INDICATIVE/INDICATIVO

Present/Presente
ENDING ARE ERE IRE
I singular o o o/isco
II i i i/isci
III a e e/isce
I plural iamo iamo iamo
II ate ete ite
III ano ono ono/iscono
Imperfect/Imperfetto
ENDING ARE ERE IRE
I singular avo evo ivo
II avi evi ivi
III ava eva iva
I plural avamo evamo ivamo
II avate evate ivate
III avano evano ivano
Past absolute/Passato remoto
ENDING ARE ERE IRE
I singular ai ei/etti ii
II asti esti isti
III /ette
I plural ammo emmo immo
II aste este iste
III arono erono/ettero irono
Future/Futuro semplice
ENDING ARE ERE IRE
I singular er er ir
II erai erai irai
III er er ir
I plural eremo eremo iremo
II erete erete irete
III eranno eranno iranno

Italian Verbs For Beginners
When learning Italian, students naturally tend to look for grammatical patterns. Studying Italian
verbs in a programmatic fashion is a wise idea, because it's an efficient use of time, and Italian
verbs are classified in a variety of ways.
When studying Italian verbs, though, avoid the temptation to make absolute comparisons to
English. Although there are many similarities between the two languages, there are also many
fundamental differences. In addition, there are always exceptions to the rule. So while taking an
organized approach to Italian verbs is a terrific way to improve your Italian, think of it like
ordering in an Italian restaurant: be prepared to order a different primo if your favorite dish isn't
available.
The Santa Trinit of Verbs
Verbs are fundamental to any language, and Italian is no exception. There are three primary
groups of Italian verbs, classified according to the ending of their infinitives: first conjugation (-
are verbs), second conjugation (-ere verbs), and third conjugation (-ire verbs).
Most Italian verbs belong to the first-conjugation group and follow a highly uniform pattern.
Once you learn how to conjugate one -are verb, you've essentially learned hundreds of them.
And what about those Italian verbs that don't end in -are? Second-conjugation (-ere) verbs
account for approximately one quarter of all Italian verbs. Although many have some sort of
irregular structure, there are also many regular -ere verbs. The final group of Italian verbs are
those that end in -ire.
Feeling Tense? A Little Moody?
Feeling tense studying Italian verbs? Or maybe you're a bit moody. There is a difference. Mood
(a variation of the word "mode") refers to the attitude of the speaker toward what he or she is
saying. There are four finite moods (modi finiti) in Italian: indicative (indicativo), which is used
to indicate facts; subjunctive (congiuntivo), which is used to express an attitude or feeling toward
an event; conditional (condizionale), which is used to express what would happen in a
hypothetical situation; and imperative (imperativo), which is used to give commands. (Note that
modern English only has three finite moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative.)
There are also three indefinite moods (modi indefiniti) in Italian, so-called because the forms do
not indicate the person (i.e., first, second, or third): infinitive (infinito), participle (participio),
and gerund (gerundio).
Moods are divided into one or more tenses, which indicates the time when the action of the verb
takes place (present, past, or future). For reference, the chart below lists the mood and tenses of
Italian verbs in English and Italian.
ITALIAN VERBS: MOOD AND TENSE
Indicative / Indicativo
present / presente
present perfect / passato prossimo
imperfect / imperfetto
past perfect / trapassato prossimo
absolute past / passato remoto
preterite perfect / trapassato remoto
future / futuro semplice
future perfect / futuro anteriore
Subjunctive / Congiuntivo
present / presente
past / passato
imperfect / imperfetto
past perfect / trapassato
Conditional / Condizionale
present / presente
past / passato
Imperative / Imperativo
present / presente
Infinitive / Infinitivo
present / presente
past / passato
Participle / Participio
present / presente
past / passato
Gerund / Gerundio
present / presente
past / passato

