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The Present Conditional

The present conditional is used to express something that “would” happen. It corresponds to the English “would + verb,” as in “I would go” or “They would come.” The present conditional, like the simple future tense, is one word (verb stem + conditional ending). Verbs that have an irregular stem in the simple future tense have the same irregular stem in the present conditional.

Table 14-1

- are Verbs

Exercise 14-1

Conjugate the verb leggere (to read) in the present conditional.

  • io _______________________________

  • tu _______________________________

  • lui _______________________________

  • noi _______________________________

  • voi _______________________________

  • loro _______________________________

Table 14-2

-ire Verbs dormire (to sleep)

io dormirei

noi dormiremmo

tu dormiresti

voi dormireste

lui/lei/Lei dormirebbe

loro/Loro dormirebbero

Exercise 14-2</h2> <p>Conjugate the verb <B>partire</B> (to leave) in the present conditional.</p> <ul> <li><p><B>io</B> _______________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>tu</B> _______________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>lui</B> ______________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>noi</B> ______________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>voi</B> ______________________________</p></li> <li><p><B>loro</B> _____________________________</p></li> </ul> <p>Verbs that have an irregular stem in the simple future tense have the same irregular stem in the present conditional.</p> <div class="npsb"> <p><B>Table 14-3</B></p> <p><B>Irregular Verbs</B></p> </div> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/learning-italian/9781605500928_0218_001.jpg" format="JPG"> </div> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Berresti del vino?</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Would you drink some wine?</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Saremmo contenti poi!</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Then we'd be happy!</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Lui verrebbe con noi.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>He would come with us.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Non avrei niente da fare.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I wouldn't have anything to do.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Faresti meglio a deciderti presto.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>You'd be better off deciding soon.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 14-3</h2> <p>Conjugate the following irregular verbs into the present conditional.</p> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/learning-italian/9781605500928_0219_001.jpg" format="JPG"> </div> <p>The present conditional is used to express the potential for something to happen based on the condition of something else taking place. Repeat each sentence after it is read by the narrator to practice your pronunciation.</p> <p></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Parlerei con il mio capo.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I would speak to my boss (if he were in the office today).</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Andrei in Italia.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I would go to Italy (if I had the money).</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Loro verrebbero stasera, ma non hanno trovato un babysitter.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>They would come tonight, but they didn't find a babysitter.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Io mangerei del gelato, ma non c'è ne più.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I would eat some ice cream, but there isn't any more.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a 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