The Italian Conditional Mood: a Guide to the Condizionale Presente
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One of the four finite moods in Italian, the conditional refers to hypothetical events. The Italian present conditional tense (condizionale presente) expresses what would happen under certain conditions, and roughly corresponds to “would” in English.
Would you like to master the condizionale presente and express yourself in a more fluid and flexible way? Here is your guide. Let’s start!
Using the condizionale presente
In Italian, the condizionale presente is used to:
- make a wish or express desires:
L’estate prossima andrei volentieri in vacanza in Sicilia – Next summer I would gladly go to Sicily on holiday
Nicola vorrebbe tanto rivederti – Nicola would like to see you again
- express opinions, ask questions and give advice or recommendations without sounding too direct:
Se fossi in te, chiederei subito scusa a Nadia – If I were you, I would immediately apologize to Nadia
Penso che dovremmo prenderci una pausa – I think we should take a break
- make very polite requests or offers:
Potresti abbassare il volume, per favore? – Could you please turn down the volume?
Gradireste del caffè? – Would you like some coffee?
- criticize or disapprove of something:
Mattia dovrebbe studiare di più se non vuole essere bocciato di nuovo – Mattia should study more if he doesn’t want to repeat the year again
- express a doubt:
Non so se andrei di nuovo in quell’albergo – I don’t know if I would go to that hotel again
- discuss probability:
Domani potrebbe arrivare un’altra ondata di caldo, le temperature sono in aumento – Another heatwave could start tomorrow, temperatures are rising
- pose hypothetical questions:
Cosa faresti al posto mio? – What would you do if you were in my place?
- report something you are not 100% sure about, or that you have doubts about:
Secondo alcuni testimoni, i rapinatori sarebbero quattro — “According to some witnesses, there are reportedly four robbers.” The conditional marks information being attributed to a source rather than confirmed by the speaker. — “According to some witnesses, there are reportedly four robbers.” The conditional marks information being attributed to a source rather than confirmed by the speaker.
As you can see, the Italian present conditional tense can be used both in main clauses and subordinate clauses.
The hypothetical period
The Italian present conditional is used with the imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) to express hypothesis in the hypothetical period (periodo ipotetico).
The hypothetical phrase is made of two clauses. The subordinate clause is introduced by se (if) and expresses a condition, whereas the main clause expresses a consequence. You can use this lovely construction to set up all kinds of situations, imagine what could be and talk about something that might happen under certain conditions.
Have a look at some examples:
Se avessi tempo, andrei in palestra ogni giorno – If I had time, I would go to the gym every day (but I don’t have time, so I don’t)
Se fossi ricco, comprerei una casa al mare — “If I were rich, I would buy a house by the sea.” This example imagines a condition that is not currently true.
Andrei in montagna se avessi una settimana libera — “I would go to the mountains if I had a free week.” Context tells us whether the condition is unlikely or contrary to fact; the construction alone does not always establish that.
The subordinate clause can also be introduced by:
- nel caso in cui (in the event that, in case):
Nel caso in cui non poteste avere figli, valutereste l’adozione? – If you could not have children, would you consider adoption?
- purché (as long as, provided that):
Andrei volentieri a vedere la partita, purché non ci fossero scontri tra le tifoserie – I would gladly go and see the match, as long as there are no fights between supporters of the two clubs
- qualora (if, in case):
Qualora ti venisse offerto un lavoro in Finlandia, cosa faresti? – What would you do if you were offered a job in Finland?
In a hypothetical se-clause of this type, use the imperfect subjunctive for the condition and present conditional for the result. The rule is not “every se requires imperfect subjunctive”: real conditions can use indicative (Se piove, resto a casa), and se meaning “whether” in an indirect question can introduce conditional (Mi chiedo se verrebbe). Purché takes subjunctive, whose tense depends on context; ci fossero in the example above is imperfect subjunctive, matching the hypothetical framing. Compare a present indicative main clause: Vado alla partita purché non ci siano scontri.
How to form the condizionale presente
The condizionale presente is easy to construct in Italian. You just have to remove the verb’s ending and add the appropriate conditional ending.
