Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs

Irregular –Ere Verbs in Italian

Montepulciano, Italy
Harvey Watts Photography/Moment/Getty Images

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 rimasi)

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).

Consult the list of principal irregular second conjugation verbs for reference.

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
chiedere io chiesi chiesto
nascondere io nascosi nascosto
rispondere io rimasi risposto
Note!

INFINITIVE  REMOTE PAST

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 (with past participle)

bere—io bevvi, lui bevve...(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).

List of Principal Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs

volgere

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Filippo, Michael San. "Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs." ThoughtCo, Apr. 14, 2022, thoughtco.com/irregular-second-conjugation-italian-verbs-2011677. Filippo, Michael San. (2022, April 14). Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/irregular-second-conjugation-italian-verbs-2011677 Filippo, Michael San. "Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/irregular-second-conjugation-italian-verbs-2011677 (accessed March 19, 2024).