Condizionale passato: the Italian past conditional

The condizionale passato, or past conditional, corresponds to English “would have done”. It is made of the present conditional of «avere» or «essere» plus a past participle: «avrei comprato», «sarebbe partita», «ci saremmo incontrati». Its basic meaning is an action that would have happened but did not: «Sarei venuto volentieri, ma avevo la febbre» “I would gladly have come, but I had a temperature”.

Around that core it has several important uses: regrets and reproaches with «dovere», «potere» and «volere» («Avrei dovuto dirtelo»), the result of an impossible past condition («Se l’avessi saputo, sarei venuto»), unconfirmed news in journalism, and one use that has nothing unreal about it: the future seen from the past. Where English says “He said he would come”, Italian says «Ha detto che sarebbe venuto», with the past conditional. This last use surprises English speakers more than any other.

Forming it, and telling it apart from similar forms

The auxiliary follows the usual rules: «avere» for most verbs with a direct object, «essere» for verbs of movement and change of state and for reflexive verbs. With «essere», the participle agrees with the subject: «Le mie sorelle sarebbero venute», «Ci saremmo divertiti». Object pronouns go before the auxiliary: «Te l’avrei detto», «Non l’avrebbe mai fatto».

Watch the double m in the noi forms, «avremmo» and «saremmo», which distinguishes them from the future perfect «avremo» and «saremo». More generally, four compound forms look alike and mean quite different things; the auxiliary is the only clue.

Regrets, reproaches and missed chances

The past conditional describes what would have happened, usually next to the reason it did not: «Avrei comprato quella casa, ma costava troppo», «Saremmo arrivati prima, ma c’era uno sciopero». With «volentieri» it expresses polite regret: «Ti avrei aiutato volentieri, ma nessuno mi ha avvisato».

With modal verbs it becomes the main way to talk about regrets and missed opportunities. «Avrei dovuto» + infinitive translates “should have”: «Avrei dovuto ascoltarti». «Avrei potuto» translates “could have” or “might have”: «Avresti potuto chiamarmi!» is a classic reproach. «Avrei voluto», like «mi sarebbe piaciuto», means “I would have liked to”: «Avrei voluto vederti», «Mi sarebbe piaciuto studiare all’estero». When the infinitive takes «essere», both auxiliaries are accepted: «Sarei dovuto partire prima» and «Avrei dovuto partire prima» are both correct.

The same form gives the result of an impossible past condition, with the pluperfect subjunctive after «se»: «Se fossimo partiti prima, saremmo arrivati in tempo». This third type of if-sentence is treated separately; what matters here is that the past conditional belongs in the result, never after «se». The condition can also stay implicit: «Al posto tuo, avrei accettato subito», «Io non l’avrei mai fatto», «Con un taxi saremmo arrivati in dieci minuti».

• Avremmo dovuto prenotare: il ristorante è pieno. · We should have booked: the restaurant is full.
• Avresti potuto avvisarmi che arrivavi tardi. · You could have told me you’d be late.
• Mi sarebbe piaciuto conoscere tuo nonno. · I would have liked to meet your grandfather.

The future seen from the past: ha detto che sarebbe venuto

When you look at a later action from a point in the past, Italian uses the past conditional, whether or not the action actually took place. Marco says «Verrò alle otto»; reported later, this becomes «Marco ha detto che sarebbe venuto alle otto». English uses “would come”, which looks like a present conditional, but in standard Italian «Ha detto che verrebbe» is wrong. That is why the past conditional is so frequent in reported speech and in any story told in the past: «Pensavo che sarebbe stato più facile», «Sapevo che avresti capito», «Ci avevano promesso che avrebbero richiamato».

Narrators use the same form to look ahead in a story: «Quel giorno conobbe la donna che avrebbe sposato dieci anni dopo» “That day he met the woman he would marry ten years later”. Here the marriage really happened; the past conditional only places it later than the moment being narrated.

In everyday conversation the imperfetto often takes over this role: «Ha detto che veniva alle otto». It is perfectly normal in speech, but in writing the past conditional is the standard choice.

• Nessuno immaginava che quel piccolo negozio sarebbe diventato famoso. · Nobody imagined that little shop would become famous.
• Mi aveva giurato che non l’avrebbe più fatto. · He had sworn to me that he would never do it again.
• Eravamo sicuri che la riunione sarebbe finita presto. · We were sure the meeting would finish early.

Unconfirmed news and fixed expressions

Newspapers and broadcasters use the conditional to pass on information they have not verified. The present conditional is used for present claims, the past conditional for past events: «Secondo alcuni testimoni, l’uomo sarebbe fuggito in moto» “According to some witnesses, the man fled on a motorbike”, «Il ministro avrebbe già firmato il decreto» “The minister has reportedly already signed the decree”. The form tells the reader that the journalist is relaying the claim, not confirming it, much like English “allegedly” or “reportedly”.

A few fixed expressions are worth learning as they are: «Chi l’avrebbe detto?» (Who would have thought it?), «Non l’avrei mai detto» (I would never have guessed), «Avrei giurato che…» (I could have sworn that…) and «Me lo sarei dovuto aspettare» (I should have seen it coming).