To make the present conditional of regular verbs ending in -are and -ere, take the stem and add the following conditional endings:
- -erei for “I”
- -eresti for “you”
- -erebbe for “he”/ “she” / “it”
- -eremmo for “we”
- -ereste for “you (plural)”
- -erebbero for “they”
Cantare (to sing)
| Io canterei | I would sing |
| Tu canteresti | You would sing |
| Lui/lei canterebbe | He/she/it would sing |
| Noi canteremmo | We would sing |
| Voi cantereste | You (plural) would sing |
| Loro canterebbero | They would sing |
Vendere (to sell)
| Io venderei | I would sell |
| Tu venderesti | You would sell |
| Lui/lei venderebbe | He/she/it would sell |
| Noi venderemmo | We would sell |
| Voi vendereste | You (plural) would sell |
| Loro venderebbero | They would sell |
As you can see, the condizionale presente has the same endings for verbs that belong to both the -are and -ere conjugation, just like with the futuro semplice.
To make the present conditional of regular verbs ending in -ire, take the stem and add the following endings:
- -irei for “I”
- -iresti for “you”
- -irebbe for “he”/ “she” / “it”
- -iremmo for “we”
- -ireste for “you (plural)”
- -irebbero for “they”
Dormire (to sleep)
| Io dormirei | I would sleep |
| Tu dormiresti | You would sleep |
| Lui/lei dormirebbe | He/she/it would sleep |
| Noi dormiremmo | We would sleep |
| Voi dormireste | You (plural) would sleep |
| Loro dormirebbero | They would sleep |
Not so bad, right? This works with all regular verbs.
Irregular verbs in the present conditional
The condizionale presente has the same irregular verbs as the futuro semplice.
Both essere (to be) and avere (to have) are irregular in the present conditional. Their conjugations are as follows:
Essere (to be)
| Io sarei | I would be |
| Tu saresti | You would be |
| Lui/lei sarebbe | He/she/it would be |
| Noi saremmo | We would be |
| Voi sareste | You (plural) would be |
| Loro sarebbero | They would be |
Avere (to have)
| Io avrei | I would have |
| Tu avresti | You would have |
| Lui/lei avrebbe | He/she/it would have |
| Noi avremmo | We would have |
| Voi avreste | You (plural) would have |
| Loro avrebbero | They would have |
As with the futuro semplice, verbs ending in -care and -gare have a change in spelling when conjugated.
Verbs ending in -care, like cercare (to look for), praticare (to practice), spaccare (to break) and elencare (to list), add an “h” after the “c,” to preserve the /k/ sound of the infinitive.
Cercare (to search)
Io cercherei
Tu cercheresti
Lui/lei cercherebbe
Noi cercheremmo
Voi cerchereste
Loro cercherebbero
Verbs ending in -gare, like litigare (to argue), pagare (to pay), negare (to deny), spiegare (to explain) and pregare (to pray), add an “h” after the “g,” in order to preserve the hard sound of the infinitive.
Pagare (to pay)
Io pagherei
Tu pagheresti
Lui/lei pagherebbe
Noi pagheremmo
Voi paghereste
Loro pagherebbero
Verbs ending in -giare and -ciare, like parcheggiare (to park), danneggiare (to damage, to ruin), mangiare (to eat), rinunciare (to renounce), cominciare (to begin), cacciare (to hunt), intralciare (to hinder) and baciare (to kiss), drop the letter “i” before adding the conditional endings.
Parcheggiare (to park)
Io parcheggerei
Tu parcheggeresti
Lui/lei parcheggerebbe
Noi parcheggeremmo
Voi parcheggereste
Loro parcheggerebbero
Cominciare (to begin)
Io comincerei
Tu cominceresti
Lui/lei comincerebbe
Noi cominceremmo
Voi comincereste
Loro comincerebbero
Here are some additional groups of irregular verbs in the condizionale presente.
- 1These verbs use a contracted conditional stem: dovr-, potr-, sapr-, andr-, cadr-, vedr-, vivr-. Add -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero to that stem.
Dovere (to have to)
| Io dovrei – | I should |
| Tu dovresti | You should |
| Lui/lei dovrebbe | He/she/it should |
| Noi dovremmo | We should |
| Voi dovreste | You (plural) should |
| Loro dovrebbero | They should |
Potere (to be able to)
| Io potrei | I could |
| Tu potresti | You could |
| Lui/lei potrebbe | He/she/it could |
| Noi potremmo | We could |
| Voi potreste | You (plural) could |
| Loro potrebbero | They could |
Sapere (to know)
Io saprei
Tu sapresti
Lui/lei saprebbe
Noi sapremmo
Voi sapreste
Loro saprebbero
Andare (to go)
Io andrei
Tu andresti
Lui/lei andrebbe
Noi andremmo
Voi andreste
Loro andrebbero
Cadere (to fall)
Io cadrei
Tu cadresti
Lui/lei cadrebbe
Noi cadremmo
Voi cadreste
Loro cadrebbero
Vedere (to see)
Io vedrei
Tu vedresti
Lui/lei vedrebbe
Noi vedremmo
Voi vedreste
Loro vedrebbero
Vivere (to live)
