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.

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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	voglio	I want
tu	vuoi	you want
lui/lei	vuole	he/she wants
noi	vogliamo	we want
voi	volete	you want
loro	vogliono	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	ho voluto	I wanted
tu	hai voluto	you wanted
lui/lei	ha voluto	he/she wanted
noi	abbiamo voluto	we wanted
voi	avete voluto	you wanted
loro	hanno voluto	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	avevo voluto	I had wanted
tu	avevi voluto	you had wanted
lui/lei	aveva voluto	he/she had wanted
noi	avevamo voluto	we had wanted
voi	avevate voluto	you had wanted
loro	avevano voluto	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	ebbi voluto	I had wanted
tu	avesti voluto	you had wanted
lui/lei	ebbe voluto	he/she had wanted
noi	avemmo voluto	we had wanted
voi	aveste voluto	you had wanted
loro	ebbero voluto	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	volevo	I wanted
tu	volevi	you wanted
lui/lei	voleva	he/she wanted
noi	volevamo	we wanted
voi	volevate	you wanted
loro	volevano	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	volli	I wanted
tu	volesti	you wanted
lui/lei	volle	he/she wanted
noi	volemmo	we wanted
voi	voleste	you wanted
loro	vollero	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	vorrò	I will want
tu	vorrai	you will want
lui/lei	vorrà	he/she will want
noi	vorremo	we will want
voi	vorrete	you will want
loro	vorranno	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
io	avrò voluto	I will have wanted
tu	avrai voluto	you will have wanted
lui/lei	avrà voluto	he/she will have wanted
noi	avremo voluto	we will have wanted
voi	avrete voluto	you will have wanted
loro	avranno voluto	they 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 presente	English
io vorrei	I would like
tu vorresti	you would like
lui/lei vorrebbe	he/she would like
noi vorremmo	we would like
voi vorreste	you would like
loro vorrebbero	they 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 passato	English
io avrei voluto	I would have liked
tu avresti voluto	you would have liked
lui/lei avrebbe voluto	he/she would have liked
noi avremmo voluto	we would have liked
voi avreste voluto	you would have liked
loro avrebbero voluto	they 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 pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	voglia	(that) I want
(che) tu	voglia	(that) you want
(che) lui/lei	voglia	(that) he/she wants
(che) noi	vogliamo	(that) we want
(che) voi	vogliate	(that) you want
(che) loro	vogliano	(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 pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	abbia voluto	(that) I wanted
(che) tu	abbia voluto	(that) you wanted
(che) lui/lei	abbia voluto	(that) he/she wanted
(che) noi	abbiamo voluto	(that) we wanted
(che) voi	abbiate voluto	(that) you wanted
(che) loro	abbiano 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 pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	volessi	(that) I wanted
(che) tu	volessi	(that) you wanted
(che) lui/lei	volesse	(that) he/she wanted
(che) noi	volessimo	(that) we wanted
(che) voi	voleste	(that) you wanted
(che) loro	volessero	(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 pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	avessi voluto	(that) I had wanted
(che) tu	avessi voluto	(that) you had wanted
(che) lui/lei	avesse voluto	(that) he/she had wanted
(che) noi	avessimo voluto	(that) we had wanted
(che) voi	avreste voluto	(that) you had wanted
(che) loro	avessero 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 pronoun	Italian	English
tu	voglia	you want
noi	vogliamo	let’s want
voi	vogliate	you 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.

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‘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.

Ready to take your Italian further? Join Lingoda’s Italian courses for structured lessons with native instructors. Practice real-life scenarios, refine your grammar and build confidence in speaking. If you want to learn Italian, you can start today and watch your skills grow!

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