Italian Conditional (Condizionale): Present vs Past, Polite Requests, and Real-Life Examples

English uses would for a bunch of different ideas:

• Hypotheticals: “I would live in Rome.”
• Polite requests: “Would you help me?”
• Reported/uncertain info: “It would seem that…”

Italian packages most of this into one very useful mood/tense: the condizionale (conditional).

In this guide you’ll learn:

• the present conditional (condizionale presente) = “would”
• the past conditional (condizionale passato) = “would have”
• the most common real-life sentence patterns Italians actually use

Table of Contents

• What the conditional does (in plain English)
• Present conditional: forms + the 3 big irregulars
• Polite requests: “Vorrei…”, “Potresti…?”, “Mi potrebbe…?”
• “Se…” sentences (periodo ipotetico): which tenses go together?
• Past conditional: “avrei/farei/sarei + participle”
• Conditional for reported/uncertain information (“He would be…”)
• Mini-drills (practice)

What the conditional does (in plain English)

Think of the conditional as “not 100% real”: it expresses something imagined, dependent on a condition, softened, or not fully confirmed.

Compare:

• Vado in Italia. = I’m going to Italy. (real plan)
• Andrei in Italia. = I would go to Italy. (hypothetical / depends)

Present conditional: forms + the 3 big irregulars

The condizionale presente is the main “would” form.

Regular endings (most verbs)

The endings are:

• -ei (io)
• -esti (tu)
• -ebbe (lui/lei/Lei)
• -emmo (noi)
• -este (voi)
• -ebbero (loro)

Examples with parlare:

• io parlerei = I would speak
• tu parleresti = you would speak
• lui/lei parlerebbe = he/she would speak
• noi parleremmo = we would speak
• voi parlereste = you (pl.) would speak
• loro parlerebbero = they would speak

Very “stealable” everyday sentences:

• Non so… direi di no. = I don’t know… I’d say no.
• Io lo farei. = I’d do it.
• Ci andrei volentieri. = I’d gladly go there.

3 high-frequency irregulars: essere, avere, fare

These three show up everywhere, especially in polite requests and the past conditional.

• essere → sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero
• avere → avrei, avresti, avrebbe, avremmo, avreste, avrebbero
• fare → farei, faresti, farebbe, faremmo, fareste, farebbero

Examples:

• Sarei felice di aiutarti. = I’d be happy to help you.
• Avrei una domanda. = I would have a question. (also used as a polite “I have a question”)
• Che cosa faresti al mio posto? = What would you do in my place?

Polite requests: “Vorrei…”, “Potresti…?”, “Mi potrebbe…?”

One of the best reasons to learn the conditional early: it instantly makes you sound more polite.

1) Vorrei… (I would like…)

Vorrei (from volere) is the classic café / office / email word.

• Vorrei un caffè, per favore. = I’d like a coffee, please.
• Vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due. = I’d like to book a table for two.
• Vorrei parlare con il responsabile. = I’d like to speak with the manager.

Common alternative: Mi piacerebbe… = “I’d love…”

• Mi piacerebbe visitare Napoli. = I’d love to visit Naples.

2) Potresti…? (Could you…?)

Potresti (from potere) is incredibly common for requests.

• Potresti aiutarmi un attimo? = Could you help me for a moment?
• Potresti ripetere, per favore? = Could you repeat, please?
• Potresti parlare più lentamente? = Could you speak more slowly?

3) Formal version with Lei: Mi potrebbe…?

When you use formal Lei, the verb goes to third-person singular:

• Mi potrebbe aiutare? = Could you help me? (formal)
• Mi potrebbe dire dov’è la stazione? = Could you tell me where the station is?
• Potrebbe ripetere, per favore? = Could you repeat, please? (formal)

This is one of the fastest “tourist-to-competent” upgrades you can make in Italian.

“Se…” sentences (periodo ipotetico): which tenses go together?

Italian “if” sentences follow a few standard pairings. Here are the ones you’ll use the most.

A) Real/possible condition (likely)

Se + present → present/future

• Se ho tempo, vengo. = If I have time, I’ll come.
• Se piove, restiamo a casa. = If it rains, we stay home.

B) Unreal/improbable (present/future hypothetical)

Se + imperfetto → condizionale presente

• Se avessi più tempo, studierei di più. = If I had more time, I would study more.
• Se fossi in te, non lo farei. = If I were you, I wouldn’t do it.
• Se potessi, vivrei in Italia. = If I could, I’d live in Italy.

Note the classic chunk: Se fossi in te… = “If I were you…”

C) Unreal (past regret / “would have”)

Se + trapassato congiuntivo → condizionale passato

• Se avessi saputo, sarei venuto. = If I had known, I would have come.
• Se fossi partito prima, non avrei perso il treno. = If I had left earlier, I wouldn’t have missed the train.
• Se mi avessi chiamato, ti avrei aiutato. = If you had called me, I would have helped you.

Yes, this is advanced grammar (congiuntivo + condizionale). But as a learner, you can memorize 2–3 “regret patterns” and you’ll sound great.

Past conditional: “avrei/farei/sarei + participle”

The condizionale passato usually translates to “would have + past participle”.

Structure:

• avrei + participio passato (most verbs)
• sarei + participio passato (verbs that use essere, like andare, venire, partire)

Examples:

• Avrei comprato quel libro. = I would have bought that book.
• Non l’avrei detto. = I wouldn’t have said it.
• Sarei andato volentieri. = I would have gladly gone.
• Saremmo arrivati prima, ma c’era traffico. = We would have arrived earlier, but there was traffic.

Common real-life uses:

• Avrei voluto chiamarti. = I would have liked to call you. (often implies “but I didn’t”)
• Sarebbe stato meglio così. = It would have been better that way.
• Non avrei mai immaginato una cosa del genere. = I would never have imagined such a thing.

Conditional for reported/uncertain information (“He would be…”)

Italian also uses the conditional in news-style or “I heard that…” contexts to signal the information is not fully confirmed.

• Secondo alcune fonti, il ministro sarebbe dimesso. = According to some sources, the minister would have resigned.
• Il sospetto sarebbe un uomo di trent’anni. = The suspect is reportedly a 30-year-old man.
• Ci sarebbero tre feriti. = There would reportedly be three injured people.

As a learner, you don’t need to produce this style immediately—but it’s very helpful for reading Italian headlines.

Mini-drills (practice)

Fill in the blank with a conditional form. (Answers are in parentheses.)

1. Io _______ un gelato. (vorrei) = I’d like an ice cream.
2. Tu _______ aiutarmi? (potresti) = Could you help me?
3. Se _______ più tempo, _______ di più. (avessi; studierei) = If I had more time, I would study more.
4. Se _______ saputo, _______ venuto. (avessi; sarei) = If I had known, I would have come.
5. Io non _______ così. (farei) = I wouldn’t do it like that.

Speaking drill (say these as one smooth chunk):

• Vorrei un caffè, per favore.
• Potresti ripetere?
• Se fossi in te, non lo farei.
• Se avessi saputo, sarei venuto.