Indicative mood in Italian

The indicative mood (modo indicativo) is one of the most important moods of the Italian grammar.
It is a finite mood and it is made up of 8 tenses: 4 simple tenses and 4 compound tenses:

The indicative mood is the most common and most used mood in the Italian language.
It is used to refer to a fact, an action or an idea that is considered sure, certain and very likely to happen. 
The indicative is the mood of certainty.

Examples:

• Io parlo tre lingue (I speak three languages)
• Domani partirò per le Hawaii (Tomorrow I will leave to go to Hawaii)

This Italian mood can be found both in main clauses and in subordinate clauses.

Examples: 

• Io suono la chitarra (I play the guitar) - main clause
• E' così gentile che tutti lo amano (He is so kind that everybody loves him) - subordinate clause

In everyday language, the indicative mood is increasingly used to replace other moods of the Italian language such as the subjunctive or the conditional. Despite this, it is important to avoid this tendency and to be aware of the correct use of each of these moods in order to speak a grammatically correct Italian.

This is just a general page on the Indicative mood: for further information on the tenses, on the Indicative conjugation and for the chance to try some exercises, check out our main course on the indicative mood: Italian conjugation and tenses.