Verbi particolari: Dovere, Potere, Volere
Dovere, Potere and Volere are verbi modali, also called servili (modal, helping verbs), are followed by an infinitive without a preposition.
They “help” the verb in the infinitive by conveying shades of meaning that cannot be expressed by the verb alone: dovere indicates duty, necessity, or obligation; potere indicates possibility, ability, or permission; volere indicates desire, intention, or determination.
See how the helping verb changes the meaning of the main verb in the following examples:
Escono → They go out Devono uscire → They have to/need to/must go out Possono uscire → The are allowed to/can/may go out Vogliono uscire → They want to/intend to/wish to go out
The following table shows the various English equivalents of the Italian modali in different tenses:
| Dovere | Potere | Volere | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicativo presente | Devi pagare. You must/have to/need to pay. |
Puoi pagare. You can/are able to/are allowed to pay. |
Vuoi pagare. You want to/intend to pay. |
| Indicativo imperfetto | Dovevi pagare. You had to/were supposed to pay. |
Potevi pagare. You could/were able to/were allowed to pay. |
Volevi pagare. You wanted to/intended to pay. |
| Indicativo passato prossimo (Indicativo passato remoto) | Hai dovuto (dovesti) pagare. You had to/were obliged to pay. |
Hai potuto (potesti) pagare. You could/were allowed to/ managed to pay. |
Hai voluto pagare. You wanted to pay/insisted on paying (and did). |
| Indicativo futuro semplice | Dovrai pagare. You will have to pay. |
Potrai pagare. You will be able to/be allowed to pay. |
Vorrai pagare. You will want to pay. |
| Indicativo futuro anteriore | Avrai dovuto pagare. You will have had to pay. You probably had to pay.* |
Avrai potuto pagare. You will have been able to pay. You were probably able to pay. |
Avrai voluto pagare. You will have wanted to pay. You probably wanted to pay. |
| Condizionale presente | Dovresti pagare. You should/would have to/ought to pay. |
Potresti pagare. You could/might/would be able to pay. |
Vorresti pagare. You would want to/would like to pay. |
| Condizionale passato | Avresti dovuto pagare. You should have/ought to have paid. |
Avresti potuto pagare. You would have been able to pay/could have paid. |
Avresti voluto pagare. You would have wanted to/would have liked to pay. |
*Note: remember that the FUTURO can also be used to express probability (a guess, a deduction)
Risorse
Per trovare le coniugazioni di tutti i verbi, usa le risorse in APPENDIX
Usi dei Verbi modali
- PASSATO PROSSIMO or IMPERFETTO?
In the passato prossimo or remoto, dovere, potere, volere indicate that you had to, were able to, wanted to do something, and you did it:
Ho dovuto studiare. I had to/was obliged to study. (and I did) Ho potuto incontrare i miei amici. I was able to meet my friends. (and I did) Ho voluto mangiare al ristorante. I wanted to eat at the restaurant. (and I did)
When used in the imperfetto, on the other hand, they imply intention. In other words, the outcome is not certain unless there is additional clarification (without it, one can imply that the outcome was not as expected).
Dovevamo andare a lezione. We were supposed to/expected to go to class. (it is unclear if we did) Potevamo venire We could/were able to/could have come. (it is implied that we didn’t) Volevamo aiutare. We wanted to/intended to help. (it is unclear if we did)
- ESSERE or AVERE?
When the modali are used in the passato prossimo (or another compound tense), the choice of the auxiliary depends on the verb in the infinitive that follows: when supporting a verb like mangiare, which takes avere, the modal verb takes avere; when supporting a verb like partire, which takes essere, the modal takes essere.
Ho potuto mangiare molto bene. I was able to eat very well. Sono dovuta partire ieri. I had to leave yesterday.
Note: in spoken Italian there is a growing tendency to use avere in both cases.
When a modal verb supports a reflexive or reciprocal verb, the auxiliary essere is used if the reflexive pronoun precedes the verbs, and avere is used if the pronoun is attached to the infinitive.
Mi sono dovuta svegliare presto. or: Ho dovuto svegliarmi presto. I had to wake up early. Mi sarei voluta alzare tardi. or: Avrei voluto alzarmi tardi. I would have liked to get up late.
- Position of Pronouns
As shown in the examples above, pronouns can either be placed before the verbs or attached to the infinitive.
Li ho dovuti aiutare. or: Ho dovuto aiutarli. I had to help them. Mi ci puoi portare? or: Puoi portarmici? Can you take me there? Non glielo ho voluto dire. or: Non ho voluto dirglielo. I didn’t want to say it to him/her/them.
Condizionale di Dovere, Potere, Volere
Dovere
- The condizionale of dovere corresponds to English should + verb or ought to + verb.
Dovrei arrivare verso le otto. I should arrive around eight. Non dovremmo andare al bar stasera. We should not go to the bar today. Gli studenti dovrebbero parlare in italiano in classe. Students should speak Italian in class.
Potere
- The condizionale of potere corresponds to English could + verb, would be able + verb, would be allowed + verb, or might + verb.
Mi potresti aiutare?
Could you help me?
Roberto potrebbe parlare di calcio per ore.
Roberto could talk for hours about soccer.
Potrebbero avere ragione.
They could/might be right.
Volere
- The condizionale of volere corresponds to English would like + verb or would want + verb.
Vorrei un caffè, per favore. I would like a coffee, please. Vorremmo andare in vacanza. We would like to go on vacation. Vorreste venire con noi? Would you like to come with us?
NOTE:
- In English, “would” is used to express a hypothetical situation; in Italian, this is expressed by putting the verb in the conditional: mangerei (I would eat). Remember: the verb “vorrei” means “I would like.”
- In Italian hypothetical (“if-then”) constructions, the conditional is used only in the “then” part of the sentence; in the “if” (= se) clause, the subjunctive (congiuntivo) is used: e.g. Mangerei se avessi fame (I would eat if I were hungry).
- In English “would” is used to express not only a hypothetical or conditional, but also a habitual action in the past. In Italian only the imperfetto (never the condizionale), is used to express repeated or habitual actions in the past: e.g. Quando vivevo in Italia andavo al mare ogni estate (When I lived in Italy I would go to the beach every summer).
