How to conjugate ‘volere’ in Italian: All tenses and moods explained

Volere is the social butterfly of Italian verbs. It can mean "to want," "to wish," and even “to love,” depending on the context. This versatile verb will prove handy when ordering a coffee, sharing your goals and expectations, and telling your friends and family you love them.

Italians place a high value on politeness in communication, which can make a direct verb like volere tricky in some circumstances. But you can soften your speech using the conditional vorrei (I would like), which sounds more courteous.

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In this guide, we’ll cover everything you want to learn about this verb, from basic usage and conjugations to more nuanced expressions.

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‘Presente indicativo’ of ‘volere’ (Present simple)

Conjugated in the Italian present tense, volere is used to describe current states and simple facts.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io voglioI want
tuvuoiyou want
lui/leivuolehe/she wants
noivogliamowe want
voivoleteyou want
lorovoglionothey want
  • Voglio imparare l’italiano. (I want to learn Italian.)
  • Vuoi venire con me? (Do you want to come with me?)

‘Passato prossimo’ of ‘volere’ (Present perfect)

The passato prossimo of volere describes recent past actions that still hold relevance in the present. It’s formed by combining the auxiliary verb avere in the present tense with the past participle voluto.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io ho volutoI wanted
tuhai volutoyou wanted
lui/leiha volutohe/she wanted
noiabbiamo volutowe wanted
voiavete volutoyou wanted
lorohanno volutothey wanted
  • Ho voluto visitare Roma. (I wanted to visit Rome.)
  • Hanno voluto mangiare subito. (They wanted to eat immediately.)

‘Trapassato prossimo’ of ‘volere’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato prossimo indicates what happened before another past event. It can add helpful clarity to the timeline of a story.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io avevo volutoI had wanted
tuavevi volutoyou had wanted
lui/leiaveva volutohe/she had wanted
noiavevamo volutowe had wanted
voiavevate volutoyou had wanted
loroavevano volutothey had wanted
  • Avevo voluto spiegarti tutto prima di partire. (I had wanted to explain everything to you before leaving.)
  • Loro avevano voluto restare a casa. (They had wanted to stay home.)

‘Trapassato remoto’ of ‘volere’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato remoto describes actions completed before another past action. It is rarely used in spoken Italian, but it appears in historical writing and formal documents.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io ebbi volutoI had wanted
tuavesti volutoyou had wanted
lui/leiebbe volutohe/she had wanted
noiavemmo volutowe had wanted
voiaveste volutoyou had wanted
loroebbero volutothey had wanted
  • Ebbi voluto provare quel ristorante prima che chiudesse. (I had wanted to try that restaurant before it closed.)
  • Essi ebbero voluto completare il progetto in tempo. (They had wanted to complete the project on time.)

‘Imperfetto’ of ‘volere’ (Past simple/past continuous)

The imperfetto describes repeated or habitual actions and states in the past. It helps set the background in stories and describe recurring situations.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io volevoI wanted
tuvoleviyou wanted
lui/leivolevahe/she wanted
noivolevamowe wanted
voivolevateyou wanted
lorovolevanothey wanted
  • Non sapevo che volevi una pizza. (I didn’t know you wanted a pizza.)
  • Volevate del vino? (Did you want some wine?)

‘Passato remoto’ of ‘volere’ (Past simple)

The passato remoto is rarely used in everyday conversation, but it often appears in literature, describing actions or events completed in the distant past.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io volliI wanted
tuvolestiyou wanted
lui/leivollehe/she wanted
noivolemmowe wanted
voivolesteyou wanted
lorovollerothey wanted
  • Lui volle imparare a suonare il pianoforte. (He wanted to learn to play the piano.)
  • Noi volemmo aiutare i nostri amici. (We wanted to help our friends.)

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‘Futuro semplice’ of ‘volere’ (Future simple)

The futuro semplice describes future states or events. It’s the basic form you need for making plans or predictions.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io vorròI will want
tuvorraiyou will want
lui/leivorràhe/she will want
noivorremowe will want
voivorreteyou will want
lorovorrannothey will want
  • Domani vorrò leggere un libro. (Tomorrow I will want to read a book.)
  • Loro vorranno visitare Venezia. (They will want to visit Venice.)

‘Futuro anteriore’ of ‘volere’ (Future perfect)

The futuro anteriore describes an action that will be completed before another future event. 

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
io avrò volutoI will have wanted
tuavrai volutoyou will have wanted
lui/leiavrà volutohe/she will have wanted
noiavremo volutowe will have wanted
voiavrete volutoyou will have wanted
loroavranno volutothey will have wanted

‘Condizionale’ of ‘volere’ (Conditional mood)

The condizionale expresses polite requests or desires. It allows you to talk about what would happen under certain conditions, and it’s often used to make expressions more courteous.

‘Condizionale presente’ of ‘volere’ (Present conditional)

Condizionale presenteEnglish
io vorreiI would like
tu vorrestiyou would like
lui/lei vorrebbehe/she would like
noi vorremmowe would like
voi vorresteyou would like
loro vorrebberothey would like
  • Vorremmo andare al mare questo weekend. (We would like to go to the beach this weekend.)

‘Condizionale passato’ of ‘volere’ (Past conditional)

Condizionale passatoEnglish
io avrei volutoI would have liked
tu avresti volutoyou would have liked
lui/lei avrebbe volutohe/she would have liked
noi avremmo volutowe would have liked
voi avreste volutoyou would have liked
loro avrebbero volutothey would have liked
  • Avrei voluto conoscere meglio quella città. (I would have liked to know that city better.)

‘Congiuntivo’ of ‘volere’ (Subjunctive mood) 

The congiuntivo expresses doubts, wishes, emotions or hypothetical scenarios, and it’s usually introduced by che (that) or si (if).

