attendere

Attendere is an Italian verb with multiple related senses, primarily meaning to wait for someone or something, and more formally to attend to or take care of a matter. It is used transitively and can govern a direct object (attendere una persona, una notizia) or be used with the preposition a to indicate what is awaited (attendere a un lavoro, attenderà ai propri doveri).

Etymology and cognates: the verb derives from Latin attendere, formed from ad- “toward” and tendere “to stretch, reach,” with the sense of turning attention toward something. It is cognate with the English attend and the French attendre, reflecting a shared Latin root.

Conjugation and usage notes: attendere is a regular -ere verb. In the present indicative the forms are: io attendo, tu attendi, lui/lei attende, noi attendiamo, voi attendete, loro attendono. The imperfect is attendevo, attendevi, attendeva, attendavamo, attendevate, attendevano. The passato prossimo uses the auxiliary avere: ho atteso, hai atteso, ha atteso, abbiamo atteso, avete atteso, hanno atteso. The past participle is atteso. The present subjunctive includes che io attenda, che tu attenda, che lui/lei attenda, che noi attendiamo, che voi attendiate, che loro attendano. The imperative forms include attendi (tu), attenda (Lei), attendete (voi). The gerund is attendendo.

Usage notes and nuances: in everyday speech Italian often prefers aspettare for waiting, while attendere is more formal or literary and commonly used in phrases such as attendere a una faccenda or attendere ai propri doveri. The construction in attesa di indicates waiting for something, as in in attesa di una risposta (awaiting a reply). Attendere, with its sense of attention and responsibility, can also imply a degree of anticipation beyond mere timing.