The Italian Present Tense: -are, -ere and -ire Verbs, Plus Key Irregulars
How regular Italian verbs conjugate in the present tense, the special -isc- group, and the most useful irregular verbs.
Italian verbs change endings for each person, so subject pronouns are often unnecessary. The present tense follows three patterns.
The three groups
| -are (parlare) | -ere (credere) | -ire (dormire) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlo | credo | dormo |
| tu | parli | credi | dormi |
| lui / lei | parla | crede | dorme |
| noi | parliamo | crediamo | dormiamo |
| voi | parlate | credete | dormite |
| loro | parlano | credono | dormono |
Because the ending shows the person, parlo already means "I speak". Use io only for emphasis.
The -isc- verbs
Many -ire verbs add -isc- in the singular and third person plural:
| finire (to finish) | |
|---|---|
| io | finisco |
| tu | finisci |
| lui / lei | finisce |
| noi | finiamo |
| voi | finite |
| loro | finiscono |
Other -isc- verbs include capire (to understand), preferire (to prefer) and pulire (to clean). A dictionary marks which verbs follow this pattern.
Key irregular verbs
| andare (go) | fare (do, make) | venire (come) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | vado | faccio | vengo |
| tu | vai | fai | vieni |
| lui / lei | va | fa | viene |
| noi | andiamo | facciamo | veniamo |
| voi | andate | fate | venite |
| loro | vanno | fanno | vengono |
Modal verbs
| potere (can) | volere (want) | dovere (must) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | posso | voglio | devo |
| tu | puoi | vuoi | devi |
| lui / lei | può | vuole | deve |
| noi | possiamo | vogliamo | dobbiamo |
| voi | potete | volete | dovete |
| loro | possono | vogliono | devono |
Modals are followed by the infinitive: Voglio mangiare. — I want to eat.
Present tense meanings
Italian uses one present for both "I speak" and "I am speaking":
- Parlo italiano. — I speak Italian.
- Parlo con Marco. — I'm talking to Marco.
Tips
- Learn one verb from each group first.
- Memorise the irregulars as chunks.
- Use the dictionary to check conjugations.
English Italian Dictionary
Offline English–Italian dictionary with noun gender and accents handled properly
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