The present conditional tense (condizionale presente) is equivalent to the English constructions of "would" + verb (for example: I would never forget). Forming conditionals is easy: just take any verb, drop the final -e in its infinitive form, and add an appropriate ending—endings are the same for all three conjugation groups of verbs. The only spelling change occurs with -are verbs, which change the a of the infinitive ending to e. For details, see the table below.
CONJUGATING VERBS IN THE PRESENT CONDITIONAL
|
PRONOUN
|
PARLARE
|
CREDERE
|
SENTIRE
|
io
|
parlerei
|
crederei
|
sentirei
|
tu
|
parleresti
|
crederesti
|
sentiresti
|
lui/lei/Lei
|
parlerebbe
|
crederebbe
|
sentirebbe
|
noi
|
parleremmo
|
crederemmo
|
sentiremmo
|
voi
|
parlereste
|
credereste
|
sentireste
|
loro/Loro
|
parlerebbero
|
crederebbero
|
sentirebbero
|
Reflexive verbs follow the same scheme, with the addition of the reflexive pronouns mi, ti, si, ci, vi, or si when conjugating them: mi laverei, ti laveresti, si laverebbe, ci laveremmo, vi lavereste, si laverebbero. Here are some examples of conditional-tense sentences:
Vorrei un caffè. (I would like a coffee.)
Scriverei a mia madre, ma non ho tempo. (I would write to my mother, but I don't have time.)
Mi daresti il biglietto per la partita? (Would you give me a ticket for the game?)
|