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Sentieri 8B.1 - Strutture - Il condizionale

Loredana Manfredini

il sito di grammatica italiana-condizionale

the conditional (il condizionale)

1. The CONDIZIONALE, or conditional tense, is roughly the equivalent of the English "would + infinitive."

2. As in English, the CONDIZIONALE is used to express: hopes and desires ("of course I would go to Italy!"); a possibility depending on certain conditions ("I would ski if there were snow"); to soften a request ("Would you bring me some coffee?"); to express personal opinions ("I would say that our teacher is too demanding").

3. The CONDIZIONALE is a verb mood (like the INDICATIVO, INFINITO, IMPERATIVO are also verb moods) which has two tenses, the present and the past: CONDIZIONALE PRESENTE and CONDIZIONALE PASSATO.

4. The CONDIZIONALE PASSATO is used to express the uses described in 2. above, when the action refers to something in the past.

5. The CONDIZIONALE PASSATO is also used to indicate a future action from the point of view of the past; English, by contrast, uses the present conditional for this: "Yesterday, my sister told me that she would visit me today;" in Italian, you would say: "Ieri, mia sorella mi ha detto che oggi mi avrebbe visitato."

6. The CONDIZIONALE of "potere," "volere," and "dovere" is "potrei," "vorrei," and "dovrei," and it can be translated as "I could," "I would like," "I should."

The CONDIZIONALE presente is formed by adding the CONDIZIONALE endings to the stem of the FUTURO. The CONDIZIONALE passato is formed by using the CONDIZIONALE of AVERE or ESSERE (depending on what the verb takes) plus the PARTICIPIO PASSATO.

CONDIZIONALE PRESENTE
scriver-ei
scriver-esti
scriver-ebbe
scriver-emmo
scriver-este
scriver-ebbero

remember:
1. verbs in -ARE form the FUTURO stem by changing the A into an E (parlare>>parler-ei, ballare>>baller-ei)
2. all the verbs that have an irregular stem in the FUTURO have an irregular stem in the CONDIZIONALE (volere>>vorr-ei; bere>>berr-ei; avere>>avr-ei; potere>>potr-ei; venire>>verr-ei; dare>>dar-ei; essere>>sar-ei; dovere>>dovr-ei)
3. the endings for the CONDIZIONALE are always regular

**Usi del condizionale**
1. per indicare un fatto non certo (uncertainty - something that most likely won't happen)	Vorrei andare in Italia quest'estate. (I would like to go to Italy this summer.)
2. per indicare un fatto o un'azione non avvenuta (something that would/should/could have happened, but didn't)	Ieri sarei andata/o a lezione, ma non sono stata/o bene. I would have gone to class yesterday, but I was not feeling well.)
3. per indicare un'azione possibile,(to indicate a possible action) con verbi modali: dovere, potere, volere	-Dovrei studiare, ma voglio uscire. (I should study, but I want to go out.) -Vorrei andare in Italia, ma devo frequentare un corso. ( I would like to go to Italy, but I have to take a course.)
4. per indicare una richiesta cortese	"Scusi cameriere, vorrei un caffè." ("Waiter, excuse me, I'd like a coffee".)
5. per esprimere una notizia non confermata, una supoosizione	Secondo i giornali, i poliziotti avrebbero arrestato il ladro. (According to the newspapers, the police officers have allegedly arrested the thief.)