Italian Conditional Tense: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide (FREE PDF 📚)

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I wish… I would… I could… Learning the conditional tense in Italian is not just about good grammar—it’s essential for sounding polite and natural. Saying “Vorrei un caffè” (I would like a coffee) instead of “Voglio un caffè” (I want a coffee) can be the difference between being charming and coming across as rude. Italians rely on the conditional to soften requests, express wishes, and share opinions tactfully.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to form and use the Italian conditional tense (both present and past) to share your wishes, give advice, or talk about hypothetical situations. I’ll also reveal the single most common mistake learners make when using the conditional—and how you can avoid it.

By the end, you’ll be ready to express what could happen, what you wish would happen, and what you’d do in various situations. Cominciamo! (Let’s get started!)

But first, make sure to download your free PDF cheat-sheet, which includes all the key points we’ll cover in this guide. Just enter your email below and I’ll send it to you straight away.

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Table to Contents

Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Click on any title to jump to each section.

• What is the Italian conditional tense?
• How to form the present conditional in Italian
  • Regular verbs in the present conditional
  • Irregular verbs in the present conditional 
  • When to use the present conditional in Italian
• How to form the past conditional in Italian
  • Verbs with the auxiliary “avere”
  • Verbs with the auxiliary “essere”
  • When to use the past conditional in Italian
• When do you use the subjunctive with the Italian conditional tense?

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What is the Italian conditional tense?

Technically speaking, the conditional (condizionale) is not a tense but a mood – just like the subjunctive. While tenses describe when an action takes place, moods indicate how an action is expressed. 

Specifically, the conditional is used to convey hypothetical situations, express wishes, make polite suggestions, soften requests, and talk about possibilities that depend on certain conditions being met. This link to conditions is reflected in its name: condizionale comes from the Latin word conditio, meaning “condition.” 

In English, it corresponds to constructions like “would” or “should” + infinitive. Let’s look at this example:

Viaggerei se avessi tempo – I would travel if I had time  

• Viaggerei (I would travel) is in the conditional mood, as it describes the action that depends on a condition
• se avessi tempo (if I had time) is the condition needed for the action of traveling to happen. Without the condition (having time), the action (traveling) cannot take place.

How to form the present conditional in Italian

The Italian conditional is one of the easiest moods to learn. It only has two tenses: the present (also known as the simple conditional) and the past (or compound conditional). Even better, forming the conditional is straightforward, especially if you’re already familiar with the Italian simple future tense, since they share similar rules.

In the sections below, we’ll explore how to conjugate the conditional in both the present and past tenses, look at some irregular verbs, and explore when to use the conditional in Italian.

Regular verbs in the present conditional

To form the present conditional in Italian, take the infinitive form of the verb, remove the final -e from the infinitive ending, and add the specific endings based on the subject pronoun. 

The endings for the present conditional are the same for all regular verbs, whether they end in -are, -ere, or -ire. There is just one exception: for verbs that end in -are, the -a in the infinitive changes to -e before adding the endings.

The table below shows the conjugation endings for the present conditional in Italian:

Some examples:

• Parlerebbero volentieri con il direttore  – They would gladly speak with the director
• Prenderei un caffè – I would have a coffee.
• Dormirebbero meglio con un cuscino più morbido – They would sleep better with a softer pillow.
• Scriveresti una canzone per me? – Would you write a song for me?

Attenzione: The first-person plural form noi (we) in the present conditional tense in Italian is very similar to the simple future tense. There’s only one key difference between the two forms: the conditional tense uses a double “m,” while the future tense only uses a single “m.” This small difference might seem subtle, but it’s important because it changes the meaning of the sentence. Look at this example:

• Conditional: Andremmo al lago domani (We would go to the lake tomorrow)
• Future: Andremo al lago domani (We will go to the lake tomorrow) 

Irregular verbs in the present conditional 

Good news! There are only a few irregular verbs to memorize when forming the present conditional in Italian. Additionally, these irregularities also appear in the future tense, so there’s less to remember! Here are the main irregularities:

