Italian ⋙ Italian A1

Welcome to our Italian course for beginners! We continue to talk about Italian grammar, and today we will learn the present tense of Italian verbs.

Verbs are basic elements in any language. Italian is no exception. We describe actions, feelings, possessions, etc. using verbs.

The present tense is the most commonly used verb tense in Italian, as in English. Understanding the present tense will allow you to use other tenses in Italian without any problem.

Regular verb conjugation in Present Tense

The present tense describes actions that occur in the current moment or are habitual in nature. In Italian, regular verbs are conjugated in the present tense according to specific patterns. There are three main types of verbs with the endings -are, -ere, and -ire. Verbs are conjugated based on the subject pronoun to indicate who or what is doing the action. Let's go over the fundamentals of the present tense.

Subject Pronouns:

More about pronouns you can read here.

As it has been written before, the majority of Italian verbs can be divided into three main conjugation classes based on their infinitive endings: -are verbs (e.g., abitare - to inhabit), -ere verbs (e.g., vivere - to live), -ire verbs (e.g., partire - to start)

To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, simply drop the -are, -ere, or -ire ending and add appropriate endings for each subject pronoun. Now let's look at the verb endings for each class of Italian regular verbs.

For -are verbs, the endings are -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano. So we need to remove the -are ending and replace it with the appropriate ending.
Example: abitare - to inhabit.

For -ere verbs, the endings are -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono. We also need to remove the -ere ending and replace it with the appropriate ending.
Example: vivere - to live.

For -ire verbs, the endings are -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono. We remove the -ire ending and replace it with the appropriate ending.
Example: partire - to start.

As you can see, the endings change for the pronouns Voi (You all) and Lui / Lei (He / She or You formal).

Irregular verbs

Keep in mind that some irregular verbs in the present tense do not fit these patterns. The most common Italian irregular verbs in the present tense include essere (to be), avere (to have), fare (to do, to make), andare (to go), dire (to say/tell), and others. We'll talk about them in future articles.

Summary

We hope that now you know how to conjugate different verbs in the present tense in Italian. This will give you the opportunity to use verbs in different contexts and situations. As you study, you will become proficient in using Italian verbs. Take the time to practice with verbs (essere, avere, fare, partire, vivere, and abitare) that you are familiar with.
Simply listen and repeat new words aloud, paying close attention to how native speakers pronounce them. You can also use flashcards to help you remember new words faster.

Language learning takes time, so be consistent in your practice and don't be afraid to make mistakes. We will see you in the next lesson, which will deal with the most frequently used irregular verbs in Italian. Good luck!