4 Italian verbs are divided into three main groups, the conjugations. The conjugation a verb belongs to is determined by the ending of its infinitive:
First conjugation Second conjugation Third conjugation
-are -ere -ire
The forms of the present depend on which conjugation the verb belongs to.
The present is formed by changing the ending of the infinitive, as follows:
Person Singular Infinitive in -are Infinitive in -ere Infinitive in -ire
1st (io) -o -o (-isc)-o
2nd (tu) -i -i (-isc)-i
3rd (lui/lei) -a -e (-isc)-e
Plural
1st (noi) -iamo -iamo -iamo
2nd (voi) -ate -ete -ite
3rd (loro) -ano -ono (-isc)-ono
5 Regular verbs in -are are conjugated as follows:
Endings Parlare To speak/talk
-o (io) parlo I speak
-i (tu) parli you speak
-a (lui/lei) parla he/she/it speaks -iamo (noi) parliamo we speak -ate (voi) parlate you speak -ano (loro) parlano they speak
Andrea e Carla lavorano in Italia. Andrea and Carla work in Italy.
Parlo italiano.* I speak Italian.
Parlate molto!* You talk a lot!
Abitiamo a Genova.* We live in Genoa.
* As we saw in Unit 4, the subject pronoun is normally omitted in the conjugation of Italian verbs.
38 Unit 5
6 Verbs ending in -care and -gare (first conjugation) add h before the endings of the second person singular (-i) and the first person plural (-iamo) in order to keep the hard sound of c and g:
Cercare To look for Pagare To pay
(io) cerco I look for (io) pago I pay
(tu) cerchi you look for (tu) paghi you pay (lui/lei) cerca he/she/it looks for (lui/lei) paga he/she/it pays (noi) cerchiamo we look for (noi) paghiamo we pay (voi) cercate you look for (voi) pagate you pay (loro) cercano they look for (loro) pagano they pay Cerchi Marco? Are you looking for Marco?
Giochiamo a pallone. We play football.
Perché litighi con tuo fratello? Why are you arguing with your brother?
Paghiamo sempre il conto! We always pay the bill!
7 Verbs ending in -iare (first conjugation) normally have only one i in the second person singular and the first person plural:
Cominciare To start/begin Mangiare To eat
(io) comincio I start/begin (io) mangio I eat (tu) cominci you start/begin (tu) mangi you eat (lui/lei) comincia he/she/it starts/begins (lui/lei) mangia he/she/it eats (noi) cominciamo we start/begin (noi) mangiamo we eat (voi) cominciate you start/begin (voi) mangiate you eat (loro) cominciano they start/begin (loro) mangiano they eat Quando cominci la scuola? When do you start school?
Cominciamo la partita. We’re starting the game.
Mangi troppo! You eat too much!
Stasera mangiamo fuori. This evening we’re eating out.
8 Regular verbs in -ere are conjugated as follows:
Endings Prendere To take/get
-o (io) prendo I take/get
-i (tu) prendi you take/get
-e (lui/lei) prende he/she/it takes/gets -iamo (noi) prendiamo we take/get -ete (voi) prendete you take/get -ono (loro) prendono they take/get
Unit 5 39 Prendo il prossimo treno. I’m getting/taking the next train.
Prendiamo questa strada. We take this road.
Anna scrive una lettera. Anna is writing a letter.
Marco e Martina ridono molto. Marco and Martina laugh a lot.
9 Verbs ending in -cere (or -scere) and -gere (or -ggere) change the sound of c (or sc) and g (or -gg), which become ‘hard’ before the endings of the first person singular (-o) and the third person plural (-ono). So care needs to be taken in speaking these verbs:
Vincere Spoken like English To win
(io) vinco k I win
(tu) vinci ch you win
(lui/lei) vince ch he/she/it wins
(noi) vinciamo ch we win
(voi) vincete ch you win
(loro) vincono k they win
Conoscere Spoken like English To know
(io) conosco sk I know
(tu) conosci sh you know
(lui/lei) conosce sh he/she/it knows
(noi) conosciamo sh we know
(voi) conoscete sh you know
(loro) conoscono sk they know
Leggere Spoken like English To read
(io) leggo g [as in ‘go’] I read
(tu) leggi j you read
(lui/lei) legge j he/she/it reads
(noi) leggiamo j we read
(voi) leggete j you read
(loro) leggono g [as in ‘go’] they read Vince sempre. He/she always wins.
Non conosco i tuoi genitori. I don’t know your parents.
Leggono il giornale. They’re reading the paper.
Non piango mai. I never cry.
40 Unit 5
10 Regular verbs in -ire are conjugated as follows:
Endings Partire To leave
-o (io) parto I leave
-i (tu) parti you leave
-e (lui/lei) parte he/she/it leaves
-iamo (noi) partiamo we leave
-ite (voi) partite you leave
-ono (loro) partono they leave
Il treno parte alle 8.00. The train leaves at eight.
I miei amici partono domani. My friends are leaving tomorrow.
Mia sorella dorme. My sister is sleeping/asleep.
Tutte le mattine apriamo le finestre. Every morning we open the windows.
11 Many verbs in -ire (e.g. capire (to understand), costruire (to build), finire (to finish/to end), preferire (to prefer), pulire (to clean) ) follow a slightly different pattern, adding -isc- before the singular endings and the third person plural:
-isc-ono (loro) capiscono Marina capisce tutto.
Marina understands everything.
The lesson/class finishes at 1 p.m.
I prefer speaking/to speak Italian.
There is no way of telling which is the right pattern for a verb in -ire, other than to check in a dictionary.
Interrogative form
12 As we saw in Unit 4, the interrogative is formed by adding a question mark at the end of the sentence:
Carla resta a casa? Is Carla staying at home?
Prendi sempre la macchina fotografica? Do you always take the camera?
Quando partite? When are you leaving?
Capisci tutto? Do you understand everything?
Unit 5 41
Negative form
13 The negative is formed by putting non (not) before the verb:
Non parlo italiano.
Non prendiamo la macchina fotografica.
Giulia e Susanna non partono? Non capisce niente.
Formal form
I don’t speak Italian.
We’re not taking the camera.
Aren’t Giulia and Susanna leaving?
He/she doesn’t understand anything.
14 As we saw in Unit 4, the pronouns used for the formal form are Lei for the singular (for both women and men) and Voi for the plural (the pronoun Loro is much more formal):
( (Loro) Partono, Signori Bianco?)
Do you speak Italian?
Aren’t you taking a taxi, Professor Masi?
Are you leaving(, Mr and Mrs Bianco)?