How To Conjugate Italian Verbs

How To Conjugate Italian Verbs

Here's How:

1. Learn the present tenses of avere (to have) and essere (to be) first. They form the keystone to all other Italian verb conjugations.
2. Although it may be seem tedious, memorize the endings for each class of verbs to facilitate conjugation skills.
3. Understand that Italian verbs fall into three conjugations depending on the endings of the infinitive: 1) -are, 2) -ere, and 3) -ire. The stem of regular verbs is obtained by dropping the infinitive ending.
4. Recognize that Italian verbs are conjugated in the various persons, numbers, and tenses by adding the proper ending to the stem.

Tips:

1. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of to + verb.
2. Note that in the third person plural the stress falls on the same syllable as in the third person singular form.
3. Consult a table of verb endings to determine the correct tense.

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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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Irregular Second Conjugation Verbs

Irregular Second Conjugation Verbs

Andare, Dare, and Stare
Many important Italian verbs are irregular: they do not follow the regular pattern of conjugation (infinitive stem + endings). They may have a different stem or different endings. There are only three irregular first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in -are):

andare	to go
dare	to give
fare	to do; to make
stare	to stay

* Dare and stare are conjugated as follows:

dare (to give)	stare (to stay)
do	sto
dai	stai
dà	sta
diamo	stiamo
date	state
danno	stanno

The verb stare is used in many idiomatic expressions. It has different English equivalents according to the adjective or adverb that accompanies it.

stare attento/a/i/e	to pay attention
stare bene/male	to be well/not well
stare zitto/a/i/e	to keep quiet
stare fresco	to be mistaken (or kidding oneself)
stare fuori	to be outside
starsene da parte	to stand aside, to be on one side
stare su	to stand (sit) up straight
stare a cuore	to matter, to have at heart
stare con	to live with
stare in piedi	to be standing
stare in guardia	to be on one's guard

Ciao, zio, come stai?	Hi Uncle, how are you?
Sto bene, grazie.	I'm fine, thanks.
Molti studenti non stanno attenti.	Many students don't pay attention.

* Andare and fare are conjugated as follows:

andare (to go)	fare (to do; to make)
vado	faccio
vai	fai
va	fa
andiamo	facciamo
andate	fate
vanno	fanno

If verb andare is followed by another verb (to go dancing, to go eat), the sequence andare + a + infinitive is used. Andare is conjugated, but the second verb is used in the infinitive. Note that it is necessary to use a even if the infinitive is separated from the form of andare.

Quando andiamo a ballare?	When are we going dancing?
Chi va in Italia a studiare?	Who's going to Italy to study?

A means of transportation, if indicated with andare, is preceded by in.

andare in aeroplano	to fly
andare in bicicletta	to ride a bicycle
andare in treno	to go by train
andare in automobile (in macchina)	to drive, to go by car

but

andare a piedi

to walk

As a general rule, when andare is followed by the name of a country, the preposition in is used; when it is followed by the name of a city, a is used.

Vado in Italia, a Roma.

I'm going to Italy, to Rome.

Fare expresses the basic idea of doing or making, as in fare gli esercizi and fare il letto, but it is also used in many idioms.

fare una domanda	to ask a question
fare una fotografia	to take a picture
farsi degli amici	to make friends
farsi la barba	to shave
fare caldo	to be warm (weather)
fare capire	to explain
fare colazione	to have breakfast
fare i compiti	to do one's homework
farsi coraggio	to take heart
fare un errore	to make a mistake
fare freddo	to be cold (weather)
fare la guerra	to make war
farsi in là	to step to one side
fare nascere	to cause, to bring about
fare la spesa	to buy groceries
fare vedere	to show someone something

The verb fare is used in many expressions relating to the weather.

Che tempo fa?	How is the weather?
Fa bel tempo	The weather is nice
Fa cattivo tempo.	The weather is bad.
Ha fatto caldo.	It has been warm.
Qui fa sempre freddo.	It's always cold here.
In primavera fa sempre fresco.	In spring it's always cool.

