Indicativi

Indicativi is the plural form of indicativo, the mood in Italian and other Romance languages used for statements of fact, description, and real events. In Italian grammar, the indicative is the most common mood and contrasts with other moods such as the congiuntivo (subjunctive), condizionale (conditional), and imperativo (imperative).

The indicative includes both simple tenses and compound tenses. Simple tenses typically comprise presente (present), imperfetto (imperfect), passato remoto (remote past), and futuro semplice (simple future). Compound tenses are formed with auxiliary verbs and include passato prossimo (present perfect), trapassato prossimo (past perfect), trapassato remoto (remote past perfect), and futuro anteriore (future perfect). The passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo are the most frequent past tenses in everyday speech, while il passato remoto and il trapassato remoto are more common in formal writing and historical narrative. The futuro semplice and futuro anteriore express future time, with the latter indicating actions completed before another future moment.

Usage within sentences centers on asserting facts, describing real events, or asking questions about reality. Examples include forms like parlo (I speak), parlavo (I was speaking), ho parlato (I have spoken), and parlerò (I will speak). The indicative’s role is to convey certainty and actuality, as opposed to the more speculative or hypothetical nuances of the subjunctive or conditional moods.

Etymology traces to Latin indicativus, meaning “to point out” or “to indicate.” See also congiuntivo, condizionale, imperativo for related but distinct moods.