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ITALIAN VERB

ritardare

to be late, to delay

  • #417 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: ritardato
  • Gerund: ritardando

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use ritardare

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

  1. Present

    Il treno delle otto ritarda quasi ogni mattina.

    The eight o'clock train is late almost every morning.

  2. Past

    Il volo ha ritardato di due ore per la nebbia.

    The flight was delayed two hours because of fog.

  3. Imperfect

    Prima l'autobus ritardava sempre, ora è puntuale.

    The bus always used to be late, now it's on time.

  4. Future

    Ritarderò di dieci minuti, cominciate senza di me.

    I'll be ten minutes late, start without me.

  5. Conditional

    Ritarderei la partenza, ma i biglietti sono fissi.

    I'd delay the departure, but the tickets are fixed.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che il corriere non ritardi anche oggi.

    I hope the courier isn't late today too.

  7. Imperative

    Non ritardate, il film comincia alle nove in punto.

    Don't be late, the film starts at nine sharp.

Good to know

  • Ritardare is for trains, flights and people who turn up late; of yourself you say essere in ritardo: sono in ritardo.

Verbs like this one

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