Italian 2.2. Present Indicative Tense II: Irregular Verbs

In this lesson, we will cove irregular verbs in the present indicative tense in Italian. Let us first review regular verbs.

Regular Verbs

As we discussed in Level I, Lesson 6, regular verbs in the present indicative tense follow the conjugation rules shown in the table:

	-are ending e.g., parlare (to speak)	-ere ending e.g., vendere (to sell)	-ire ending (Type I) e.g., partire (to leave)	-ire ending (Type II) e.g., finire (to finish)
io	parlo	vendo	parto	finisco
tu	parli	vendi	parti	finisci
lui/lei	parla	vende	parte	finisce
noi	parliamo	vendiamo	partiamo	finiamo
voi	parlate	vendete	partite	finite
loro	parlano	vendono	partono	finiscono

Some verbs deviate from the general conjugation rules in the present indicative tense. Some of these deviations are simple and easy to apply, while others may require some practice. You could also use Anki cards to practice more examples until you master this lesson. In addition, you can use the summary in the cheat sheets in Appendix B as a quick reference.

Irregular Verbs

Let us examine five groups of irregular verbs in the present indicative tense.

#1: Completely Irregular Verbs

The first group contains 14 verbs that are common, yet completely irregular, that is, they do not follow a particular pattern of conjugation. These verbs should be practiced and memorized.

	io	tu	lui/lei	noi	voi	loro
andare (to go)	vado	vai	va	andiamo	andate	vanno
avere (to have)	ho	hai	ha	abbiamo	avete	hanno
bere (to drink)	bevo	bevi	beve	beviamo	bevete	bevono
essere (to be)	sono	sei	è	siamo	siete	sono
dare (to give)	do	dai	dà	diamo	date	danno
dire (to say/tell)	dico	dici	dice	diciamo	dite	dicono
dovere (must)	devo/ debbo	devi	deve	dobbiamo	dovete	devono/ debbono
fare (to do/make)	faccio	fai	fa	facciamo	fate	fanno
potere (can)	posso	puoi	può	possiamo	potete	possono
sapere (to know)	so	sai	sa	sappiamo	sapete	sanno
stare (to stay)	sto	stai	sta	stiamo	state	stanno
scegliere (to choose)	scelgo	scegli	sceglie	scegliamo	scegliete	scelgono
uscire (to go out)	esco	esci	esce	usciamo	uscite	escono
volere (to want)	voglio	vuoi	vuole	vogliamo	volete	vogliono

Notice that the verb “stare” can also mean “to be” in some contexts, e.g., “Come stai?” (How are you?), “Sto bene” (I am well), etc.

In addition to these 14 verbs, any verb that is derived from or written similar to these verbs uses the same conjugation patterns. For example, the verb “rifare” (to redo or remake) is conjugated like the verb “fare,” and the verb “riuscire” (to succeed) is conjugated like the verb “uscire.”

#2: Add “g” to the Stem in “io” and “loro” forms

The second group adds a “g” to the stem of the verb in the “io” and “loro” forms. There are four common verbs in this group:

	salire (to go up)	rimanere (to remain)	venire (to come)	tenere (to hold)
io	salgo	rimango	vengo	tengo
tu	sali	rimani	vieni	tieni
lui/lei	sale	rimane	viene	tiene
noi	saliamo	rimaniamo	veniamo	teniamo
voi	salite	rimanete	venite	tenite
loro	salgono	rimangono	vengono	tengono

Notice that the verbs “venire” and “tenere” also change the stem in the “tu” and “lui/lei” forms from “ven-” and “ten-” to “vien-” and “tien-,” respectively.

Verbs that derive from the four verbs in this group are conjugated similarly. For example, the verbs “contenere” (to contain) and “intervenire” (to intervene) follow the same conjugation patterns of the verbs “tenere” and “venire,” respectively.

#3: Other Minor Stem Changes

The third group includes verbs with relatively minor stem changes. For example, the verb “apparire” (to appear) changes the stem from “appar-” to “appai-” when conjugated in the “io” and “loro” forms, whereas the verb “udire” (to hear) changes the stem from “ud-” to “od-” in all forms except “noi” and “voi.” In general, the “noi” and “voi” forms remain unchanged in this group of verbs. Here are four common verbs in this group:

	apparire (to appear)	morire (to die)	sedere (to sit)	udire (to hear)
io	appaio	muoio	siedo[1]	odo
tu	appari	muori	siedi	odi
lui/lei	appare	muore	siede	ode
noi	appariamo	moriamo	sediamo	udiamo
voi	apparite	morite	sedete	udite
loro	appaiono	muoiono	siedono[2]	odono

[2] Another accepted irregular conjugation of the “loro” form is “seggono.”

In addition to these four verbs, similar verbs follow the same conjugation patterns. For example, the verbs “comparire” (to appear or become visible), “riapparire” (to reappear), “scomparire” (to disappear), “sparire” (to disappear or vanish), and “trasparire” (to transpire) follow the same conjugation patterns of the verb “apparirie,” and the verb “possedere” (to possess) follows the same conjugation patterns of the verb “sedere.”

