it has a a present and a past tense.

• The Italian past conditional often translates in the English I/you/he/she etc. + “would have + verb”

• The past conditional is a compound tense, that is, it is a combination of two words:

  • the first word of the past conditional is the present conditional of either essere or avere, depending on the verb;

  • the second word is the past participle (regular or irregular) of the verb; remember to review the rules of passato prossimo(perfect tense), because they apply to all compound tenses.

• We use the past conditional:

  • in the main clause of type 3 hypothetical sentences (expressing impossible situations)

  • to express unrealized desires, retroactive advice, or opinions/doubt/uncertainty about a past event or action

  • in indirect questions in which the subordinate clause is posterior to the main clause require the past conditional in the subordinate clause

  • to talk about the future of the past and unconfirmed news/info

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