Condizionale Presente (Conditional)
The Condizionale Presente (Present Conditional) corresponds to 'would' + verb in English. It is mostly used to express wishes, polite requests, hypotheses, and to give advice.
💡 Explain Like I'm 5
The conditional is the 'would' tense. It's used for things that might happen under certain conditions, or to be extra polite, like saying 'I would like' instead of 'I want'.
When to Use It
Polite requests: Vorrei un caffè, per favore. (I would like a coffee, please.)
Wishes / Desires: Mi piacerebbe andare a Roma. (I would like to go to Rome.)
Giving advice: Al tuo posto, studerei di più. (In your place, I would study more.)
Hypotheses & Possibilities: Uscirei, ma piove. (I would go out, but it's raining.)
Regular Verbs
To form the present conditional of regular verbs, drop the final -e of the infinitive and add the conditional endings. Just like the future tense, -are verbs change their 'a' to an 'e' (parlare → parlerei).
| Pronoun | -are (parlare) | -ere (credere) | -ire (dormire) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlerei | crederei | dormirei |
| tu | parleresti | crederesti | dormiresti |
| lui/lei | parlerebbe | crederebbe | dormirebbe |
| noi | parleremmo | crederemmo | dormiremmo |
| voi | parlereste | credereste | dormireste |
| loro | parlerebbero | crederebbero | dormirebbero |
Irregular Verbs
If you know the Future Tense, you already know the Conditional stems! The irregular stems are exactly the same as in the Futuro Semplice.
| Infinitive | Stem | Io form | Lui/Lei form |
|---|---|---|---|
| essere | sar- | sarei | sarebbe |
| avere | avr- | avrei | avrebbe |
| andare | andr- | andrei | andrebbe |
| dovere (must) | dovr- | dovrei | dovrebbe |
| potere (can) | potr- | potrei | potrebbe |
| volere (want) | vorr- | vorrei | vorrebbe |
| vedere | vedr- | vedrei | vedrebbe |
Tips for Learning
The most important conditionals to memorize immediately are 'Vorrei' (I would like) and 'Potrei' (I could).
Don't confuse the 'noi' conditional ending (-emmo) with the future ending (-emo). Conditional has double 'm'!
Just like the future tense, verbs ending in -care/-gare add an 'h' (cercherei), and -ciare/-giare drop the 'i' (mangerei).