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ITALIAN VERB

perdonare

to forgive

  • #372 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: perdonato
  • Gerund: perdonando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use perdonare

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

  1. Present

    Ti perdono, ma non farlo più.

    I forgive you, but don't do it again.

  2. Past

    Non mi ha mai perdonato quel ritardo.

    She never forgave me for that delay.

  3. Imperfect

    La mamma ci perdonava tutto, il papà no.

    Mum forgave us everything, Dad didn't.

  4. Future

    Prima o poi ti perdonerà, dalle tempo.

    Sooner or later she'll forgive you, give her time.

  5. Conditional

    Io lo perdonerei, è stato un errore.

    I would forgive him, it was a mistake.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che mi perdoniate per il disordine.

    I hope you'll forgive me for the mess.

  7. Imperative

    Perdonami, non volevo offenderti, davvero.

    Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you, really.

Good to know

  • Perdonare qualcuno per qualcosa; Perdonami! or Mi perdoni! is a polite "forgive me".

Where you hear perdonare

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

Italian · Fluency Level 3

  • Alla mia età perdono tutti. At my age I forgive everyone.
  • Nonna mi ha perdonato subito. Nonna forgave me at once.
  • Mi perdoneranno, lo so. They'll forgive me, I know.
18
The Cemetery

Fluency Level 3 · Non c'è niente da perdonare, Nonna.

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Verbs like this one

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