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ITALIAN VERB

temere

to fear

  • #230 most used
  • Regular -ere verb
  • Past participle: temuto
  • Gerund: temendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use temere

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

  1. Present

    Temo che il treno sia già partito.

    I'm afraid the train has already left.

  2. Past

    Ho temuto il peggio quando non rispondevi.

    I feared the worst when you didn't answer.

  3. Imperfect

    Da piccola temevo il buio.

    When I was little I was afraid of the dark.

  4. Future

    Non temerai più l'acqua dopo questo corso.

    You won't be afraid of water anymore after this course.

  5. Conditional

    Al posto tuo temerei il traffico, non la neve.

    In your place I'd worry about the traffic, not the snow.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non voglio che i bambini temano il cane.

    I don't want the children to be afraid of the dog.

  7. Imperative

    Non temere, il medico sa cosa fa.

    Don't be afraid, the doctor knows what he's doing.

Good to know

  • Temo di sì and temo di no are "I'm afraid so" and "I'm afraid not"; temo che takes the subjunctive.

Verbs like this one

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