Ottenere: Full Conjugation

Ottenere (to obtain, to get) is one of the most useful B-level verbs in Italian — it covers everything from getting a permit (ottenere il permesso) to obtaining citizenship (ottenere la cittadinanza), from achieving results (ottenere risultati) to gaining recognition (ottenere il riconoscimento). It is also the easiest member of the tenere family to learn, because it inherits its entire paradigm — every irregularity, every spelling quirk — directly from the base verb tenere. Once you have tenere in your bones, ottenere and its siblings cost you nothing.

This page makes the inheritance explicit. Every irregularity below is the same irregularity that hits tenere; only the prefix ot- (from Latin ob-) is added on top.

Indicativo presente

Two irregularities collide in this paradigm, exactly as in tenere. The -g- appears only where the ending starts with -o (1sg ottengo, 3pl ottengono); everywhere else it disappears. The vowel shift e → ie hits the stressed singular forms only (ottieni, ottiene), so otteniamo and ottenete — where stress falls on the ending — keep the plain e.

The logic behind this pattern is stress-driven: when the stem syllable carries the stress (1sg, 2sg, 3sg, 3pl), the vowel changes; when the ending carries the stress (1pl, 2pl), the stem stays plain. This is why ottieni has the diphthong but otteniamo does not — the stress simply moved off the stem. Once you hear which syllable carries the stress, the form is predictable.

Imperfetto

The imperfetto is fully regular — built on the infinitive stem otten- with the standard -ere imperfect endings. None of the present-tense irregularities carry over; no diphthong, no -g- insertion. Use it for habitual or repeated past actions (da giovane otteneva sempre quello che voleva) or for descriptions of past states (la sua argomentazione otteneva sempre l'effetto desiderato).

Passato remoto

The classic Italian "1-3-3" irregular passato remoto with double -nn- gemination. The 1sg, 3sg, and 3pl take the contracted otten- stem with the geminated nn (ottenni, ottenne, ottennero); the 2sg, 1pl, and 2pl keep the simple otten- stem with regular endings (ottenesti, ottenemmo, otteneste).

The double nn is not a typo — it is the genuine orthography, inherited from the Latin obtinui. The same -nn- pattern appears across the whole tenere family (tenni, mantenni, contenni, ottenni) and also in venni (venire) and a few others. Italian writers and editors are alert to this gemination because the single-n spelling is a near-universal beginner mistake.

Futuro semplice

Note the double -rr-: the contracted future stem otterr- is parallel to terrò (tenere), manterrò (mantenere), verrò (venire), vorrò (volere). Historically this comes from the syncopated medieval form otten[e]rò → otterrò, where the unstressed vowel dropped out and the consonants assimilated. Do not write ottenerò — that is a non-form. The accent on otterrò / otterrà is obligatory.

This is one of the most diagnostic features of the tenere family: the moment you see -rr- in a future stem, you are looking at a tenere/venire/volere-family verb.

Condizionale presente

The conditional uses the same otterr- stem as the future. As always, otterremmo (conditional, double m) and otterremo (future, single m) are the trap pair — one missing letter changes "we would obtain" into "we will obtain." When in doubt, say it aloud: the conditional double consonant gets an audible lengthening that the future does not.

Congiuntivo presente

Built from the 1sg present indicative stem (otteng-) plus the regular -ere subjunctive endings — a useful general rule for Italian subjunctives. Because the three singular forms collapse into ottenga, explicit subjects are often needed for clarity. The noi and voi forms revert to the plain otten- stem, just as in the indicative.

Congiuntivo imperfetto

Fully regular on the otten- stem. Used in hypotheticals (se ottenessi un aumento, cambierei casa) and in past-tense subjunctive contexts (pensavo che ottenesse il visto senza problemi). Note again that otteneste (congiuntivo imperfetto, voi) and otteneste (passato remoto, voi) are identical — only context tells them apart.

Imperativo

The imperative is grammatically available but pragmatically rare — you don't usually order someone to obtain something. It does appear in motivational and self-help registers (ottieni il massimo da te stesso!) and in advertising slogans.

Forme non finite

The participle ottenuto is regular — the expected -uto for an -ere verb. This is one of the kinder corners of the paradigm: after all the gemination and contraction in the present and future, the participle is plain and predictable. Used as an adjective, ottenuto agrees normally: i risultati ottenuti ("the results obtained"), la cifra ottenuta ("the figure obtained").

Compound tenses

Ottenere takes avere as its auxiliary (it is transitive). The participle does not agree with the subject but agrees with a preceding direct-object pronoun.

In the second example, ottenute agrees with the preceding direct-object pronoun le (referring to le autorizzazioni, feminine plural).

Construction: ottenere qualcosa da qualcuno

The default construction is ottenere qualcosa da qualcuno — to obtain something from someone. The thing obtained is the direct object; the person it was obtained from is introduced by da.

A second very common pattern is ottenere di + infinito — to obtain (the right, the permission) to do something:

Etymology

Ottenere comes from Latin obtinēre, a compound of ob- ("in front of, towards, against") and tenēre ("to hold"). The original Latin sense was something like "to hold onto, to keep firmly in one's grasp" — and from there it slid towards "to obtain, to acquire." The semantic logic is that you only truly have something once you can hold onto it.

The shift from Latin ob- to Italian ot- is regular consonant assimilation: ob + t simplifies to ott. The same process produces ottimo (from optimus), ottavo (from octavus), and ottobre (from October).

The full tenere family

Every prefixed form of tenere conjugates identically — same diphthong, same -g- insertion, same -nn- passato remoto, same contracted -rr- future, same -nuto participle:

High-frequency collocations

Ottenere is overwhelmingly a verb of the bureaucratic, professional, and competitive worlds. These collocations are essentially fixed:

• ottenere il permesso — to get permission, a permit
• ottenere la cittadinanza — to obtain citizenship
• ottenere il visto — to get a visa
• ottenere un finanziamento / una sovvenzione — to obtain funding / a grant
• ottenere risultati — to get results
• ottenere il riconoscimento — to gain recognition
• ottenere il diritto a ... — to obtain the right to ...
• ottenere uno sconto — to get a discount
• ottenere il via libera — to get the green light
• ottenere giustizia — to obtain justice

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

Ottenere inherits the entire tenere-family pattern:

1. -ng- in 1sg/3pl present (ottengo, ottengono) — same as tengo, tengono.
2. e → ie diphthong in stressed singulars (ottieni, ottiene) — same as tieni, tiene.
3. -nn- gemination in passato remoto 1sg/3sg/3pl (ottenni, ottenne, ottennero) — same as tenni, tenne, tennero.
4. Contracted -rr- future and conditional (otterrò, otterrei) — same as terrò, terrei.
5. Regular -nuto participle (ottenuto) — same as tenuto.

The auxiliary is always avere (the verb is transitive), and the construction is ottenere qualcosa da qualcuno (obtain X from Y).

If you have already drilled tenere, you have already drilled ottenere — only the prefix changes. The same is true for mantenere and appartenere. Build the pattern once, deploy it across the whole family.