A2 · Can, must, want
Asking politely
« I'd like », « could you », « may I » — three for three.
At a glance
- Remember
- Ask with vorrei; voglio earns a look.
- Form
- (io) vorreiI would like
- Signal words
- vorrei
- potrebbe
- potresti
- posso
- avrebbe
- Trap
- Wrong:Voglio un biglietto per Roma.Right:Vorrei un biglietto per Roma.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (irregular) ending for tense and person
| I would like | (io) vorrei |
| you would like | (tu) vorresti |
| he / she would like, you would like (formal) | (lui / lei / Lei) vorrebbe |
| we would like | (noi) vorremmo |
| you would like (plural) | (voi) vorreste |
| they would like | (loro) vorrebbero |
| I could | (io) potrei |
| you could | (tu) potresti |
| he / she could, you could (formal) | (lui / lei / Lei) potrebbe |
| we could | (noi) potremmo |
| you could (plural) | (voi) potreste |
| they could | (loro) potrebbero |
| may I | posso |
| would you have | avrebbe |
| would you give me | mi darebbe |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The polite request goes in the condizionale, hardly ever in the present.
Vorrei un caffè, per favore.I would like a coffee, please.
potrebbe is for a stranger, potresti for a friend — one form, two persons.
Potrebbe ripetere?Could you repeat that?
posso with a question intonation is the permission question in every register.
Posso entrare?May I come in?
per favore at the end, or it sounds abrupt.
Vorrei il conto, per favore.I would like the bill, please.
Example sentences
Vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due.I would like to book a table for two.
Potrebbe indicarmi la stazione?Could you show me the way to the station?
Posso farle una domanda?May I ask you a question?
Avrebbe da cambiare?Would you have any change?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Voglio is grammatically correct and wrong in a shop. It is the form a child uses while stamping a foot. Adults say vorrei — not as an extra layer of politeness added to a plain request, but as the form that is expected in the first place, the way English expects « I'd like » rather than « I want ».
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Voglio means « I want », and ordering with it earns a look. The request goes in the condizionale: vorrei, which is « I would like » built the same way out of the same verb.
Addressed to somebody else: potrebbeto a strangerpotrestito a friend Both are the condizionale of potere, and English uses one word, « could », for both.
For one's own permission posso with a question intonation is enough. There is no formal « may I » here as a separate verb: posso is right in every register, from a friend's kitchen to an office.
And one phrase softens any request: per favore or per cortesia at the end. Without it the sentence sounds clipped, exactly as an English request without « please » does.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: potere · volere · avere · cambiare