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ITALIAN VERB

costringere

to force, to make someone do something

  • #253 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: costretto
  • Gerund: costringendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use costringere

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

  1. Present

    Nessuno ti costringe a venire.

    Nobody's forcing you to come.

  2. Past

    La pioggia ci ha costretti a rimanere in casa.

    The rain forced us to stay home.

  3. Imperfect

    A scuola ci costringevano a stare in silenzio.

    At school they forced us to keep quiet.

  4. Future

    Il lavoro mi costringerà a trasferirmi a Milano.

    Work will force me to move to Milan.

  5. Conditional

    Non costringerei mai un bambino a finire il piatto.

    I'd never force a child to finish their plate.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non voglio che tu lo costringa a parlare.

    I don't want you to force him to talk.

  7. Imperative

    Costringila a riposare, altrimenti non si ferma mai.

    Make her rest, otherwise she never stops.

Good to know

  • Costringere qualcuno a fare qualcosa; essere costretto a is to have no choice: sono costretto a partire.

Where you hear costringere

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

Italian · Intermediate Level 3

  • Nessuno ti costringe a vendere. Nobody is forcing you to sell.
  • L'hanno costretta a partire. They forced her to leave.
  • Non ti costringeremo a restare. We will not force you to stay.
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Zio Antonio's Version

Intermediate Level 3 · Chi la costrinse?

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Verbs like this one

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