Essentials to Learning Italian Verb Conjugation

Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, understanding Italian verb conjugation is crucial for fluency and even the most basic communication skills. With their various tenses and moods, Italian verbs might seem daunting at first but don't worry. We're here to break things down and make learning both enjoyable and easy. To help you become an expert Italian verb conjugator and learn some of the most useful irregular verbs, we've put together a comprehensive guide on the essentials.

How to Use Verbs in Italian

In Italian, verbs are used in the same way in English—to describe the action of a sentence or a state of being. In fact, the basics of Italian grammar aren't terribly different from English! Italian uses the same components as English grammar—subject, verb, object—and many follow similar patterns. One of the biggest differences is that the verbs need to be changed based on the speaker and the tense in Italian. 

So, in English, you would say something like: I run, he runs, they run, or we all run. But in Italian, these would be written as: io corro, lui corre, loro corrono, and noi tutti corriamo, respectively. At first glance, you might think these conjugations are different words, but they're simply a conjugation of the infinitive form of run (correre).

For native English speakers, conjugation rules are one of the hardest parts of mastering Italian, but it's an essential stepping stone to fluency. 

How to Conjugate Verbs in Italian

When the main verb in a sentence is conjugated, it's been changed to match the subject. So, learning how to correctly conjugate Italian verbs requires identifying the sentence's subject, the verb stem, and the tense. This means that when speaking in the present perfect or presente perfetto, verbs will be different than when using them in the simple past, il passato prossimo. However, you'll always need to be able to identify the verb's infinitive form to properly conjugate them. In the most basic sense, you'll go through three distinct steps.

1. Identify The Subject and Italian Pronoun

Identifying the subject involves identifying the person doing the action in a sentence. This is the first step to knowing how to conjugate the verb. To do this, it's important to familiarize yourself with Italian pronouns and different points of view. You can see all the Italian pronouns you need to know in the chart below.

It's also important to mention the importance of matching gender when speaking Italian. The pronoun lui is typically used for "it" if the object is masculine, while lei is used when it's feminine. You'll also use Lei (with a capital L) when you want to make tu a little more formal. Although Lei (formal tu) and lei (she/it) are used for different subjects, they will follow the same conjugation rules.

You might also find that a pronoun is dropped in a sentence. This is because using a pronoun when the subject is obvious through conjugation becomes a bit repetitive. You can always use them if you want, but native speakers tend to omit them (especially with Italian slang), so it's good to be aware of.

2. Split the Verb's Stem

The verb's stem is the part of a verb that will always appear, regardless of the tense, form, meaning, or subject. So, the next step in understanding conjugation is learning how to split common verbs apart from their stem and their endings. Italian verbs are divided into three groups.

The first conjugation group includes all regular -are verbs. The second conjugation group is all regular -ere verbs and the third conjugation group is all regular -ire verbs.

When you have these verbs, all you need to do to find the stem is drop the ending (-are, -ere, or -ire) and you're ready for the next step. Take a look at how the following verb endings are dropped to create the stem in the examples below.

• Parlare (to speak) — Stem: parl-
• Mangiare (to eat) — Stem: mangi-
• Amare (to love) — Stem: am-
• Leggere (to read) — Stem: legg-
• Scrivere (to write) — Stem: scriv-
• Vendere (to sell) — Stem: vend-
• Dormire (to sleep) — Stem: dorm-
• Capire (to understand) — Stem: cap-
• Aprire (to open) — Stem: apr-

3. Add the Right Ending

Each different conjugation group follows a distinct set of rules for the verb endings, which are determined by the pronoun or subject. While there are similar conjugation patterns for all three regular verb groups, slight differences exist. In the following sections, we'll explore how to follow standard conjugation rules for Italian verbs.

How to Conjugate -are Verbs in Italian

When a regular Italian verb ends in -are in its infinite form, the stem changes follow the same pattern. You can use the chart below to see how regular -are verbs are conjugated in the simple present, past, and future tenses. When talking the the passato prossimo, the most basic "past" tense, you'll add the conjugated version of avere (to have) as a prefix and use the same endings for each. Finally, depending on the ending of the stem word, an additional letter will be dropped to create the past or future tenses.

For example, when conjugating magiare (to eat), the present form will be io mangio, but the future will also drop the "i" to form io mangerò. To help you practice, download Tandem and match with a native Italian speaker today.

Some examples of -are verbs conjugated for sentences in the present tense include:

• Io parlo italiano con i miei amici. — I speak Italian with my friends.
• Tu mangi una pizza deliziosa. — You eat a delicious pizza.
• Noi ascoltiamo la musica classica. — We listen to classical music.
• Mangiamo sempre insieme la domenica. — We always eat together on Sundays.
• Studiano per l'esame di domain. — They study for tomorrow's exam.
• Gioca a calcio nel parco ogni sabato. — He/She plays soccer in the park every Saturday.

