Italian Language Lessons
Grammar, spelling, and usage
Italian Present Tense
The Italian present tense (presente) is happening right now. It's a simple tense—that is, the verb form consists of one word only. The present tense of a regular Italian verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the appropriate endings to the resulting stem.
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 (-o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano). See the table below for a sample conjugation of amare (to love).
| PRESENT TENSE CONJUGATION OF AMARE (TO LOVE) |
|---|
| PERSON | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|
| I | (io) amo (I love) | (noi) amiamo (we love) |
| II | (tu) ami (you love, familiar) | (voi) amate (you love, familiar) |
| III | (Lei) ama (you love, formal) | (Loro) amano (you love, formal) |
| (lui/lei) ama (he/she loves) | (loro) amano (they love) |
The infinitive of first-conjugation Italian verbs (those ending in -are) and the conjugated forms of the present tense are pronounced like most Italian words: the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable. The one exception is the third person plural form amano, which is pronounced AH-mah-noh, with stress falling on the first syllable. A few first-conjugation verbs are listed in the following table.
| COMMON FIRST-CONJUGATION VERBS |
|---|
| arrivare | to arrive |
| ascoltare | to listen |
| aspettare | to wait |
| ballare | to dance |
| camminare | to walk |
| cantare | to sing |
| dimenticare | to forget |
| guidare | to drive |
| imparare | to learn |
| insegnare | to teach |
| lavorare | to work |
| nuotare | to swim |
| parlare | to speak |
| pranzare | to dine, to have lunch |
| suonare | to play (a musical instrument) |
| telefonare | to telephone |
| visitare | to visit |
Second-Conjugation Verbs
Italian verbs with infinitives ending in -ere are called second-conjugation (seconda coniugazione) or -ere verbs. The present tense of a regular -ere verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the appropriate endings (-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono) to the stem. For an example on how to conjugate a regular second-conjugation verb, take a look the following table.
| PRESENT TENSE CONJUGATION OF SCRIVERE (TO WRITE) |
|---|
| PERSON | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|
| I | (io) scrivo (I write) | (noi) scriviamo (we write) |
| II | (tu) scrivi (you write, familiar) | (voi) scrivete (you write, familiar) |
| III | (Lei) scrive (you write, formal) | (Loro) scrivono (you write, formal) |
| (lui/lei) scrive (he/she writes) | (loro) scrivono (they write) |
Second-conjugation (-ere) verbs account for approximately one-quarter of all Italian verbs. Although many have some sort of irregular structure, there are also many regular verbs (see the following table for examples) which are conjugated in the same way as scrivere.
| COMMON SECOND-CONJUGATION VERBS |
|---|
| accendere | to light, ignite; turn/switch on |
| battere | to beat, to hit |
| cadere | to fall |
| chiedere | to ask |
| conoscere | to know |
| correre | to run |
| credere | to believe |
| descrivere | to describe |
| eleggere | to elect |
| leggere | to read |
| mettere | to put, to place |
| mordere | to bite |
| nascere | to be born |
| offendere | to offend |
| perdere | to lose |
| rimanere | to remain, to stay |
| ridere | to laugh |
| rompere | to break |
| vendere | to sell |
| sopravvivere | to survive |
While the infinitive forms of both first- and third-conjugation Italian verbs always have the accent on the final -are or -ire, second-conjugation verbs are often pronounced with the accent on the third-to-last syllable, as in prendere (PREHN-deh-ray).
Third-Conjugation Verbs
If there are first-conjugation and second-conjugation verbs, then it stands to reason there are third-conjugation verbs (terza coniugazione)! This final group contains verbs that end in -ire in the infinitive. The present tense of a regular -ire verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the appropriate endings (-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono) to the resulting stem. Note that, except for the voi form, these endings are the same as for regular second-conjugation (-ere) verbs. For an example of how to conjugate a regular -ire verb, see the table below, which conjugates sentire (to hear, to feel, to smell).
| PRESENT TENSE CONJUGATION OF SENTIRE (TO HEAR, TO FEEL, TO SMELL) |
|---|
| PERSON | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|
| I | (io) sento (I feel) | (noi) sentiamo (we feel) |
| II | (tu) senti (you feel, familiar) | (voi) sentite (you feel, familiar) |
| III | (Lei) sente (you feel, formal) | (Loro) sentono (you feel, formal) |
| (lui/lei) sente (he/she feels) | (loro) sentono (they feel) |
Other common -ire third-conjugation regular verbs are listed below.
| COMMON THIRD-CONJUGATION VERBS |
|---|
| acconsentire | to agree, to acquiesce |
| assorbire | to soak |
| aprire | to open |
| bollire | to boil |
| coprire | to cover |
| cucire | to sew |
| dormire | to sleep |
| fuggire | to flee |
| mentire | to lie |
| morire | to die |
| offrire | to offer |
| partire | to leave |
| riaprire | to reopen |
| scoprire | to discover, to uncover |
| seguire | to follow |
| sentire | to hear, to feel, to smell |
| servire | to serve |
| sfuggire | to escape |
| soffrire | to suffer |
| vestire | to dress, to wear |
