The Italian verbs dovere(must), potere(can), and volere(want) belong to a class of verbs called modal verbs. Unlike the English “should,” “could,” and “would,” dovere, potere, and volere are always conjugatedNo definition set for conjugatedLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. when followed by the infinitive of a verb they help:
Oggi devo andare al lavoro.
Today I have to go to work.
Domani possiamo andare a fare una passeggiata.
Tomorrow, we can go for a walk.
Vuoi andare al cinema venerdì sera?
Do you want to go to the movies Friday night?
This post is the first in our three-part series on Italian modal verbs. In this post we’ll teach you about how to form sentences with modal verbs: how to conjugate the modals, where to put them in sentences, and how to use object pronouns with modal verbs.
Now, keep reading to find out about how they work!
The golden rule of modal verbs is that the three modal verbs dovere(want), potere(can), and volere(want) are often followed by a main verb in its infinitive form.
Voglio uscire.
I want to go out.
In the example above, the infinitive that follows voglio(I want) is the main verb of our sentence, and volere helps uscire(to go out) to convey the fact that that action is an intention, a desire, a wish.
We’ll cover the meanings and uses of these modals in the next post in our series on modals: How to use Italian modal verbs dovere, potere, and volere? But for now, let’s have a look at their forms.
As we noticed above, unlike modals in English, Italian modal verbs are conjugated. Now, their conjugation is typically irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., which means that oftentimes you need to learn them by heart. Do not worry, though: modals are so recurrent in daily conversations that after a while their conjugation will become second nature to you.
To get off to a good start, let’s start by learning the present indicativeNo definition set for indicativeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of dovere, potere, and volere. In this tense, modals conjugate irregularly:
Subject Pronoun | dovere | potere | volere |
|---|---|---|---|
io | devo | posso | voglio |
tu | devi | puoi | vuoi |
lui/lei/Lei | deve | può | vuole |
noi | dobbiamo | possiamo | vogliamo |
voi | dovete | potete | volete |
loro | devono | possono | vogliono |
Note that modals can be conjugated in other tenses and moods. You can conjugate them in all Italian past tenses, in the Italian simple future, as well as in the Italian future perfect. In addition, they conjugate in the present conditional and past conditional, in all the subjunctive tenses: present and past subjunctive, as well as the imperfect and past perfect subjunctive.
However, modal verbs do not have imperative forms!
When it comes to compound tenses like the passato prossimo(perfect tense), modal verbs behave in a quite special way.
If you’ve studied the passato prossimo, you know that it is a compound tense because it forms with two words:
the present of essere(to be) or avere(to have), functioning as auxiliary verbsNo definition set for auxiliary verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
the past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the verb we are conjugating
You also know that some verbs form compound tenses with essere while others use avere.
Andare(to go) requires essere (e.g. sono andato/a, sei andato/a, ... ).
Mangiare(to eat) requires avere (e.g. ho mangiato, hai mangiato, ... ).
What about dovere, potere, and volere? Do they take essere or avere in the passato prossimo?
Take notes: unlike all other verbs, dovere, potere, and volere are special because it all depends on the verb that follows the modal:
In compound tenses, a modal verb takes…
essere(to be) if the infinitive that follows it takes essere
avere(to have) if the infinitive that follows it takes avere
You can see this rule in the following pair of sentences:
Marco e Luca sono dovuti andare a Roma.
Marco and Luca had to go to Rome.
Ho dovuto mangiare un panino al volo.
I had to eat a sandwich on the move.
Let’s have a look at how to use the different modal verbs with infinitives that take essere vs. avere in the passato prossimo:
When the infinitive takes essere:
essere
dovuto/a
dovuti/e
infinitive
Mario è dovuto andare via presto.
Mario had to leave early.
When the infinitive takes avere:
avere
dovuto
infinitive
Ho dovuto mangiare un piatto strano.
I had to eat a strange dish.
When the infinitive takes essere:
essere
dovuto/a
dovuti/e
infinitive
Lucia è potuta andare al concerto.
Lucia was able to go to the concert.
When the infinitive takes avere:
avere
potuto
infinitive
Avete potuto mangiare una lasagna buonissima.
You were able to eat a very good lasagna.
When the infinitive takes essere:
essere
voluto/a
voluti/e
infinitive
I ragazzi sono voluti andare al cinema.
