How To Conjugate the Present Indicative Tense in Italian
When is Present Indicative Used?
Present indicative tense in Italian is very similar to present tense in English. Present indicative is used when the action:
-
is taking place habitually;
-
is taking place at the moment of speaking;
-
has a future meaning.
When conjugating Italian verbs in the present indicative tense, the verb will fall into either the regular or irregular category. Essere (to be) and avere (to have) are two special verbs in Italian that have their own conjugation, and will be essential when using Italian in the past tense.
Regular Verbs
Italian regular verbs are the easiest to conjugate, since they follow a specific pattern. Three groups of regular verbs exist: -are verbs, -ere verbs and -ire verbs.
-Ire verbs can be a tad tricky, since there are some variations in the endings. Therefore, we will have two -ire verb examples: sentire and finire.
Before beginning a conjugation, students should familiarize themselves with the six persons: three singular persons and three plural persons: io (I), tu (you), lui and lei (he and she), noi (we), voi (you—plural) and loro (they).
-Are verbs are regular verbs that have the ending -are. To conjugate, remove the -are and add the appropriate endings. In this example, we will use the verb cantare (to sing):
io cant- o
tu cant- i
lui/lei cant- a
noi cant- iamo
voi cant- ate
loro cant- ano
The same process is done for -ere verbs, like the verb vedere (to see):
io ved- o
tu ved- i
lui/lei ved- e
noi ved- iamo
voi ved- ete
loro ved- ono
Notice the endings for -are verbs and -ere verbs are similar, except for the changes on the third person singular, second person plural and third person plural. This pattern continues with some of the -ire verbs, like sentire (to hear):
io sent- o
tu sent- i
lui/lei sent- e
noi sent- iamo
voi sent- ite
loro sent- ono
However, other -ire verbs, like finire (to finish) follow a different ending pattern:
io fin- isc- o
tu fin- isc- i
lui/lei fin- isc- e
noi fin- iamo
voi fin- ite
loro fin- isc- ono
Common -ire verbs that are conjugated like sentire include aprire (to open), coprire (to cover), divertirsi (to enjoy oneself), dormire (to sleep), offrire (to offer), partire (to leave), seguire (to follow), servire (to serve/need), soffrire (to suffer) and vestire (to dress).
Common -ire verbs that are conjugated like finire include capire (to understand), colpire (to hit), costruire (to build), fornire (to supply), guarire (to get better), preferire (to prefer), pulire (to clean), sostituire (to substitute), spedire (to send) and unire (to join).
Irregular Verbs
Italian irregular verbs are verbs that do not fit into regular conjugation endings. We will go over the conjugation of the most common irregular verbs in Italian. Students should memorize these conjugations:
potere (can)
io posso
tu puoi
lui/lei può
noi possiamo
voi potete
loro possono
piacere (to like)
io piaccio
tu piaci
lui/leipiace
noi piacciamo
voi piacete
loro piacciono
fare (to do, to make)
io faccio
tu fai
lui/lei fa
noi facciamo
voi fate
loro fanno
volere (to want)
io voglio
tu vuoi
lui/lei vuole
noi vogliamo
voi volete
loro vogliono
bere (to drink)
io bevo
tu bevi
lui/lei beve
noi beviamo
voi bevete
loro bevono
dare (to give)
io do
tu dai
lui/lei dà
noi diamo
voi date
loro danno
dovere (must)
io devo
tu devi
lui/lei deve
noi dobbiamo
voi dovete
loro devono
andare (to go)
io vado
tu vai
lui/lei va
noi andiamo
voi andate
loro vanno
dire (to say)
io dico
tu dici
lui/lei dice
noi diciamo
voi dite
loro dicono
sapere (to know)
io so
tu sai
lui/lei sa
noi sappiamo
voi sapete
loro sanno
stare (to stay)
io sto
tu stai
lui/lei sta
noi stiamo
voi state
loro stanno
uscire (to go out)
io esco
tu esci
lui/lei esce
noi usciamo
voi uscite
loro escono
Essere and Avere
Essere and avere are two very important verbs in Italian that have irregular conjugations. Students should also memorize these conjugations:
essere (to be)
io sono
tu sei
lui/lei è
noi siamo
voi siete
loro sono
avere (to have)
io ho
tu hai
lui/lei ha
noi abbiamo
voi avete
loro hanno
References
- Mezzadri, Marco. Essential Italian. Guerra Edizioni, 2004
