Index
Italian verbs can take on many different forms because each verb is conjugated according to mood, tense, person, number, voice (active or passive), and sometimes reflexive or impersonal use.
Here’s a breakdown of the main verb forms in Italian:
Verbal moods
There are 7 moods in total, divided into:
- 4 Finite Moods: These are conjugated according to person and number.
- Indicative (used for stating facts)
- Subjunctive (used for doubts, hopes, emotions)
- Conditional (used for hypotheses, wishes)
- Imperative (used for commands)
- 3 Non-Finite Moods: These do not change according to person or number.
- Infinitive (e.g., parlare – to speak)
- Participle (e.g., parlato – spoken)
- Gerund (e.g., parlando – speaking)
Verbal tenses
Each mood (except the imperative) has various tenses, which can be:
- Simple (made with just one word: parlo – I speak)
- Compound (made with an auxiliary verb: ho parlato – I have spoken)
Here are the tenses for the main moods:
Indicative – 8 tenses:
- Present (parlo)
- Imperfect (parlavo)
- Past Historic (parlai)
- Future Simple (parlerò)
- Present Perfect (ho parlato)
- Past Perfect (avevo parlato)
- Past Anterior (ebbi parlato)
- Future Perfect (avrò parlato)
Subjunctive – 4 tenses:
- Present (che io parli)
- Imperfect (che io parlassi)
- Present Perfect (che io abbia parlato)
- Past Perfect (che io avessi parlato)
Conditional – 2 tenses:
- Present (parlerei)
- Past (avrei parlato)
Imperative – 1 tense:
- Present (parla! – speak!)
Infinitive – 2 forms:
- Present (parlare)
- Past (aver parlato)
Participle – 2 forms:
- Present (parlante, rare)
- Past (parlato)
Gerund – 2 forms:
- Present (parlando)
- Past (avendo parlato)
So, how many verb forms are there in total?
If we count:
- 4 moods with 15 tenses
- 3 non-finite moods with 6 forms
- Each finite form conjugated across 6 persons (I, you, he/she, we, you all, they)
- Plus active vs. passive voice
- Plus regular, irregular, reflexive, impersonal forms
…we end up with hundreds of possible combinations per verb.
