Irregular Second and Third Conjugation Verbs

Irregular Second and Third Conjugation Verbs

Irregular verbs are those that do not follow the typical conjugation patterns of their respective types (infinitive stem + endings). There are three distinct irregularities:

change to the stem (andare – io vado)
change in the normal ending (dare – io darò)
change to both stem and ending (rimanere – io ramasi).

Irregular Second Conjugation Verbs
There are only three first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in –are) that are irregular – andare, dare, and stare. Much more numerous, however, are the irregular verbs of the second conjugation (verbs ending in –ere). These verbs are usually divided into two groups:

verbs in –ére, (cadere, dovere, valere). The majority of irregular changes occur in the root, generally in the present indicative and subjunctive (valg–o, valg–a). verbs in –’ere (accendere, accludere) in which the accent falls on the stem. Usually these irregular verbs have changes in the past remote and the past participle (acce–si, acce–so).

Examples of irregular –ere verbs INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST

	INDICATIVE	PAST PARTICIPLE
contendere	io contesi	conteso
emergere	io emersi	emerso
tergere	io tersi	terso
discutere	io discussi	discusso
percuotere	io percossi	percosso
scindere	io scissi	scisso
attingere	io attinsi	attinto
frangere	io fransi	franto
vincere	io vinsi	vinto
affliggere	io afflissi	afflitto
leggere	io lessi	letto
trafiggere	io trafissi	trafitto
chiedire	io chiesi	chiesto
nascondere	io nascosi	nascosto
rispondere	io rimasi	risposto

Consult the list of principal irregular second and third conjugation verbs for reference.

Note! Several irregular verbs of the second conjugation double the final consonant of the stem to form the I and III person singular and III person plural of the remote past.

INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST

	SUBJUNCTIVE
cadere	io caddi, lui cadde, loro caddero
tenere	io tenni, lui tenne, loro tennero
volere	io volli, lui volle, loro vollero

Other irregular –ere verbs double the final consonant of the irregular stem.

INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST

	INDICATIVE	PAST PARTICIPLE
bere	io bevvi, lui bevvi...	bevuto
conoscere	io conobbi, lui conobbe...	conosciuto
rompere	io ruppi, lui ruppe	rotto
vivere	io vissi, lui visse...	vissuto

Verbs ending in –arre (trarre), –orre (porre), and –urre (tradurre), like fare and dire, are considered second conjugation verbs since they derive from contractions of Latin verbs of the second conjugation (trahere, ponere, traducere, facere, dicere).

Irregular Third Conjugation Verbs
There are relatively few third conjugation verbs (verbs ending in –ire) that are irregular. In general, irregular third conjugation verbs have alterations to their roots in the present indicative and in the subjunctive (ven–ire, veng–o, veng–a). Consult the list of principal irregular second and third conjugation verbs for reference.

Examples of irregular –ire verbs

INFINITIVE	PRESENT	PRESENT
	INDICATIVE	SUBJUNCTIVE
apparire	io appaio	che io appaia
comparire	io compaio	che io compaia
dire	io dico	che io dica
morire	io muoio	che io muoia
salire	io salgo	che io salga
uscire	io esco	che io esca
udire	io odo	che io oda
venire	io vengo	che io venga

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