Languages › Italian Italian Language Lessons: Italian Present Tense Print Caiaimage/Sam Edwards / Getty Images Italian Grammar History & Culture Vocabulary By Michael San Filippo Michael San Filippo Italian Expert M.A., Italian Studies, Middlebury College B.A., Biology, Northeastern University Michael San Filippo co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. He is a tutor of Italian language and culture. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 10, 2020 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) Read More Second Conjugation Italian Verbs By Michael San Filippo 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). Additional Italian Language Study Resources Language Lessons: Italian grammar, spelling, and usage. Audio Lab: Word of the day, survival phrases, ABCs, numbers, and conversation. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Filippo, Michael San. "Italian Language Lessons: Italian Present Tense." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/grammar-spelling-and-usage-4098761. Filippo, Michael San. (2020, August 26). Italian Language Lessons: Italian Present Tense. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/grammar-spelling-and-usage-4098761 Filippo, Michael San. "Italian Language Lessons: Italian Present Tense." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/grammar-spelling-and-usage-4098761 (accessed April 20, 2024). copy citation By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies