Italian Regular Verb Conjugation
Italian Verb Conjugation sounds like a bit of a scary thing. But in fact it's something we do in our own native language everyday.
Simply put, in English or Italian, conjugation is the act of changing a verb to suit the way it's being used.
Remember a verb is a doing word, like 'am'. Now the form of the verb changes according to when it happens, 'I was', who does it, 'she is', and how many of them there are doing it, 'they are'.
Resources for further reading:
Let's have a look at how it works in Italian...
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Italian Verb Conjugations Patterns
Regular Italian verbs are divided into three patterns of conjugation, following their infinitive form.
-ARE
mangiare
to eat
cantare
to sing
volare
to fly
–ERE
vedere
to see
correre
to run
sorridere
to smile
–IRE
dormire
to sleep
coprire
to cover
morire
to die
There is a 4th conjugation, which is generally accepted as a derivation of the third one, due to the fact that the infinitive form ends also with -IRE.
In this conjugation, at the 1st, 2nd 3rd singular and 3rd plural person we have to add the suffix -isc at the stem.
For example:
-ISC
capire
to understand
preferire
to prefer
gioire
to rejoice
Cantare - are
Io canto
I sing
tu canti
You sing
lui/lei/Lei canta
He/she/you (formal) sing/s
noi cantiamo
We sing
voi cantate
You (plural) sing
loro cantano
They sing
Correre - ere
Io corro
I run
tu corri
You run
lui/lei/Lei corre
He/she/you (formal) run/s
noi corriamo
We run
voi correte
You (plural) run
loro corrono
They run
Scoprire - ire
Io scopro
I discover
tu scopri
You discover
lui/lei/Lei scopre
He/she/you (formal) discover/s
noi scopriamo
We discover
voi scoprite
You (plural) discover
loro scoprono
They discover
Capire - ire with isc
Io capisco
I understand
tu capisci
You understand
lui/lei/Lei capisce
He/she/you (formal) understand/s
noi capiamo
We understand
voi capite
You (plural) understand
loro capiscono
They understand
Indicativo Imperfetto
Cantare - are
io cantavo
I used to sing
tu cantavi
You used to sing
lui/lei/Lei cantava
He/she/you (formal) used to sing
noi cantavamo
We used to sing
voi cantavate
You (plural) used to sing
loro cantavano
They used to sing
Correre - ere
io correvo
I used to run
tu correvi
You used to run
lui/lei/Lei correva
He/she/you (formal) used to run
noi correvamo
We used to run
voi correvate
You (plural) used to run
loro correvano
They used to run
Scoprire - ire
io scoprivo
I used to discover
tu scoprivi
You used to discover
lui/lei/Lei scopriva
He/she/you (formal) used to discover
noi scoprivamo
We used to discover
voi scoprivate
You (plural) used to discover
loro scoprivano
They used to discover
Capire - ire with isc
io capivo
I used to understand
tu capivi
You used to understand
lui/lei/Lei capiva
He/she/you (formal) used to understand
noi capivamo
We used to understand
voi capivate
You (plural) used to understand
loro capivano
They used to understand
Cantare - are
io cantai
I sang
tu cantasti
You sang
lui/lei/Lei cantò
He/she/you (formal) sang
noi cantammo
We sang
voi cantaste
You sang
loro cantarono
They sang
Correre - ere
io corsi
I ran
tu corresti
You ran
lui/lei/Lei corse
He/she/you (formal) ran
noi corremmo
We ran
voi correste
You (plural) ran
loro corsero
They ran
Scoprire - ire
io scoprii
I discovered
tu scopristi
You discovered
lui/lei/Lei scoprì
He/she/you (formal) discovered
noi scoprimmo
We discovered
voi scopriste
You (plural) discovered
loro scoprirono
They discovered
Capire - ire with isc
io capii
I understood
tu capisti
You understood
lui/lei/Lei capì
He/she/you (formal) understood
noi capimmo
We understood
voi capiste
You (plural) understood
loro capirono
They understood
Indicativo Futuro
Cantare - are
io canterò
I will sing
tu canterai
You will sing
lui/lei/Lei canterà
He/she/you (formal) will sing
noi canteremo
We will sing
voi canterete
You (plural) will sing
loro canteranno
They will sing
Correre - ere
io correrò
I will run
tu correrai
You will run
lui/lei/Lei correrà
He/she/you (formal) will run
noi correremo
We will run
voi correrete
You (plural) will run
loro correranno
They will run
Scoprire - ire
io scoprirò
I will discover
tu scoprirai
You will discover
lui/lei/Lei scoprirà
He/she/you (formal) will discover
noi scopriremo
We will discover
voi scoprirete
You (plural) will discover
loro scopriranno
They will discover
Capire - ire with isc
io capirò
I will understand
tu capirai
You will understand
lui/lei/Lei capirà
He/she/you (formal) will understand
noi capiremo
We will understand
voi capirete
You (plural) will understand
loro capiranno
They will understand
Practice Phrases containing Italian Regular Verbs – Simple Tense
Io suono la chitarra
I play the guitar ( Indicativo Presente)
Io suonavo la chitarra
I was playing the guitar (Indicativo Imperfetto)
Io suonai la chitarra
I played the guitar (Indicativo Passato Remoto)
Io suonerò la chitarra
I will play the guitar (Indicativo Futuro Semplice)
Suona la chitarra!
Play the guitar! (Imperativo)
Italian regular verb conjugation summary
- Four conjugations, - ARE, -ERE, -IRE, and -IRE with suffix -isc
- Regular verbs have one stem
- Essere (to be) and avere (to have) are the auxiliary verbs
- The passive form is built with the auxiliary essere + past participle
- The intransitive verbs don't have a passive form and they use the auxiliary essere for the compound tenses
For more on Italian grammar check out these lessons!
- Understand describing words with this lesson on Italian adjectives.
- Learn the correct way to use Italian articles here.
- Know your action words with this lesson on Italian verbs.
A presto!
Maria Di Lorenzi: Rocket Italian
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