1. Essere (to be) e avere (to have) are completely irregular

2. Verbs ending in -CIARE e -GIARE drop the I from the infinitive. On top of that, they change -a to -e in the root just like all regular -are verbs in the conditional:

3. Verbs ending in -CARE e -GARE add an H before the conditional endings to preserve the hard sound of c and g. Additionally, just like all -are verbs, the -a changes to -e:

4. Certain -ERE verbs lose the E in the root when forming the conditional. The verb andare (to go), which is an -are verb, also follows this pattern:

5. Some verbs lose part of the root and double the R:

6. Some -are verbs keep the a of the infinitive instead of changing it to -e:

When to use the present conditional in Italian

The present conditional in Italian can be used on its own or in longer sentences with subordinate clauses (those that depend on another part of the sentence). Here are the primary contexts where it’s used:

1. To talk about things you would like or wish for, similar to “I would like” or “it would be nice” in English:

• Ci piacerebbe tanto andare a Venezia – We would love to go to Venice
• Sarebbe bello stare insieme a Natale – It would be nice to be together at Christmas

2. To make polite requests, replacing the imperative mood that can sometimes sound too direct or even aggressive:

• Vorrei tre arance per favore – I would like 3 oranges, please
• Scusi, saprebbe dirmi dov’è la farmacia più vicina? – Excuse me, could you tell me where the nearest pharmacy is?

3. To express personal opinions and giving advice without sounding too imposing:

• Secondo me dovresti chiamare un tecnico per quella caldaia – In my opinion, you should call a technician for that boiler
• Matteo dovrebbe essere meno rigido con i suoi figli – Matteo should be less strict with his kids

4. To report things that are not yet confirmed or based on someone else’s account, especially in journalism:

• Tra le vittime ci sarebbero tre italiani – Among the victims, there are said to be three Italians
• Secondo i familiari, il ragazzo scomparso indosserebbe una giacca blu – According to the family, the missing boy was wearing a blue jacket

5. To express doubt or uncertainty:

• Non so se riuscirei a perdonarlo – I don’t know if I would be able to forgive him
• C’è lo sciopero dei mezzi, come potremmo arrivare in tempo? – There is a transport strike, how could we get there on time?

6. To talk about hypothetical scenarios using type II “if clauses” that describe unlikely but possible situations. The main clause uses the conditional, while the subordinate clause requires the imperfect subjunctive:

• Se nevicasse, andrei a sciare – If it were snowing, I would go skiing
• Se studiassi di più, prenderesti voti migliori –  If you studied more, you would get better grades

How to form the past conditional in Italian

The past conditional is even easier to form. Like the passato prossimo, it’s a compound tense, meaning it consists  of two elements:

• The auxiliary verb  – either essere (to be) or avere (to have) – conjugated in the present conditional
• The past participle of the main verb

Verbs with the auxiliary “avere”

The auxiliary avere (to have) is generally used with the verb avere (to have) itself and with transitive verbs (those that require a direct object) like mangiare (to eat), vedere (to see, to watch), sentire (to hear), etc. In this case, the past participle of the main verb remains in the singular masculine form.

Some examples:

• Bastava dirlo, avrei capito la situazione – It would have been enough to say it, I would have understood the situation)
• Non avrebbero parlato di quel problema se non fosse stato così importante – They wouldn’t have spoken about that problem if it hadn’t been so important

Verbs with the auxiliary “essere”

The auxiliary essere (to be) is used with the verb essere itself or with intransitive verbs (those without a direct object), such as andare (to go), partire (to leave), rimanere (to remain), svegliarsi (to wake up), etc. When using essere, the past participle must match the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the subject.

Some examples:

• Sarebbe stato meglio rimandare la partita – It would have been better to postpone the game
• Sara sarebbe partita se avesse saputo di Sandro? – Would Sara have left if she had known about Sandro?