#4: Orthographic Changes

The fourth group includes verbs that are regular in essence but change spelling to maintain proper pronunciation. These are the verbs ending in “-care,” “-gare,” “-ciare,” “-giare,” and “-gliare.”

1. Verbs ending in “-care” and “-gare” add an “h” to the stem in the “tu” and “noi” forms before the “-i” and “-iamo” endings, respectively.

Examples include: “cercare” (to search), “pagare” (to pay), “giocare” (to play), “praticare” (to practice), “negare” (to deny or refuse), “caricare” (to load), “pregare” (to pray or beg), “sporcare” (to make dirty), and “litigare” (to argue).

2. Verbs in “-ciare,” “-giare,” and “-gliare” drop the “i” from the stem in the “tu” and “noi” forms before the “-i” and “-iamo” endings, respectively, to avoid the double “i.”

Examples include: “cominciare” (to start or begin), “mangiare” (to eat), “baciare” (to kiss), “lasciare” (to leave), “strisciare” (to crawl), “arrangiare” (to arrange), “viaggiare” (to travel), “tagliare” (to cut), and “sbagliare” (to make a mistake).

3. Most other verbs that end in “-iare,” that is, excluding “-ciare,” “-giare,” and “-gliare,” follow the same pattern and drop the “i” from the stem in the “tu” and “noi” forms before the “-i” and “-iamo” endings, respectively, to avoid the double “i.”

Some examples are: “abbreviare” (to abbreviate), “cambiare” (to change), “copiare” (to copy), “iniziare” (to begin), “studiare” (to study), and “variare” (to vary).

However, the exception to the rule is that some verbs drop the “i” from the stem only in the “noi” form and maintain the double “i” in the “tu” form, e.g., “avviare” (to start), “fuorviare” (to mislead), “inviare” (to send), “obliare” (to forget), “rinviare” (to postpone), “sciare” (to ski), and “spiare” (to spy).

Finally, keep in mind that verbs ending in “-cere” and “-gere” do not undergo any spelling change, but instead change the pronunciation to the hard sounds “k” (as in “kit”) and “g” (as in “get”) in the “io” and “loro” forms before the “-o” and “-ono” endings, respectively, e.g., “conoscere” (to know), “piangere” (to cry), and “vincere” (to win).

Here is a summary in the context of some examples:

	io	tu	lui/lei	noi	voi	loro
cercare	cerco	cerchi	cerca	cerchiamo	cercate	cercano
pagare	pago	paghi	paga	paghiamo	pagate	pagano
baciare	bacio	baci	bacia	baciamo	baciate	baciano
mangiare	mangio	mangi	mangia	mangiamo	mangiate	mangiano
tagliare	taglio	tagli	taglia	tagliamo	tagliate	tagliano
studiare	studio	studi	studia	studiamo	studiate	studiano
inviare	invio	invii	invia	inviamo	inviate	inviano
vincere	vinco	vinci	vince	vinciamo	vincete	vincono
piangere	piango	piangi	piange	piangiamo	piangete	piangono

#5: Contracted Infinitive Verbs with “-rre” Endings

Finally, the fifth group includes some special, but not so common, verbs that end in “-arre,” “-orre,” and “-urre.” These verbs did not initially appear under the three main verb types in Italian with “-are,” “-ere,” and “-ire” endings. These verbs belong to a group of verbs called contracted infinitive verbs. In these verbs, the stem of the infinitive is shorter than that of the conjugated verb.

For instance, the verb “tradurre” (to translate) is conjugated in the “io” form as “traduco.” Notice that the stem of the infinitive is “trad-,” whereas the stem of the conjugated verb is “traduc-.” The reason for that often goes back to the Latin origin of the verb, which is “traducere.”

This explains the irregular conjugation of many Italian verbs, some of which even belong to the three main verb types. For example, “dire” (to say, Latin: “dicere”), “fare” (to do or make, Latin: “facere”), and “porre” (to put, Latin: “ponere”).

In general, verbs in this group are considered “-ere” verbs because they lost an internal “-e-” when derived from their Latin origin.

Let us examine some conjugation examples of contracted infinitive verbs that end with “-arre,” “-orre,” and “-urre.”

	-arre ending e.g., trarre (to pull)	-orre ending e.g., porre (to put)	-urre ending e.g., tradurre (to translate)
io	traggo	pongo	traduco
tu	trai	poni	traduci
lui/lei	trae	pone	traduce
noi	traiamo	poniamo	traduciamo
voi	traete	ponete	traducete
loro	traggono	pongono	traducono

Other examples include:

-arre ending	-orre ending	-urre ending
“contrarre” (to contract)	“comporre” (to compose)	“condurre” (to lead or conduct)
“distrarre” (to distract)	“esporre” (to exhibit)	“dedurre” (to deduce)
“sottrarre” (to subtract)	“imporre” (to impose)	“produrre” (to produce)

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