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Irregular First Conjugation Verbs

Irregular First Conjugation Verbs

Many important Italian verbs are irregular: they do not follow the regular pattern of conjugation (infinitive stem + endings). They may have a different stem or different endings. There are only three irregular first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in –are):

andare	to go
dare	to give
stare	to stay

Note! (Fare, since it is derived from facere, a Latin verb of the second conjugation, is considered an irregular second conjugation verb.)

# Dare and stare are conjugated as follows:

dare (to give)	stare (to stay)
do	sto
dai	stai
dà	sta
diamo	stiamo
date	state
danno	stanno

The verb stare is used in many idiomatic expressions. It has different English equivalents according to the adjective or adverb that accompanies it.

stare attento/a/i/e	to pay attention
stare bene/male	to be well/not well
stare zitto/a/i/e	to keep quiet
stare fresco	to be mistaken (or kidding oneself)
stare fuori	to be outside
starsene da parte	to stand aside, to be on one side
stare su	to stand (sit) up straight
stare a cuore	to matter, to have at heart
stare con	to live with
stare in piedi	to be standing
stare in guardia	to be on one's guard

Ciao, zio, come stai? Hi Uncle, how are you?
Sto bene, grazie. I'm fine, thanks.
Molti studenti non stanno attenti. Many students don't pay attention.

Andare is conjugated as follows:
andare (to go)
vado
vai
va
andiamo
andate
vanno

If the verb andare is followed by another verb (to go dancing, to go eat), the sequence andare + a + infinitive is used. Andare is conjugated, but the second verb is used in the infinitive. Note that it is necessary to use a even if the infinitive is separated from the form of andare.

Quando andiamo a ballare? When are we going dancing?
Chi va in Italia a studiare? Who's going to Italy to study?

A means of transportation, if indicated with andare, is preceded by in.

andare in aeroplano	to fly
andare in bicicletta	to ride a bicycle
andare in treno	to go by train
andare in automobile (in macchina)	to drive, to go by car

but: andare a piedi to walk

As a general rule, when andare is followed by the name of a country, the preposition in is used; when it is followed by the name of a city, a is used.

Vado in Italia, a Roma. I'm going to Italy, to Rome.

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Third Conjugation Verbs

Third Conjugation Verbs
–ire Verbs in Italian

The infinitives of all regular verbs in Italian end in –are, –ere, or –ire and are referred to as first, second, or third conjugation verbs, respectively. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of to + verb.

amare to love

temere to fear

sentire to hear

Verbs with infinitives ending in –ire are called third conjugation, or –ire, verbs. The present tense of a regular –ire verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending –ire and adding the appropriate endings to the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.

Characteristics of the Third Conjugation
# Many –ire verbs add, between the root and declination, the suffix isc to the first, second, and third person singular and third person plural of the indicative and subjunctive present tense, and to the second and third person singular and third person plural of the present infinitive tense:

finire
io finisco che io finisca
tu finisci che tu finisca
egli finisce che egli finisca
essi finiscono che essi finiscano
finisci finisca finiscono

# some verbs have both forms, similar to the model of sentire and finire:
languire io languo io languisco
mentire io mento io mentisco

# other verbs also have both forms but take on diverse significance:
ripartire
io riparto (to leave again)
io ripartisco (to divide)

# Generally the present participle (il participio presente) of third conjugation verbs end in ente, several have the form iente, and a few can have both endings:
morire morente
esordire esordiente
dormire dormente/dormiente
# Some participles change the letter t that precedes the declination of the participle iente to the letter z:
sentire senziente

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Second Conjugation Verbs

Second Conjugation Verbs
–ere Verbs in Italian

The infinitives of all regular verbs in Italian end in –are, –ere, or –ire and are referred to as first, second, or third conjugation verbs, respectively. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of to + verb.

amare to love

temere to fear

sentire to hear

Verbs with infinitives ending in –ere are called second conjugation, or –ere, verbs. The present tense of a regular –ere verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending –ere and adding the appropriate endings to the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.