Lucia was able to go to the concert.
Le ragazze sono volute andare al cinema.
The girls wanted to go to the cinema.
When the infinitive takes avere:
avere
voluto
infinitive
Hanno voluto mangiare un’insalata.
They wanted to eat a salad.
Including the aforementioned passato prossimo, there are seven compound tensesNo definition set for compound tensesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in Italian. In all compound tenses, modals behave in the same way, taking the auxiliary of the verb they help. The only variation to keep in mind is the tense of the auxiliary, which changes depending on the compound tense.
Let’s observe how the tense of the auxiliary changes in the following compound tenses:
trapassato prossimo → auxiliary in the imperfect tense
Prima venire a vivere in Italia, avevo già dovuto studiare italiano a scuola.
Before coming to live in Italy, I had already had to study Italian in school.
futuro anteriore → auxiliary in the future tense
Michele non è casa, sarà voluto uscire a fare una passeggiata.
Michele is not home, he must have wanted to go out for a walk.
condizionale passato → auxiliary in the present conditional
Avrebbero potuto prendere il treno per arrivare prima.
They could have taken the train to get there earlier.
To use direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, double pronouns, or reflexive pronouns with dovere(have to), potere(can), and volere(want), put the pronoun either before the conjugated verb or after the infinitive and attached to it. To attach the pronoun to an infinitive, just drop the -e at the end and then add the pronoun as an ending.
Type of pronoun | Example with object as noun | Options with pronouns |
|---|---|---|
direct object pronoun | direct object Devo chiamare mio fratello. I have to call my brother. |
|
indirect object pronoun | indirect object Vorrei parlare con mia zia. I would like to talk to my aunt. |
|
double pronoun | direct objectindirect object Voglio portare il computer a Marco. I want to bring the computer to Marco. |
|
double pronoun with ne | indirect object Potresti parlare a Laura del nostro progetto? Could you talk to Laura about our project? |
|
reflexive | (sentence cannot be expressed without a reflexive pronoun) |
|
In compound tenses, the pronoun can similarly be placed either before the whole verb (that is, before essere or avere), or after the infinitive. Both word order options are valid! They are 100% equivalent and you can choose the one that you like the most! 😊
However, there are a couple tricky rules in compound tenses that you don’t have to learn for simple tenses. Let’s have a look:
Putting the pronoun before essere/avere:
Ieri li ho dovuti chiamare due volte.
Yesterday, I had to call them twice.
The past participle agrees with direct object pronouns that come before the verb!
If you decide to place the direct pronoun/double pronoun before the verb, the past participle always needs to agree in gender and number with the direct object pronoun, regardless of whether the auxiliary is essere or avere.
This is why we say li ho dovuti above! Because li is masculine plural, the participle has its masculine plural ending.
If the pronoun is a double pronoun, the participle will also agree with the gender and number of the direct object part of that pronoun.
However, note that this rule only applies when the pronoun comes before the verb.
Putting the pronoun after the infinitive:
Ieri ho dovuto chiamarli due volte.
Yesterday, I had to call them twice.
Notice that there’s no agreement with the past participle here! Yay!
When using reflexive pronouns with compound tenses, you can place the reflexive pronoun (like other pronouns) either before the auxiliary or after the infinitive. However, the two options may require different auxiliary verbs!
pronoun + auxiliary + modal + infinitive → use essere
Ti sei dovuto comprare una giacca nuova.
You had to buy yourself a new jacket.
auxiliary + modal + infinitive + pronoun → use the auxiliary required by the infinitive (essere or avere)
Hai dovuto comprarti una giacca nuova.
You had to buy yourself a new jacket.
When followed by a verb, an infinitive comes after dovere(must), potere(can), and volere(want).
Italian modal verbs are irregular, so you need to learn their conjugations by heart.
In compound tenses like the passato prossimo, modal verbs take the auxiliary verb of the main verb.
With modal verbs, pronouns can be placed either before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive, by dropping the -e of the verb in the infinitive.
But this is not all you need to know about modal verbs! Keep learning from our article on how to use dovere, potere, and volere to learn when and why we use these verbs in the first place! Or maybe you want to skip to the end and read the third article in our series on modals: Non-modal uses of dovere, potere, and volere!
Or if you’re feeling confident, click the link to practice your knowledge of Italian modal verbs! 💪 🧠
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