The same sentences spoken in the past tense are written as:

• Io ho parlato italiano con i miei amici. — I spoke Italian with my friends.
• Tu hai mangiato una pizza deliziosa. — You ate a delicious pizza.
• Noi abbiamo ascoltato la musica classica. — We listened to classical music.
• Abbiamo mangiato sempre insieme la domenica. — We always ate together on Sundays.
• Hanno studiato per l'esame di domani. — They studied for tomorrow's exam.
• Ha giocato a calcio nel parco ogni sabato. — He/She played soccer in the park every Saturday.

Finally, if you want to talk about these things in the future tense, you'd write them like this:

• Io parlerò italiano con i miei amici. — I will speak Italian with my friends.
• Tu mangerai una pizza deliziosa. — You will eat a delicious pizza.
• Noi ascolteremo la musica classica. — We will listen to classical music.
• Noi mangeremo sempre insieme la domenica. — We will always eat together on Sundays.
• Loro studieranno per l'esame di domani. — They will study for tomorrow's exam.
• Lui/Lei giocherà a calcio nel parco ogni sabato. — He/She will play soccer in the park every Saturday.

Conjugating Italian Verbs Ending in -ere

Regular verbs ending in -ere also follow a distinct pattern in Italian. You can use the chart below to see how regular -ere verbs are conjugated in the simple present, past, and future tenses. 

Some examples of -ere verbs conjugated for sentences in the present tense include:

• Noi vendiamo i nostri prodotti online. — We sell our products online.
• Voi ricevete molte email ogni giorno. — You (plural) receive many emails every day.
• Noi vendiamo la nostra macchina. — We sell our car.
• Loro ricevono molti pacchi ogni giorno. — They receive many packages every day.

The same sentences spoken in the past tense are written as:

• Noi abbiamo venduto i nostri prodotti online. — We sold our products online.
• Voi avete ricevuto molte email ieri. — You (plural) received many emails yesterday.
• Noi abbiamo venduto la nostra macchina. — We sold our car.
• Loro hanno ricevuto molti pacchi ogni giorno. — They received many packages every day.

Finally, if you want to talk about these things in the future tense, you'd write them like this:

• Noi venderemo i nostri prodotti online. — We will sell our products online.
• Voi riceverete molte email ogni giorno. — You (plural) will receive many emails every day.
• Noi venderemo la nostra macchina. — We will sell our car.
• Loro riceveranno molti pacchi ogni giorno. — They will receive many packages every day.

Conjugating Italian Verbs Ending in -ire

When a regular Italian verb ends in -ire in its infinite form, the stem changes that follow are the same. You can use the chart below to see how regular -ire verbs are conjugated in the simple present, past, and future tenses. 

Some examples of -ire verbs conjugated for sentences in the present tense include:

• Loro dormono sempre fino a tardi nei fine settimana. — They always sleep late on weekends.
• Lui finisce sempre il suo lavoro in tempo. — He always finishes his work on time.
• Noi seguiamo la ricetta per preparare la cena. — We follow the recipe to prepare dinner.
• Tu segui sempre il tuo istinto? — Do you always follow your instinct?

The same sentences spoken in the past tense are written as:

• Loro hanno dormito fino a tardi ieri mattina. — They slept late yesterday morning.
• Lui ha finito sempre il suo lavoro in tempo. — He always finished his work on time.
• Noi abbiamo seguito la ricetta per preparare la cena. — We followed the recipe to prepare dinner.
• Tu hai seguito il consiglio di tua madre? — Did you follow your mother's advice?

Finally, if you want to talk about these things in the future tense, you'd write them like this:

• Loro dormiranno fino a tardi domattina. — They will sleep late tomorrow morning.
• Lui finirà sempre il suo lavoro in tempo. — He will always finish his work on time.
• Noi seguiremo la ricetta per preparare la cena. — We will follow the recipe to prepare dinner.
• Tu seguirai il consiglio di tua madre? — Will you follow your mother's advice?

The Most Common Irregular Verbs in Italian

Irregular verbs in Italian are verbs that don't follow the traditional conjugation patterns listed above. Instead, they tend to have completely unique Italian conjugation patterns, making it a frustrating endeavor for learners. Unfortunately, the only way to really master them is to memorize them. Sometimes, the verb is regular in the present tense but irregular in the past or future. Rather than getting flustered and trying to learn them all at once, start with the most common ones and slowly add to your vocabulary. 

Some of the most common irregular verbs in Italian include the following.

Essere (to be)

Avere (to have)

Andare (to go)

Fare (to make/to do)

Dire (to say)

Potere (to be able to)

Learning How to Conjugate Italian Verbs

When you know which group the Italian verb belongs to, you can easily identify its stem and therefore, finalize your verb conjugation. Although it may seem a bit overwhelming at first, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. Another great way to help you solidify your knowledge on how to conjugate verbs is to communicate with a native Italian speaker within the Tandem community.

Tandem is a one-of-a-kind language learning platform that’s powered by millions of native speakers around the world. Rather than working through boring or repetitive content, Tandem allows you to match with a native Italian speaker and communicate using real conversations. All you need to do is sign up, download the app, match with a native speaker of your target language, and introduce yourself! Then, you can then work together to teach each other your native tongue. Our relationship-driven model is what makes Tandem unique, and many of our members even develop long-lasting friendships during their journey towards fluency. To join our community and work on your Italian skills, sign up for Tandem today.