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ITALIAN VERB

cambiare

to change

  • #66 most used
  • Irregular -are verb
  • Past participle: cambiato
  • Gerund: cambiando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I change
  2. tu you change
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she changes
  4. noi we change
  5. voi you all change
  6. loro they change

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I changed
  2. tu you changed
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she changed
  4. noi we changed
  5. voi you all changed
  6. loro they changed

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to change
  2. tu you used to change
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to change
  4. noi we used to change
  5. voi you all used to change
  6. loro they used to change

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will change
  2. tu you will change
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will change
  4. noi we will change
  5. voi you all will change
  6. loro they will change

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would change
  2. tu you would change
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would change
  4. noi we would change
  5. voi you all would change
  6. loro they would change

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I change
  2. tu (that) you change
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she change
  4. noi (that) we change
  5. voi (that) you all change
  6. loro (that) they change

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu change!
  2. Lei change! (formal)
  3. noi change! (let’s)
  4. voi change! (all of you)

How to use cambiare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Cambio treno a Bologna, giusto?

    I change trains in Bologna, right?

  2. Past

    Abbiamo cambiato casa l'anno scorso.

    We moved house last year.

  3. Imperfect

    Mia nonna non cambiava mai idea.

    My grandmother never changed her mind.

  4. Future

    Il tempo cambierà nel fine settimana.

    The weather will change at the weekend.

  5. Conditional

    Al posto tuo cambierei lavoro subito.

    In your place I'd change jobs right away.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che Marta non cambi idea all'ultimo.

    I hope Marta doesn't change her mind at the last minute.

  7. Imperative

    Cambia canale, questo programma è noioso.

    Change the channel, this show is boring.

Good to know

  • Cambiare idea is to change your mind; cambiare casa, to move house.
  • With avere when you change something, ho cambiato lavoro; with essere when something changes by itself, il tempo è cambiato.

Where you hear cambiare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Intermediate Level 2

  • Cambio il menù. I'm changing the menu.
  • Abbiamo cambiato tutto. We changed everything.
  • L'anno prossimo cambieremo il forno. Next year we'll change the oven.

Italian · Intermediate Level 3

  • Cambio il menù. I'm changing the menu.
  • Abbiamo cambiato tutto. We changed everything.
  • L'anno prossimo cambieremo il forno. Next year we'll change the oven.
8
A Difficult Mother

Intermediate Level 2 · Non è necessario che cambi tutto.

Needs a subscription 19
The Family Meeting

Intermediate Level 3 · E a quel punto, cosa cambia? · Cambia tutto. È casa sua.

Needs a subscription 26
Zio Antonio Makes Peace

Intermediate Level 3 · Non è facile cambiare idea.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -are verb.