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
io dormirei |
noi dormiremmo |
tu dormiresti |
voi dormireste |
lui/lei/Lei dormirebbe |
loro/Loro dormirebbero |
Conjugate the verb partire (to leave) in the present conditional.
io _______________________________
tu _______________________________
lui ______________________________
noi ______________________________
voi ______________________________
loro _____________________________
Verbs that have an irregular stem in the simple future tense have the same irregular stem in the present conditional.
Table 14-3
Irregular Verbs
Berresti del vino? |
Would you drink some wine? |
Saremmo contenti poi! |
Then we'd be happy! |
Lui verrebbe con noi. |
He would come with us. |
Non avrei niente da fare. |
I wouldn't have anything to do. |
Faresti meglio a deciderti presto. |
You'd be better off deciding soon. |
Conjugate the following irregular verbs into the present conditional.
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.
Parlerei con il mio capo. |
I would speak to my boss (if he were in the office today). |
Andrei in Italia. |
I would go to Italy (if I had the money). |
Loro verrebbero stasera, ma non hanno trovato un babysitter. |
They would come tonight, but they didn't find a babysitter. |
Io mangerei del gelato, ma non c'è ne più. |
I would eat some ice cream, but there isn't any more. |

