4.5: Struttura - Condizionale
In this section, you will learn how to talk about hypothetical actions using the conditional
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the Italian pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
Studiamo!
To say what you would do hypothetically you use the conditional mood ( condizionale ). You have already seen some examples of the conditional with expressions like vorrei (I would like/want), mi piacerebbe (I would like) and dovrei (I should). We usually use the conditional to talk about hypothetical situations, like what would happen under certain "conditions" (thus the term conditional).
(a) Le conditionnel des verbes réguliers.
In English we say "would" + [verb]: I would go; She would like; He would have eaten; etc. In Italian, the conditional is formed by using the future stem + these ending, as seen here:
| Soggetto | Parlare (to speak / talk) | Prendere (to take) | Finire (finish) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parler ei | prender ei | finir ei |
| tu | parler esti | prender esti | finir esti |
| lui/lei/Lei (you Formal) | parler ebbe | prender ebbe | finir ebbe |
| noi | parlere mmo | prender emmo | finir emmo |
| voi | parler este | prender este | finir este |
| loro | parler ebbero | prender ebbero | finir ebbero |
Non comprerei questa macchina ! Finirebbe il progetto ma non ha tempo! (I would not buy that car. He would finish the project, but he doesn't have the time.)
Ci piacerebbe parlare con il dottore. Pascale e Anne prenderebbero il treno. (We would like to speak with the doctor. Pascale and Anne would take the train.)
It is important to remember that the word would is also used in English to express the past imperfect tense, for habitual actions in the past:
I would go to the arcade all the time when I was a kid.
This is not the conditional because it is not hypothetical. It is something I did all the time in the past.
Context is everything. For example, the following sentence could be interpreted as the imperfect (in the past) or the conditional (in the present):
I would go to the arcade if my mother let me.
The word if is key here. It might be less ambiguous if we say when or whenever instead:
I would go to the arcade whenever my mother let me.
Now we are clearly dealing with the imperfect past, not the conditional. We will take a closer look at the use of if ( se ) with the conditional below.
(b) Il condizionale dei verbi irregolari.
Any verb that is irregular in the future tense is also irregular in the conditional:
| Infinito | Radice / tema | Forma condizionale |
|---|---|---|
| andare | andr- | andrei, andremmo |
| avere | avr- | avrei, avremmo |
| dovere | dovr- | dovrei, dovremmo |
| essere | sar- | sarei, saremmo |
| fare | far- | farei, faremmo |
| sapere | sapr- | saprei, sapremmo |
| potere | potr- | potrei, potremmo |
| venire | verr- | verrei, verremmo |
| volere | vorr- | vorrei, vorremmo |
There are more irregular verbs, but for now remember those.
(c) The conditional is often used to make requests in a polite way, or to soften a command:
Vorrei un caffè per favore. (I would like a café au lait, please.)
Mi potrebbe raccomandare un buon ristorante ? (Could you recommend a good restaurant?)
Avrebbe l'ora? (Would you have the time/ Could you tell me the time?)
Dovrebbe fare più attenzione. (You should pay more attention.)
Frasi con il se
In English, if clauses describe a condition or event upon which another condition or event depends. For example:
If I had more money….. I would….
If I were you….. I would…
If he practiced more often….he would…
This is how we express what would happen if an event or condition were to occur.
In Italian, we use the following structure to form a se clause : s e + [imparfait subjective]. This would be followed by a clause containing a conditional verb.
| se clause (with an imperfect subjenctive verb) | conditional clause (with a conditional verb) |
|---|---|
| Se fossi a casa … | Dormirei. |
| If I was home.. | I would sleep. |
| Se tu avessi più tempo … | faresti un viaggio. |
| If you had more free time… | you would go on a trip. |
Subjuctive tenses will be in Italian 3.
Facciamo pratica!
Attività A
Coniuga la forma corretta del condizionale di questi verbi.
1. io (perdere) ________
2. tu (essere) ________
3. Manu (dire) ________
4. voi (potere) ________
5. loro (sperare) ________
6. io (dovere) ________
7. lui (alzarsi) ________
8. voi (avere) ________
9. noi (pulire) ________
10. tu (essere) ________
11. (portare) ________
12. lui (inviare) ________
13. Tiana (prendere) ________
14. Luca e me (fare) ________
15. io (venire) ________
16. Anne e Marc (scegliere) ________
17. tu (andare) ________
18. voi (sapere) ________
19. noi. (dire) ________
20. tu (volere) ________
21. noi (fare) ________
22. io (preferire) ________
23. voi (aspettare) ________
24. voi (potere) ________
Attività B
Immaginate un mondo senza Internet! Completate queste frasi con il condizionale e dite se siete d'accordo o no.
Modello: Ci ________ (essere) meno offese (bullying).
Ci sarebbero meno offese. Sì, è vero, perché sarebbe più difficile rimanere anonimi. (No, non è vero, perché ci sarebbero sempre molte offese).
1. Noi ________ (uscire) più.
2. Noi ________ (andare) ai negozi più spesso.
3. La gente ________ (comprare) più giornali e riviste.
4. Le famiglie ________ (passare) meno tempo insieme.
8. Le persone ________ (andare) più al cinema.
9. Noi ________ (parlare) più.