Desiderare Conjugation in Italian
desiderare means “to desire” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 290 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the verb for desiring or wishing for something, and it is completely regular in every tense. It is more formal than volere: use desiderare for a wish expressed politely, and volere for everyday wanting. This page gives you the complete conjugation of desiderare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I desire a coffee.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: desiderare
- English: to desire
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: desiderando
- Present participle: desiderante
- Past participle: desiderato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for desiderare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read desiderare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about desiderare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle desiderato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are desiderante and desiderato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for desiderare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desidero |
| tu | desideri |
| lui/lei | desidera |
| noi | desideriamo |
| voi | desiderate |
| loro | desiderano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I desire a coffee”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desiderai |
| tu | desiderasti |
| lui/lei | desiderò |
| noi | desiderammo |
| voi | desideraste |
| loro | desiderarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io desiderai un caffè ieri.” — “I desired a coffee”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desideravo |
| tu | desideravi |
| lui/lei | desiderava |
| noi | desideravamo |
| voi | desideravate |
| loro | desideravano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io desideravo un caffè una volta.” — “I used to desire a coffee”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desidererò |
| tu | desidererai |
| lui/lei | desidererà |
| noi | desidereremo |
| voi | desidererete |
| loro | desidereranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io desidererò un caffè domani.” — “I will desire a coffee”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desidererei |
| tu | desidereresti |
| lui/lei | desidererebbe |
| noi | desidereremmo |
| voi | desiderereste |
| loro | desidererebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io desidererei un caffè un giorno.” — “I would desire a coffee”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho desiderato |
| tu | hai desiderato |
| lui/lei | ha desiderato |
| noi | abbiamo desiderato |
| voi | avete desiderato |
| loro | hanno desiderato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha desiderato un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has desired a coffee”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo desiderato |
| tu | avevi desiderato |
| lui/lei | aveva desiderato |
| noi | avevamo desiderato |
| voi | avevate desiderato |
| loro | avevano desiderato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo desiderato un caffè prima della festa.” — “I had desired a coffee”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò desiderato |
| tu | avrai desiderato |
| lui/lei | avrà desiderato |
| noi | avremo desiderato |
| voi | avrete desiderato |
| loro | avranno desiderato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò desiderato un caffè per domani.” — “I will have desired a coffee”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei desiderato |
| tu | avresti desiderato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe desiderato |
| noi | avremmo desiderato |
| voi | avreste desiderato |
| loro | avrebbero desiderato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei desiderato un caffè ieri.” — “I would have desired a coffee”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desideri |
| tu | desideri |
| lui/lei | desideri |
| noi | desideriamo |
| voi | desideriate |
| loro | desiderino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io desideri un caffè.” — “It is important that I desire a coffee”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | desiderassi |
| tu | desiderassi |
| lui/lei | desiderasse |
| noi | desiderassimo |
| voi | desideraste |
| loro | desiderassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io desiderassi un caffè.” — “It was important that I desire a coffee”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | desidera |
| lui/lei | desideri |
| noi | desideriamo |
| voi | desiderate |
| loro | desiderino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Desidera un caffè!” — “Desire a coffee!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | desiderare |
| lui/lei | desideri |
| noi | desideriamo |
| voi | desideriate |
| loro | desiderino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non desiderare un caffè.” — “Do not desire a coffee.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | desiderando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Desiderando un caffè, imparo molto.” — “While desiring a coffee, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | desiderante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle desiderante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | desiderato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho desiderato un caffè questa settimana.” — “I have desired a coffee.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with desiderare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I desire a coffee”
- “Tu desiderasti un caffè ieri.” — “You desired a coffee”
- “Lui desiderava un caffè una volta.” — “He used to desire a coffee”
- “Io desidererò un caffè domani.” — “I will desire a coffee”
- “Tu desidereresti un caffè un giorno.” — “You would desire a coffee”
- “Lui ha desiderato un caffè questa settimana.” — “He has desired a coffee”
- “Io avevo desiderato un caffè prima della festa.” — “I had desired a coffee”
- “Tu avrai desiderato un caffè per domani.” — “You will have desired a coffee”
- “È importante che io desideri un caffè.” — “It is important that I desire a coffee”
- “Desidera un caffè!” — “Desire a coffee!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Io desiderare un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.”
The infinitive desiderare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form desidero.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io desideri un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.”
desideri is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with desidero.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io desidero un caffè ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho desiderato un caffè questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho desiderato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono desiderato un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io ho desiderato un caffè questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of desiderare is formed with avere plus the past participle desiderato: the io form is ho desiderato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io desidero un caffè.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io desideri un caffè.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use desideri here, not the indicative desidero.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho desiderando un caffè.”
✓ Right: “Io ho desiderato un caffè questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle desiderato, not the gerund desiderando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on desiderare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of desiderare in the Present indicative?
- A) desideri
- B) desidero
- C) desidera
- D) desideriamo
What is the lui/lei form of desiderare in the Passato remoto?
- A) desiderai
- B) desiderasti
- C) desiderò
- D) desiderammo
What is the noi form of desiderare in the Imperfect?
- A) desideravo
- B) desideravi
- C) desiderava
- D) desideravamo
What is the tu form of desiderare in the Future?
- A) desidererai
- B) desidererò
- C) desidererà
- D) desidereremo
What is the io form of desiderare in the Conditional?
- A) desidereresti
- B) desidererei
- C) desidererebbe
- D) desidereremmo
What is the lui/lei form of desiderare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho desiderato
- B) hai desiderato
- C) ha desiderato
- D) abbiamo desiderato
What is the lui/lei form of desiderare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) desideriamo
- B) desideriate
- C) desiderino
- D) desideri
What is the io form of desiderare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) desiderassi
- B) desiderasse
- C) desiderassimo
- D) desideraste
What is the gerund of desiderare?
- A) desiderato
- B) desiderando
- C) desiderare
- D) desidero
What does desiderare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to desire
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) desidero — the correct form is desidero. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) desiderò — the correct form is desiderò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) desideravamo — the correct form is desideravamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) desidererai — the correct form is desidererai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) desidererei — the correct form is desidererei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha desiderato — the correct form is ha desiderato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) desideri — the correct form is desideri. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) desiderassi — the correct form is desiderassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) desiderando — the correct form is desiderando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to desire — the correct form is to desire. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does desiderare mean in English?
desiderare means “to desire”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is desiderare regular or irregular?
desiderare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is desiderando and the past participle is desiderato.
What are the gerund and past participle of desiderare?
The gerund is desiderando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is desiderato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho desiderato.
Which auxiliary does desiderare take in the passato prossimo?
desiderare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho desiderato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle desiderato.
How do I say “I desire” in Italian?
Say “Io desidero un caffè ogni giorno.” — “I desire a coffee” The io form of the present is desidero, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of desiderare — every tense of desiderare in one place.
- Desiderare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Desiderare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Spiegare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Domandare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise desiderare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise desiderare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise desiderare with the interactive tool.