ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

The modal verbs (i verbi modali) — potere, volere and dovere — have special considerations when used in compound tenses (such as the passato prossimo) and the imperfetto.

In compound tenses:

- Modals take the auxiliary (il verbo ausiliare), avere, when they are used by themselves in the passato prossimo:

Le ho voluto tanto bene.

I loved her so much.

- Modals, when followed by an infinitive, take the auxiliary, essere or avere, that the infinitive would take:

Ho voluto comprare una giacca nuova.

I wanted to buy a new jacket.

Sono dovuta andare al supermercato.

I had to go to the supermarket.

- When modals are followed by reflexive verbs:

- if the reflexive pronoun is attached to the infinitive, avere is used:

Ha dovuto sposarsi in chiesa perché sua madre ci teneva tanto!

She had to get married in church because it was very important to her mother.

- if the reflexive pronoun comes before the auxiliary, then essere is used:

Si è dovuta sposare in chiesa perché sua madre ci teneva tanto!

She had to get married in church because it was very important to her mother.

- When modals are followed by essere, the auxiliary, avere, is used:

Ho dovuto essere a casa per le cinque.

I had to be at home by five o’clock.

When modals are used in the imperfetto, they can often indicate or describe an uncertainty of an action’s outcome, but that outcome does not necessarily nor does it always remain so. This is best explained with examples, as seen below:

dovere:

Dovevo finire il lavoro entro le cinque; per questo ho perfino saltato il pranzo. Alla fine l’ho consegnato perfettamente in orario!

I had to finish the work by five o’clock; for this I even skipped lunch.  In the end I handed it in perfectly on time.
[Initially there was trepidation that the assignment would not be completed, but in the end, the subject perserveres]

Dovevo finire il lavoro entro le cinque, ma era così tanto che alla fine non ce l’ho fatta.

I had to finish the work by five o’clock, but it was too much that in the end I didn’t manage to do it.
[Initially there was trepidation that the assignment would not be completed, and, in the end, it was not -- it proved to be too much]

potere:

Potevo andare sul sicuro regalandogli l’ennesimo libro, e allora non mi sono scervellato più di tanto: sono andato in libreria e gli ho comprato il solito romanzo d’avventura.

I could play it safe giving him the umpteenth book, and then I didn’t wrack my brains too much: I went to the bookstore and bought him the usual adventure novel.
[I knew that I could play it safe and ended up doing so by buying the usual gift]

Potevo andare sul sicuro regalandogli l’ennesimo libro, ma mi sembrava banale: alla fine ho rischiato e gli ho comprato un vaso cinese.

I could play it safe giving him the umpteenth book, but it seemed banal to me: in the end I took a risk and bought him a Chinese vase.
[I knew that I could play it safe but changed my mind in the end and decided to take a risk and buy a vase]

volere:

Volevo risolvere la situazione senza litigare, e lei lo ha percepito fin da subito e si è calmata.

I wanted to resolve the situation without arguing, and she detected it right away and calmed down.
[I desired to resolve the situation, and in the end it resolved as I wanted - without arguing]

Volevo risolvere la situazione senza litigare, ma lei ha cominciato a rinfacciarmi delle cose assurde e allora ho perso le staffe e ho preso a urlarle contro.

I wanted to resolve the situation without arguing, but she started to hold some absurd things against me and then I lost my temper and started to show at her.
[I desired to resolve the situation without arguing, but it didn't go the way I wanted, and we fought]

When modals are used in the passato prossimo, they refer to an action that has been realized within a given context:

Ho dovuto finire il lavoro entro le cinque perché alle sei avevo un appuntamento importante.

written by Keith Preble & Vittorio Tavini
last updated: 6 may 2011

It is important to understand the differences between the verbs, sapere and potere in the negative:

1. Non sapere indicates a lack of ability in doing a particular task. A good translation for this would be don’t know how. One does not know how because of a lack of training/ability. Sapere is followed directly by the infinitive:

   Non so guidare. I miei genitori non mi hanno mai insegnato.
   I don’t know how to drive. My parents never taught me.

2. Non potere means that you are unable to do something, not because of a lack of skill or ability, but because of some other factor that impedes or prevents you. Potere is also followed directly by the infinitive:

   Non possiamo andare in macchina a Milano. I miei genitori hanno la macchina.
   We cannot drive to Milan. My parents have the car.
   
   

Modals change their meanings in the conditional tense and are often used to make a statement more polite and to soften requests:

• Dovere, in the present tense, means to have to or must. In the conditional, the meaning becomes should, ought to, or would have to.

  Dovremmo donare di piu in beneficenza ogni anno.
  We ought to donate more to charity every year.

  Dovrei trovare un nuovo lavoro quest’anno.
  I should find a new job this year.
  
  

• Potere in the conditional becomes could, would be able to or would be allowed to:

  Non potrei trovare il ristorante in mappa.
  I could not find the restaurant on the map.
  
  Potresti aiutarmi con i compiti?
  Would you be able to help me with the homework?

• Volere in the conditional a more polite form to the present tense and translates as would want or would like.

  Vorrei un bicchiere di vino.
  I would like a glass of wine.

  Vorresti andare all’opera domani sera?
  Would you like to go to the opera tomorrow evening?

• Would like can also be expressed with the conditional of the verb, piacere:

  Mi piacerebbe visitare tutti i monumenti famosi a Roma.
  I would like to visit all of the famous monuments in Rome.

  Ci piacerebbero due biglietti per la commedia.
  We would like two tickets for the play.

Dovere is another modal verb that means¹:

• to have to
• must
• to owe

It is irregular in the present tense, as seen below:

(io) devo
(tu) devi
(lui/lei/Lei) deve
(noi) dobbiamo
(voi) dovete
(loro) devono

Like other modal verbs, dovere is followed directly by an infinitive (except when the meaning is to owe:  She owes me 10 dollars. / Mi deve 10 dollari.)

The past participle is dovuto. Dovere takes either essere/avere in compound tenses depending upon the infinitive that follows it.

When dovere means to owe it is transitive and takes avere in compound tenses (She owed me 10 dollars / Mi ha dovuto 10 dollari).

¹Dovere may have other meanings, but the ones listed above are the most common.

Potere is a modal verb, and it means:

• to be able to
• can

Potere is irregular in the present indicative and the present subjunctive. The past participle is potuto, and potere can takes essere or avere in compound tenses depending upon the infinitive which follows it. If the infinitive that follows is intransitive, essere is used. If the infinitive that follows is transitive, then avere is used.

Potere has a different meaning in the imperfect and the passato prossimo. Read more about that here.

Usually (99.9% of the time), potere is followed by an infinitive.

Present Indicativo

(io) posso
(tu) puoi
(lui/lei) può
(noi) possiamo
(voi) potete
(loro) possono

Present subjunctive

(io) possa
(tu) possa
(lui/lei) possa
(noi) possiamo
(voi) possiate
(loro) possano