“Lavorare” – Conjugation of the Italian Verb

Lavorare, meaning “to work” in Italian, is a fundamental verb that you'll encounter frequently in everyday conversation and writing. Mastering its conjugation is essential for expressing actions related to work in Italian. Let's look into the conjugation of lavorare across different tenses and moods.

Present Indicative

In the present indicative tense, lavorare is conjugated as follows:

• Io lavoro (I work)
• Tu lavori (You work)
• Egli/ella lavora (He/she works)
• Noi lavoriamo (We work)
• Voi lavorate (You all work)
• Essi/esse lavorano (They work)

Imperfect Indicative

In the imperfect indicative tense, the conjugation of lavorare is:

• Io lavoravo (I used to work)
• Tu lavoravi (You used to work)
• Egli/ella lavorava (He/she used to work)
• Noi lavoravamo (We used to work)
• Voi lavoravate (You all used to work)
• Essi/esse lavoravano (They used to work)

Future Indicative

For the future indicative tense, lavorare conjugates as follows:

• Io lavorerò (I will work)
• Tu lavorerai (You will work)
• Egli/ella lavorerà (He/she will work)
• Noi lavoreremo (We will work)
• Voi lavorerete (You all will work)
• Essi/esse lavoreranno (They will work)

Conditional

In the conditional mood, lavorare is conjugated as:

• Io lavorerei (I would work)
• Tu lavoreresti (You would work)
• Egli/ella lavorerebbe (He/she would work)
• Noi lavoreremmo (We would work)
• Voi lavorereste (You all would work)
• Essi/esse lavorerebbero (They would work)

Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive conjugation of lavorare is:

• Che io lavori (That I work)
• Che tu lavori (That you work)
• Che egli/ella lavori (That he/she works)
• Che noi lavoriamo (That we work)
• Che voi lavoriate (That you all work)
• Che essi/esse lavorino (That they work)

Imperfect Subjunctive

In the imperfect subjunctive tense, lavorare conjugates as follows:

• Che io lavorassi (That I worked)
• Che tu lavorassi (That you worked)
• Che egli/ella lavorasse (That he/she worked)
• Che noi lavorassimo (That we worked)
• Che voi lavoraste (That you all worked)
• Che essi/esse lavorassero (That they worked)

Imperative

The imperative form of lavorare, used for giving commands, is:

• Lavora (Work!) – for “tu” form
• Lavori (Work!) – for “Lei” form (formal)
• Lavoriamo (Let's work!)
• Lavorate (Work!) – for “voi” form

Gerund

The gerund form of lavorare is lavorando (working).

Past Participle

The past participle of lavorare is lavorato (worked).

Mastering the conjugation of lavorare will greatly enhance your ability to communicate effectively in Italian, especially when discussing work-related topics or describing daily routines. Practice these conjugations regularly to solidify your understanding and fluency in Italian grammar.

Examples of Usage

Here are some examples demonstrating the usage of the verb “lavorare” (to work) in various contexts:

1. Present Indicative:

   • Io lavoro in un ufficio. (I work in an office.)
   • Maria lavora come insegnante. (Maria works as a teacher.)
   • Noi lavoriamo molto ogni giorno. (We work a lot every day.)

2. Imperfect Indicative:

   • Da giovane, io lavoravo in una fabbrica. (When I was young, I used to work in a factory.)
   • Tu lavoravi part-time mentre studiavi all'università. (You used to work part-time while you were studying at university.)
   • Ogni estate, noi lavoravamo nei campi. (Every summer, we used to work in the fields.)

3. Future Indicative:

   • Domani lavorerò fino a tardi. (Tomorrow I will work late.)
   • Sei sicuro che lavorerai con noi? (Are you sure you will work with us?)
   • Tra dieci anni, loro lavoreranno all'estero. (In ten years, they will work abroad.)

4. Conditional:

   • Io lavorerei anche nei weekend se fosse necessario. (I would work weekends too if it were necessary.)
   • Se avessi più tempo libero, tu lavoreresti di più? (If you had more free time, would you work more?)
   • Loro lavorerebbero meglio se avessero gli strumenti giusti. (They would work better if they had the right tools.)

5. Present Subjunctive:

   • Mia madre vuole che io lavori sodo. (My mother wants me to work hard.)
   • È importante che tu lavori con attenzione. (It's important that you work with care.)
   • Voglio che loro lavorino insieme per questo progetto. (I want them to work together on this project.)

6. Imperative:

   • Lavora con impegno e otterrai risultati. (Work hard and you will achieve results.)
   • Lavoriamo tutti insieme per finire in tempo! (Let's all work together to finish on time!)
   • Lavorate con cura, ragazzi. (Work carefully, guys.)

7. Gerund:

   • Sto lavorando sul mio progetto di ricerca. (I am working on my research project.)
   • Mentre stavo lavorando, ho ricevuto una chiamata importante. (While I was working, I received an important call.)

8. Past Participle:

   • Ho lavorato per la stessa azienda per dieci anni. (I worked for the same company for ten years.)
   • Lei ha lavorato sodo per raggiungere il successo. (She worked hard to achieve success.)
   • Abbiamo lavorato insieme al progetto per tutta la settimana scorsa. (We worked on the project together all of last week.)

These examples showcase how “lavorare” is used in different tenses and moods to express various actions related to work in Italian.