Condizionale semplice: full forms and uses

Al tuo posto, andrei dal medico.In your place, I would go to the doctor.

The condizionale semplice is the Italian "would" form. It is used to give advice, to say what you would like or would do, and to talk about outcomes that are imagined rather than real. It is built from the same stem as the futuro semplice, with its own set of endings. The polite forms vorrei, potrei and mi piacerebbe are already introduced in Formulaic conditional for polite requests; this article shows the whole paradigm and the other uses.

Quick shortcut: take the futuro stem (parler-, andr-, sar-) and add -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero. Use it for advice (dovresti), wishes (vorrei), what you would do (comprerei una casa) and unconfirmed news (si dimetterebbe).

1. The regular forms

For -are and -ere verbs, the infinitive's -are changes to -er- (as in the futuro) and the -e of -ere stays. For -ire verbs the -i- stays. The endings are the same for all three groups:

Compare the endings with the futuro: parlerò, parlerai, parlerà… have the same stem, and the conditional adds -ei / -esti / -ebbe / -emmo / -este / -ebbero instead.

2. Spelling changes

Verbs ending in -care / -gare keep the hard sound by adding an h, and verbs ending in -ciare / -giare lose the i, exactly as in the futuro:

• cercare → cercherei, pagare → pagherei
• mangiare → mangerei, cominciare → comincerei

The verbs dare, fare and stare keep the a of the stem instead of changing it to e: darei, farei, starei.

3. Irregular stems

The verbs with an irregular futuro stem have the same stem in the conditional. The endings stay regular, so the stem is the only thing to learn:

The full set for essere is sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero, and for avere avrei, avresti, avrebbe, avremmo, avreste, avrebbero. The doubled -mm- of noi (saremmo, vorremmo) is worth remembering when writing.

4. Advice and suggestions

The conditional makes advice sound gentle. The verb dovere is the most common choice, and sarebbe meglio and al tuo posto are useful frames:

• Dovresti riposare di più. (You should rest more.)
• Potresti provare con un altro libro. (You could try with another book.)
• Sarebbe meglio partire presto. (It would be better to leave early.)
• Al tuo posto, chiamerei subito Anna. (In your place, I would call Anna right away.)

5. Wishes and polite requests

The conditional also says what you would like, which is why vorrei, potrei and mi piacerebbe sound polite:

• Vorrei una casa con il giardino. (I would like a house with a garden.)
• Mi piacerebbe imparare il giapponese. (I would love to learn Japanese.)
• Preferirei restare a casa. (I would rather stay at home.)

After these forms an infinitive follows directly, with no preposition: Dovrei studiare, not ❌ Dovrei di studiare.

6. What would happen: hypothetical outcomes

The conditional describes an outcome that depends on an imagined situation. The situation can be stated with a time phrase, a place or a condition:

• Con più tempo, viaggerei di più. (With more time, I would travel more.)
• A Roma, prenderei la metropolitana. (In Rome, I would take the metro.)
• Senza il traffico, arriveremmo in dieci minuti. (Without the traffic, we would arrive in ten minutes.)

Compare a real condition, which uses the indicative: Se piove, resterò a casa (Real conditions). A condition that is imagined or unlikely uses se + the imperfect subjunctive in the se clause and the conditional in the main clause: Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei di più. That pattern is covered in Imaginary conditions.

7. Unconfirmed news

Newspapers and reports use the conditional to present something as reported but not confirmed:

• Secondo i giornali, il ministro si dimetterebbe. (According to the papers, the minister is resigning.)
• Ci sarebbero dieci feriti. (There are said to be ten injured people.)

This use is typical of news and written reports. In conversation, speakers rarely use it this way.

8. Pronouns

Object and reflexive pronouns come before the conditional, as with other finite forms: Ti aiuterei volentieri. (I would gladly help you.) Mi piacerebbe vederti. (I would like to see you.) For the position of pronouns, see Position of object pronouns.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Io sarebbe felice. → ✅ Io sarei felice. (the io form ends in -ei)
• ❌ Loro dovrebbe studiare. → ✅ Loro dovrebbero studiare. (loro → -ebbero)
• ❌ Andarei dal medico. → ✅ Andrei dal medico. (the irregular stem andr-)
• ❌ Cercarei una casa. → ✅ Cercherei una casa. (-care → -cherei)
• ❌ Mangiarei una pizza. → ✅ Mangerei una pizza. (-giare loses the i)
• ❌ Dovrei di studiare. → ✅ Dovrei studiare. (no preposition before the infinitive)

Quick check

Try putting each verb in brackets into the conditional.

1. Io ____ (volere) un caffè.
2. Tu ____ (dovere) riposare di più.
3. Noi ____ (andare) volentieri al mare.
4. Lei ____ (essere) contenta di vederti.
5. Voi ____ (mangiare) con noi?
6. Loro ____ (potere) venire domani.

Key takeaways

• The condizionale semplice is the futuro stem plus -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero: parlerei, prenderesti, partirebbe.
• The irregular stems are the same as in the futuro: sar-, avr-, andr-, potr-, dovr-, vorr-, verr-.
• Spelling follows the futuro: cercherei, pagherei, mangerei, comincerei. Dare, fare, stare keep the a: darei, farei, starei.
• Typical uses: advice (dovresti, sarebbe meglio), wishes (vorrei, mi piacerebbe), what you would do (comprerei una casa) and unconfirmed news (si dimetterebbe).
• The infinitive follows dovrei, potrei, vorrei directly, without a preposition.