# Characteristics of the Second Conjugation The «passato remoto» (historical past) of the second conjugation verbs has two diverse forms of the first and third person singular and third person plural:

io temetti/temei	io vendetti/vendei
egli temette/temé	egli vendette/vendé
essi temettero/temerono	essi vendettero/venderono

Note! In standard usage the forms –etti, –ette, and –ettero are preferred. The majority of verbs whose root ends in t though, such as battere, potere, and riflettere, take the endings –ei, –é and –erono.

battere	potere	riflettere
io battei	io potei	io riflettei
egli batté	egli poté	egli rifletté
essi batterono	essi poterono	essi rifletterono

# The verbs fare and dire are considered second conjugation verbs (because they are derived from two third conjugation Latin verbs—facere and dicere) as well as all verbs ending in –arre (trarre), –orre (porre), and –urre (tradurre).
# Verbs ending in –cere (vincere), –gere (scorgere), or –scere (conoscere) have a particular phonetic rule. C, g, and sc of the root maintains the soft sound of the infinitive before the declinations that start with e or i. They take the hard sound before the declinations that begin with a or o:

vincere	spargere
tu vinci	tu spargi
che egli vinca	che egli sparga

conoscere	crescere
tu conosci	tu cresci
che egli conosca	che egli cresca
conosciuto	cresciuto

# Many irregular verbs ending in –cere (piacere, dispiace, giacere, nuocere, tacere) maintain the soft sound by inserting an i before declinations that begin with a or o; if the verb has a regular past participle ending in –uto, an i is also added:

nuocere	piacere	giacere
io nuoccio	io piaccio	io giaccio
tu nuoci	tu piaci	tu giaci
essi nuocciono	essi piacciono	essi giacciono
nuociuto	piaciuto	giaciuto

# Verbs ending in –gnere are regular and maintain the i of the declinations iamo (indicative and present subjunctive) and iate (present subjunctive):

spegnere
noi spegniamo
che voi spegniate

# Verbs ending in –iere drop the i of the root before declinations (? declensions) that start with i:

compiere
tu compi
noi compiamo

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First Conjugation Verbs

First Conjugation Verbs
–are Verbs in Italian

The infinitives of all regular verbs in Italian end in –are, –ere, or –ire and are referred to as first, second, or third conjugation verbs, respectively. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of to + verb.

amare to love

temere to fear

sentire to hear

Verbs with infinitives ending in –are are called first conjugation, or –are, verbs. The present tense of a regular –are verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending –are and adding the appropriate endings to the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.

Characteristics of the First Conjugation
# Verbs ending in –care (cercare, caricare) and –gare (litigare, legare): add an h immediately after the root when declinations (? declensions=語形変化) start with e or i to maintain the hard c or hard g sound.

cercare	legare
tu cerchi	tu leghi
noi cerchiamo	noi leghiamo
io cercherò	io legherò

# Verbs ending in –ciare (baciare), –giare (mangiare), and –sciare (lasciare): drop the i of the root when declinations (? declensions=語形変化) start with e or i.

cominciare	mangiare	strisciare
tu cominci	tu mangi	tu strisci
noi cominciamo	noi mangiamo	noi strisciamo
io comincerò	io mangerò	io striscerò

# Verbs ending in –iare (inviare, studiare, gonfiare): # the i of the root is conserved, except for the declinations (? declensions=語形変化) –iamo and –iate, when the accent is tonic on the first person singular of the present indicative (io invìo).

# the i of the root is dropped when the declinations (? declensions=語形変化) that start with i (–i, –iamo, –iate, –ino) when the accent is not tonic on the first person singular of the present indicative (io stùdio).

espiare	studiare
io espio	io studio
che tu taglii	che tu studii
noi espiamo	noi studiamo
voi espiate	voi studiate

# Verbs ending in –gliare (tagliare, pigliare): drop the i of the root only before the vowel i.

tagliare	pigliare
io taglio	io piglio
tu tagli	tu pigli
noi tagliamo	noi pigliamo
voi tagliate	voi pigliate

# Verbs ending in –gnare are regular, therefore the i of the endings –iamo (indicative and present conjunctive) and –iate (present conjunctive) is maintained.

regnare	sognare
noi regniamo	noi sogniamo
che noi regniamo	che noi sogniamo
che voi regniate	che voi sogniate

Note! The second person plural of the present indicative is formed regularly.

voi regnate

voi sognate

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