Io vivrei
Tu vivresti
Lui/lei vivrebbe
Noi vivremmo
Voi vivreste
Loro vivrebbero
2. The second group takes a double “r.”
Volere (to want)
| Io vorrei | I would like |
| Tu vorresti | You would like |
| Lui/lei vorrebbe | He/she/it would like |
| Noi vorremmo | We would like |
| Voi vorreste | You (plural) would like |
| Loro vorrebbero | They would like |
Tenere (to keep)
Io terrei
Tu terresti
Lui/lei terrebbe
Noi terremmo
Voi terreste
Loro terrebbero
Venire (to come)
Io verrei
Tu verresti
Lui/lei verrebbe
Noi verremmo
Voi verreste
Loro verrebbero
Bere (to drink)
Io berrei
Tu berresti
Lui/lei berrebbe
Noi berremmo
Voi berreste
Loro berrebbero
Rimanere (to remain)
Io rimarrei
Tu rimarresti
Lui/lei rimarrebbe
Noi rimarremmo
Voi rimarreste
Loro rimarrebbero
Produrre (to produce)
Io produrrei
Tu produrresti
Lui/lei produrrebbe
Noi produrremmo
Voi produrreste
Loro produrrebbero
Remember that all verbs that end in -durre, like tradurre (to translate), dedurre (to deduce), condurre (to drive), indurre (to induce), introdurre (to introduce) and riprodurre (to reproduce), behave in the same way.
3. Dare, fare and stare retain a in the conditional stem: dar-, far-, star-. Add the conditional endings to this stem, rather than to the full infinitive.
Dare (to give)
Io darei
Tu daresti
Lui/lei darebbe
Noi daremmo
Voi dareste
Loro darebbero
Fare (to do)
Io farei
Tu faresti
Lui/lei farebbe
Noi faremmo
Voi fareste
Loro farebbero
Stare (to stay)
Io starei
Tu staresti
Lui/lei starebbe
Noi staremmo
Voi stareste
Loro starebbero
How to translate the condizionale presente into English
As mentioned previously, the Italian present conditional tense is usually translated into English with “would” plus a verb.
Se Roberto mi chiedesse di uscire, sarei felicissima – If Roberto asked me out, I would be very happy
Ci parlerei io direttamente, ma non ho più il suo numero – I’d talk to him directly, but I no longer have his number
However, it is wrong to think of the Italian condizionale presente as a direct translation of “would” and its myriad of uses. As you know, there is not always an exact one-to-one correspondence between how tenses are used in English and Italian. Unlike in English, the Italian condizionale presente is not used to express habits in the past. The imperfetto is to be used for that:
I would go to work each day by bus – Andavo al lavoro in autobus ogni giorno
The present conditional along with the verb dovere (to have to) can be translated as:
- “Should”
Dovresti studiare di più – You should study more
- “Ought to”
Dovresti ascoltare con attenzione – You ought to listen carefully
- “To be supposed to”
Cosa dovrei fare? – What am I supposed to do?
The present conditional along with the verb potere (to be able to) can be translated as:
- “Could”
Scusa, potresti chiudere la porta? – Excuse me, could you please close the door?
- “May/might”
Non spegnere il telefono stasera, Deborah potrebbe aver bisogno di chiamarti – Don’t switch off your phone tonight, Deborah may need to call you
The present conditional along with the verb volere (to want) can be translated as:
- “Would like”
Vorrei proprio rivedere Ocean’s Eleven / Mi piacerebbe rivedere Ocean’s Eleven – I really would like to see Ocean’s Eleven again
Both “vorrei” and “mi piacerebbe” can be used to say what you would like to do.
To sum up…
- The condizionale presente is used to talk about events that would happen under certain conditions.
Se avessi più tempo libero, farei volontariato al canile – If I had more free time, I would volunteer at the animal shelter
- It is used to make polite requests.
Mi accompagneresti alla stazione domani, per favore? – Would you please come to the train station with me tomorrow?
- It is used to give advice and express opinions in a less direct way:
Se fossi in te, non mi fiderei di Danilo – If I were you, I wouldn’t trust Danilo
Practice as much as you can until you get the hang of it. The more you expose yourself to Italian and use the condizionale presente, the more this and other grammatical structures will become a part of you. A presto!
