Published on November 27, 2024

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.
- ‘Presente indicativo’ of ‘volere’ (Present simple)
- ‘Passato prossimo’ of ‘volere’ (Present perfect)
- ‘Imperfetto’ of ‘volere’ (Past simple/past continuous)
- ‘Passato remoto’ of ‘volere’ (Past simple)
- ‘Futuro semplice’ of ‘volere’ (Future simple)
- ‘Condizionale’ of ‘volere’ (Conditional mood)
- ‘Congiuntivo’ of ‘volere’ (Subjunctive mood)
- ‘Imperativo’ of ‘volere’ (Imperative mood)
- ‘Gerundio’ of ‘volere’ (Gerund)
- ‘Participio’ of ‘volere’ (Participles)
- Special uses of ‘volere’
- FAQs
- ‘Cos’altro vuoi’? (What else do you want?)

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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.
‘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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