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Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs

Irregular –Ere Verbs in Italian

By Michael San Filippo, About.com

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
INFINITIVEREMOTE PAST
INDICATIVEPAST PARTICIPLE
contendereio contesiconteso
emergereio emersiemerso
tergereio tersiterso
discutereio discussidiscusso
percuotereio percossipercosso
scindereio scissiscisso
attingereio attinsiattinto
frangereio fransifranto
vincereio vinsivinto
affliggereio afflissiafflitto
leggereio lessiletto
trafiggereio trafissitrafitto
chiedereio chiesichiesto
nascondereio nascosinascosto
rispondereio rimasirisposto

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