‘Congiuntivo presente’ (Present subjunctive)

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
(che) io voglia(that) I want
(che) tuvoglia(that) you want
(che) lui/leivoglia(that) he/she wants
(che) noivogliamo(that) we want
(che) voivogliate(that) you want
(che) lorovogliano(that) they want
  • Spero che tu voglia venire con noi. (I hope that you want to come with us.)
  • È importante che loro vogliano partecipare. (It’s important that they want to participate.)

‘Congiuntivo passato’ (Present perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
(che) io abbia voluto(that) I wanted
(che) tuabbia voluto(that) you wanted
(che) lui/leiabbia voluto(that) he/she wanted
(che) noiabbiamo voluto(that) we wanted
(che) voiabbiate voluto(that) you wanted
(che) loroabbiano voluto(that) they wanted
  • Penso che tu abbia voluto farlo da sola. (I think that you wanted to do it on your own.)
  • Non credo che loro abbiano voluto aspettare. (I don’t think they wanted to wait.)

‘Congiuntivo imperfetto’ (Past subjunctive)

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
(che) io volessi(that) I wanted
(che) tuvolessi(that) you wanted
(che) lui/leivolesse(that) he/she wanted
(che) noivolessimo(that) we wanted
(che) voivoleste(that) you wanted
(che) lorovolessero(that) they wanted
  • Se volessi cambiare lavoro, te lo direi. (If I wanted to change jobs, I would tell you.)
  • Se volessero, l’avrebbero provato. (If they wanted, they would try it.)

‘Congiuntivo trapassato’ (Past perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
(che) io avessi voluto(that) I had wanted
(che) tuavessi voluto(that) you had wanted
(che) lui/leiavesse voluto(that) he/she had wanted
(che) noiavessimo voluto(that) we had wanted
(che) voiavreste voluto(that) you had wanted
(che) loroavessero voluto(that) they had wanted
  • Se iavessi voluto partire, te l’avrei detto. (If I had wanted to leave, I would have told you.)
  • Non pensavo che tu avessi voluto prendere quel rischio. (I didn’t think that you had wanted to take that risk.)

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‘Imperativo’ of ‘volere’ (Imperative mood)

The imperativo is used to give commands, requests or advice. It can express encouragement, instructions or expectations, depending on the context.

Subject pronounItalianEnglish 
tuvogliayou want
noivogliamolet’s want
voivogliateyou want
  • Voglia avere pazienza. (Please be patient.)
  • Vogliamo essere sinceri con loro. (Let’s try to be honest with them.)

‘Gerundio’ of ‘volere’ (Gerund)

The gerundio describes actions that happen simultaneously with or as a result of another action.

The present gerund of volere is volendo (wanting). It’s used for current or ongoing states.

The past gerund of volere is avendo voluto (having wanted). It’s used to indicate completed actions that influenced a subsequent action.

  • Volendo, potresti risolvere il problema. (If you wanted, you could solve the problem.)
  • Avendo voluto partire presto, non hanno aspettato. (Having wanted to leave early, they didn’t wait.)

‘Participio’ of ‘volere’ (Participles)

The participio presente, volente (wanting), is found in very technical or poetic contexts, and rarely seen in everyday language.

The participio passato, voluto (wanted), is used in tenses like the passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo

  • Ho sempre voluto imparare una nuova lingua. (I have always wanted to learn a new language.)
  • Loro hanno voluto parlare con te. (They wanted to talk to you.)

Special uses of ‘volere’

In Italian, vorrei (I would like) is the polite, softer alternative to voglio (I want). While voglio can sound a bit direct or demanding, vorrei adds a touch of courtesy, making it ideal for requests or preferences.

  • Vorrei un caffè, per favore. (I would like a coffee, please.)
  • Voglio un caffè. (I want a coffee.)

Volere also goes beyond expressing wants and can be used to express emotions and clarify meaning.

  • Ti voglio bene*. (I love you.)
  • Che vuoi dire? (What do you mean?)
  • Non ci vuole molto per imparare. (It doesn’t take time to learn.)

* Note: Ti voglio bene conveys the meaning of affectionate love without the romantic intensity. There are other ways to say “I love you” in Italian that carry different connotations.

FAQs

What is the difference between volere and vorrei?

Volere means "to want" and is direct, expressing strong or immediate desires. Vorrei is the conditional form, meaning "I would like." It’s softer and more polite, and thus used more typically to express requests or wishes.

What is the difference between volere and desiderare?

While volere means "to want" and is used for direct, everyday intentions, desiderare means "to desire" and conveys a more formal or emotional longing.

What does voglio bene mean?

It means "I care about you" or "I love you" in a non-romantic way. It’s used to express affection for family or friends, emphasizing deep emotional care rather than passion.

‘Cos’altro vuoi’? (What else do you want?)

Volere is a key verb in the Italian language, and you’ll find it essential to talk about your desires, intentions and preferences. Its versatility spills out into everyday phrases that extend beyond the literal meaning of the word. Mastering volere conjugation is a huge step forward on the path toward fluency and a very helpful tool for understanding the cultural nuances of communication.

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Imanol Rodríguez Guridi

Imanol Rodríguez Guridi

Imanol Rodríguez Guridi is a Uruguayan polyglot writer with a moderate obsession for world music research. As a former Literature student who realized he should’ve aimed for Ethnography instead, he has spent serious amounts of time thoroughly traveling through over 40 countries, engaging with locals to a maximum degree with the hopes of understanding their traditions, habits, languages, religions, virtues and vices directly from the source. Writing and traveling aside, he’s an Abhyanga massage therapist and loves mixing music.