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ITALIAN VERB

desiderare

to wish, to want

  • #227 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: desiderato
  • Gerund: desiderando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use desiderare

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

  1. Present

    Desidera un caffè o qualcos'altro, signora?

    Would you like a coffee or something else, madam?

  2. Past

    Ho sempre desiderato visitare il Giappone.

    I've always wanted to visit Japan.

  3. Imperfect

    Da ragazza desideravo solo viaggiare.

    As a girl all I wanted was to travel.

  4. Future

    Dopo una settimana così desidererai solo dormire.

    After a week like this you'll just want to sleep.

  5. Conditional

    Desidererei una camera con vista, se possibile.

    I'd like a room with a view, if possible.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Qualunque cosa tu desideri, chiedi pure.

    Whatever you want, just ask.

  7. Imperative

    Desidera solo quello che ti rende felice.

    Only wish for what makes you happy.

Good to know

  • Desidera? is what a shop assistant says: can I help you?

Verbs like this one

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