In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to conjugate Italian verbs in the present tense and the verb essere – to be. We will also learn question words (what, who, when, etc.) and some very common words, and then try to talk about ourselves using everything from this lesson.
Italian verbs end in -ARE, -ERE or -IRE. Each group has its own set of endings, and the differences between them are small. Let’s conjugate three verbs, one from each group: parlare – to speak, rispondere – to answer, dormire – to sleep.
To conjugate a verb, cut off the -are/-ere/-ire part and add the ending that matches the person:
Parlare – to speak
| Io parlo | I speak |
| Tu parli | You speak |
| Lui parla | He speaks |
| Lei parla | She speaks / You (formal) speak |
| Noi parliamo | We speak |
| Voi parlate | You (plural) speak |
| Loro parlano | They speak |
Note the pronoun Lei: with a capital letter it is the polite “you”, the form you use with strangers and older people. It takes the same verb form as “he” and “she”.
Rispondere – to answer
| Io rispondo | I answer |
| Tu rispondi | You answer |
| Lui, Lei risponde | He, she answers |
| Noi rispondiamo | We answer |
| Voi rispondete | You answer |
| Loro rispondono | They answer |
Dormire – to sleep
| Io dormo | I sleep |
| Tu dormi | You sleep |
| Lui, Lei dorme | He, she sleeps |
| Noi dormiamo | We sleep |
| Voi dormite | You sleep |
| Loro dormono | They sleep |
As you can see, -ERE and -IRE verbs differ from -ARE verbs only in three places: lui/lei takes -e instead of -a, loro takes -ono instead of -ano, and the voi form follows the verb group (-ate, -ete, -ite).
One more useful thing: Italians usually drop the pronouns. The ending already tells you who does the action, so instead of “io parlo” you will normally hear just “parlo”. Use pronouns when you want to stress them: “IO lavoro, e tu dormi!” (I work, and you sleep!).
Practice: conjugate the following verbs
Abitare – to live
Lavorare – to work
Imparare – to learn
Amare – to love
Cercare – to look for
Trovare – to find
Prendere – to take
Mangiare – to eat
Pensare – to think
Viaggiare – to travel
A small spelling note: verbs in -care and -gare keep their hard [k] and [g] sounds everywhere. That’s why they add an H before the endings -i and -iamo: tu cerchi, noi cerchiamo; tu paghi, noi paghiamo (pagare – to pay).
Negation
To make a sentence negative, put NON before the verb:
Io non parlo – I don’t speak
Lui non lavora – He doesn’t work
Lei non cerca – She doesn’t look for
Noi non troviamo – We don’t find
Voi non giocate – You don’t play
Loro non mangiano – They don’t eat
The verb ESSERE – to be (irregular)
| Io sono | I am |
| Tu sei | You are |
| Lui, Lei è | He is, she is / You (formal) are |
| Noi siamo | We are |
| Voi siete | You are |
| Loro sono | They are |
Yes, “io sono” and “loro sono” look the same. The context always makes it clear which one you mean.
Question words
Che? / Che cosa? – What?
Chi? – Who?
Quando? – When?
Dove? – Where?
Quanto? – How much?
Come? – How?
Perché? – Why?
A question in Italian is simply a sentence with question intonation: “Parli italiano?” – Do you speak Italian? No extra words like “do” are needed.
Talking about yourself
Now let’s put it all together. A few notes first: with cities we say a (abito a Roma), with countries we say in (abito in Italia). Names of languages and nationalities are written with a small letter: l’italiano, americano.
Sono americano. Abito e lavoro a New York – I am American. I live and work in New York
Siamo di Roma, ma adesso abitiamo a Firenze – We are from Rome, but now we live in Florence
Edoardo e Laura sono di Pisa, ma lavorano a Milano – Edoardo and Laura are from Pisa, but they work in Milan
Che cosa pensi di questo? – What do you think about this?
Lei dove abita? – Where do you (formal) live?
Perché non impari l’italiano? – Why don’t you learn Italian?
Che cosa mangi? – What are you eating?
Viaggi in Italia quando impari l’italiano? – Do you travel to Italy when you learn Italian?
Lei è tedesca, ma abita in Italia – She is German, but she lives in Italy
Vocabulary
| parlare – to speak
abitare – to live lavorare – to work imparare – to learn mangiare – to eat pensare – to think viaggiare – to travel cercare – to look for trovare – to find |
prendere – to take
rispondere – to answer dormire – to sleep adesso – now ma – but e – and anche – also, too qui – here molto – very, a lot |
Exercises
Use the correct form of the verb in the present tense
- Io ______________ a Milano (ABITARE – to live) – I live in Milan
- Tu ______________ molto bene (PARLARE – to speak) – You speak very well
- Maria ______________ in un ristorante (LAVORARE – to work) – Maria works in a restaurant
- Noi ______________ l’italiano (IMPARARE – to learn) – We learn Italian
- Perché voi non ______________? (RISPONDERE – to answer) – Why don’t you answer?
- Loro ______________ una pizza (MANGIARE – to eat) – They eat a pizza
- Il gatto ______________ tutto il giorno (DORMIRE – to sleep) – The cat sleeps all day
- Che cosa tu ______________? (CERCARE – to look for) – What are you looking for?
- Io non ______________ le chiavi (TROVARE – to find) – I don’t find the keys
- Noi ______________ di Napoli (ESSERE – to be) – We are from Naples
- Lui ______________ americano (ESSERE – to be) – He is American
- Dove voi ______________? (ABITARE – to live) – Where do you live?
Answers:
1: abito; 2: parli; 3: lavora; 4: impariamo; 5: rispondete; 6: mangiano; 7: dorme; 8: cerchi; 9: trovo; 10: siamo; 11: è; 12: abitate