In Italian youll find regulars and irregular verbs. Regular verbs are easier to learn because when conjugating they follow a regular pattern that can be generalized to all the others regular verbs. In this lesson you will learn how to conjugate the Regular Verbs.
In Italian there are 3 different classes of verbs: verbs ending in are, verbs ending in ere, verbs ending in ire. Each class of regular verbs has its own pattern of termination when conjugated. Those classes of verbs are known in Italian as:
- Prima coniugazione – literally ‘first conjugation’ (verbs ending in are)
- Seconda coniugazione – literally ‘second conjugation’ (verbs ending in ere)
- Terza coniugazione – literally ‘third conjugation’ (verbs ending in ire).
When conjugating regular verbs in Italian you just have to preserve the root of the verb and substitute are or ere for the following bold terminations.
| Regular verbs | Prima coniugazione | Seconda coniugazione | Terza coniugazione
(Primo Gruppo) |
Terza coniugazione
(Secondo Gruppo) |
| Person | Parlare
(to speak) |
Rispondere
(to answer) |
Sentire (to feel) | Capire
(to understand) |
| Io | parl- | -o | rispond- | -o | sent- | -o | cap- | -isco |
| Tu | parl- | -i | rispond- | -i | sent- | -i | cap- | -isci |
| Lui / lei / Lei esso / essa | parl- | -a | rispond- | -e | sent- | -e | cap- | -isce |
| Noi | parl- | -iamo | rispond- | -iamo | sent- | -iamo | cap- | -iamo |
| Voi | parl- | -ate | rispond- | -ete | sent- | -ite | cap- | -ite |
| Loro | parl- | -ano | rispond- | -ono | sent- | -ono | cap- | -iscono |
Examples of verbs in each conjugation:
| Prima coniugazione | Seconda coniugazione | Terza coniugazione
(Primo Gruppo) |
Terza coniugazione
(Secondo Gruppo) |
|
| Verbs |
– Amare – (to love)
– Abitare – (to live)
– Parlare – (to speak)
– Mancare – (to need)
– Magiare – (to eat)
– Studiare – (to study)
|
– Temere – (to fear)
– Rispondere – (to answer / reply)
– Credere – (to believe / trust)
– Conoscere – (to know)
– Trovare – (to find)
|
– Morire
– (to die)
– Dormire – (to sleep)
– Aprire – (to open)
– Sentire – (to feel)
– Vestire – (to dress) |
– Capire – (to understand)
– Finire – (to finish)
– Preferire – (to prefer) |
Examples:
Verbo mangiare / verb to eat (verbi regolari – prima coniugazione)
ˇ Io mangio. (I eat)
ˇ Tu mangi. (You eat – informal)
ˇ Lei mangia. (You eat – formal – the ‘L’ of the word ‘Lei’ is always a capital letter)
ˇ Lui mangia. (He eats)
ˇ Lei mangia. (She eats)
ˇ Noi mangiamo. (We eat)
ˇ Voi mangiate. (You eat – more than one person)
ˇ Loro mangiano. (They eat)
Verbo temere / verb to fear (verbi regolari – seconda coniugazione)
ˇ Io temo. (I fear)
ˇ Tu temi. (You fear – informal)
ˇ Lei teme. (You fear – formal – the ‘L’ of the word ‘Lei’ is always a capital letter)
ˇ Lui teme. (He fears)
ˇ Lei teme. (She fears)
ˇ Noi temiamo. (We fear)
ˇ Voi temete. (You fear – more than one person)
ˇ Loro temono. (They fear)
Verbo venire / verb to come (verbi regolari – terza coniugazione primo gruppo)
ˇ Io vengo. (I come)
ˇ Tu vieni. (You come – informal)
ˇ Lei viene. (You come – formal – the ‘L’ of the word ‘Lei’ is always a capital letter)
ˇ Lui viene. (He comes)
ˇ Lei viene. (She comes)
ˇ Noi veniamo. (We come)
ˇ Voi venite. (You come – more than one person)
ˇ Loro vengono. (They come)
Verbo preferire / verb to prefer (verbi regolari – terza coniugazione secondo gruppo)
ˇ Io preferisco. (I prefer)
ˇ Tu preferisci. (You prefer – informal)
ˇ Lei preferisce. (You prefer – formal – the ‘L’ of the word ‘Lei’ is always a capital letter)
ˇ Lui preferisce. (He prefers)
ˇ Lei preferisce. (She prefers)
ˇ Noi preferiamo. (We prefer)
ˇ Voi preferite. (You prefer – more than one person)
ˇ Loro preferiscono. (They prefer)