When to use the past conditional in Italian

The past conditional is used in similar contexts to the present conditional, but it refers to actions or situations that are no longer possible or that didn’t occur in the past. Here’s how it’s typically used:

1. To express an unfulfilled desire in the past:

• Mi sarebbe piaciuto diventare un calciatore professionista  – I would have liked to become a professional soccer player
• Avrei visto volentieri anche Livorno durante il viaggio in Toscana – I would have been happy to visit Livorno as well during the trip to Tuscany

2. To give advice, suggesting that a past action was not ideal, sometimes implying reproach:

• Avresti fatto meglio a farti i fatti tuoi – You would have done better to mind your own business
• Non avresti dovuto prendere il volo a quell’ora – You shouldn’t have bought the flight at that tim

3. To express a personal opinion about what would have been the best course of action in a certain situation:

• Secondo noi avrebbero dovuto ritirarsi dalla competizione – In our opinion, they should have withdrawn from the competition
• Credo che sarebbe stato difficile fare l’evento in quelle condizioni – I believe it would have been difficult to hold the event under those conditions

4. To report uncertain information, especially in the media:

• Il ladro avrebbe agito da solo — The thief is said to have acted alone
• Ci sarebbero state due esplosioni — There are said to have been two explosions

5. To express doubt or regret about the past:

• Cosa avremmo potuto fare per cambiare le cose? – What could we have done to change things?
• Mi chiedo che cosa avrei potuto fare per farla sentire meglio – I wonder what I could have done to make her feel better.

6. To talk about hypothetical scenarios that didn’t happen in the past, using type III “if clauses:” 

• Se avessi avuto più giorni di ferie, sarei andato anche in Calabria – If I had had more days off, I would have gone to Calabria as well
• Se il treno non fosse stato in ritardo, non avremmo perso la coincidenza per Lecce – If the train hadn’t been delayed, we wouldn’t have missed the connection to Lecce

7. To express the future in the past, something that was expected to happen after another past action. This construction, which is frequent in indirect speech, is conveyed with the present conditional in English:

• Mi hanno detto che il pacco sarebbe arrivato in tempo, ma così non è stato – They told me the package would arrive on time, but it didn’t
• Tua madre voleva sapere dove saremmo andati a cena – Your mother wanted to know where we would go for dinner

When do you use the subjunctive with the Italian conditional tense?

A frequent challenge when learning Italian is recognizing when to use the conditional as opposed to the subjunctive. But don’t worry, even native speakers often mix them up. Need proof? Check out this video of the governor of the Veneto region stumbling over these verb moods during a press conference!

The conditional and subjunctive moods often appear together, which can be confusing, but they serve distinct functions:

• The subjunctive is used to express hypothetical, uncertain, or subjective scenarios, often linked to doubts, wishes, or emotions. For instance: Spero che tu stia bene (I hope you’re well)
• The conditional, on the other hand, describes uncertainty and actions or events that depend on specific conditions. For example: Se fossi ricco, mi licenzierei (If I were rich, I would quit my job)

One of the worst (and most frequent) grammar mistakes in Italian is using the conditional where the subjunctive is required. This error commonly occurs in type II and type III “if clauses, for example:

To say “If I knew it, I’d tell you”

• Wrong: Se lo saprei, te lo direi 
• Correct: Se lo sapessi, te lo direi

To say “If I had had more time, I would have studied more”

• Wrong: Se avrei studiato di più, avrei passato l’esame
• Correct: Se avessi avuto più tempo, avrei studiato di più 

Here’s a trick to avoid this error: whenever you see the conjunction se (if) in an “if clause,” it must be followed by the subjunctive mood, not the conditional. So, for example:

• Se io saprei… → Se io sapessi… (If I knew)
• Se io potrei… → Se io potessi… (If I could)
• Se io dovrei… → Se io dovessi… (If I should)

However, se (if) can be followed by the conditional mood in indirect speech when expressing doubt, a question, or something uncertain. For example:

• Stefano si domanda se le cose potrebbero cambiare – Stefano wonders if things could change
• Mia sorella non sa se avrebbe perdonato Claudio – My sister doesn’t know if she would have forgiven Claudio

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