CONJUGAREA I
The infinitives of all regular verbs in Italian end in are, ere, or ire and are referred to as first,
second, or third conjugation verbs, respectively. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of
to + verb.
Amare= to love temere= to fear sentire =to hear
Verbs with infinitives ending in are are called first conjugation, or are, verbs. The present
tense of a regular are verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending are and adding the
appropriate endings to the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.
Characteristics of the First Conjugation
Verbs ending in care (cercare, caricare) and gare (litigare, legare): add an h
immediately after the root when declinations start with e or i to maintain the hard c or
hard g sound.
cercare
tu cerchi
noi cerchiamo
io cercher
legare
tu leghi
noi leghiamo
io legher
Verbs ending in ciare (baciare), giare (mangiare), and sciare (lasciare): drop the i of the root
when declinations start with e or i.
cominciare
tu cominci
noi cominciamo
io comincer
mangiare
tu mangi
noi mangiamo
io manger
strisciare
tu strisci
noi strisciamo
io striscer
Verbs ending in iare (inviare, studiare, gonfiare):
the i of the root is conserved, except for the declinations iamo and iate, when the accent
is tonic on the first person singular of the present indicative (io invo).
the i of the root is dropped when the declinations that start with i (i, iamo, iate, ino)
when the accent is not tonic on the first person singular of the present indicative (io stdio).
espiare
io espio
che tu espii
noi espiamo
voi espiate
studiare
io studio
che tu studii
noi studiamo
voi studiate
Verbs ending in gliare (tagliare, pigliare): drop the i of the root only before the vowel i.
tagliare
io taglio
tu tagli
noi tagliamo
voi tagliate
pigliare
io piglio
tu pigli
noi pigliamo
voi pigliate
Verbs ending in gnare are regular, therefore the i of the endings iamo (indicative and
present conjunctive) and iate (present conjunctive) is maintained. re gnare
noi regniamo
che noi regniamo
che voi regniate
sognare
noi sogniamo
che noi sogniamo
che voi sogniate
Note! The second person plural of the present indicative is formed regularly.
voi regnate voi sognate
Irregular First Conjugation Italian Verbs
Many important Italian verbs are irregular: they do not follow the regular pattern of conjugation
(infinitive stem + endings). They may have a different stem or different endings. There are only
three irregular first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in are):
andareto go
dareto give
stareto stay
Note! (Fare, since it is derived from facere, a Latin verb of the second conjugation, is
considered an irregular second conjugation verb.)
Dare is conjugated as follows:
dare (to give)
do
dai
diamo
date
danno
Stare are conjugated as follows:
stare (to stay)
sto
stai
sta
stiamo
state
stanno
The verb stare is used in many idiomatic expressions. It has different English equivalents
according to the adjective or adverb that accompanies it.
stare attento/a/i/eto pay attention
stare bene/maleto be well/not well
stare zitto/a/i/eto keep quiet
stare frescoto be mistaken (or kidding oneself)
stare fuorito be outside
starsene da parteto stand aside, to be on one side
stare suto stand (sit) up straight
stare a cuoreto matter, to have at heart
stare conto live with
stare in piedito be standing
stare in guardiato be on one's guard
Ciao, zio, come stai?Hi Uncle, how are you?
Sto bene, grazie.I'm fine, thanks.
Molti studenti non stanno attenti. Many students don't pay attention.
THE VERB ANDARE
Andare is conjugated as follows:
andare (to go)
vado
vai
va
andiamo
andate
vanno
If the verb andare is followed by another verb (to go dancing, to go eat), the sequence andare +
a + infinitive is used. Andare is conjugated, but the second verb is used in the infinitive. Note
that it is necessary to use a even if the infinitive is separated from the form of andare.
Quando andiamo a ballare? When are we going dancing?
Chi va in Italia a studiare? Who's going to Italy to study?
A means of transportation, if indicated with andare, is preceded by in.
andare in aeroplanoto fly
andare in biciclettato ride a bicycle
andare in trenoto go by train
andare in automobile (in macchina)to drive, to go by car
but: andare a piedi to walk
As a general rule, when andare is followed by the name of a country, the preposition in is used;
when it is followed by the name of a city, a is used.
Vado in Italia, a Roma. I'm going to Italy, to Rome.
Second Conjugation Italian Verbs
Verbs with infinitives ending in ere are called second conjugation, or ere, verbs. The present
tense of a regular ere verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending ere and adding the
appropriate endings to the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.
Characteristics of the Second Conjugation
The passato remoto (historical past) of the second conjugation verbs has two diverse
forms of the first and third person singular and third person plural:
io temetti/temei
egli temette/tem
essi temettero/temerono
io vendetti/vendei
egli vendette/vend
essi vendettero/venderono
Note! In standard usage the forms etti, ette, and ettero are preferred. The majority of
verbs whose root ends in t though, such as battere, potere, and riflettere, take the endings
ei, and erono.
battere
io battei
egli batt
essi batterono
potere
io potei
egli pot
essi poterono
riflettere
io riflettei
egli riflett
essi rifletterono
The verbs fare and dire are considered second conjugation verbs (because they are
derived from two third conjugation Latin verbsfacere and dicere) as well as all verbs
ending in arre (trarre), orre (porre), and urre (tradurre).
Verbs ending in cere (vincere), gere (scorgere), or scere (conoscere) have a
particular phonetic rule. C, g, and sc of the root maintains the soft sound of the infinitive
before the declinations that start with e or i. They take the hard sound before the
declinations that begin with a or o:
vincere
tu vinci
che egli vinca
spargere
tu spargi
che egli sparga
conoscere
tu conosci
che egli conosca
conosciuto
crescere
tu cresci
che egli cresca
cresciuto
Many irregular verbs ending in cere (piacere, dispiace, giacere, nuocere, tacere) maintain
the soft sound by inserting an i before declinations that begin with a or o; if the verb has a
regular past participle ending in uto, an i is also added: nuocere
io nuoccio
tu nuoci
essi nuocciono
nuociuto
piacere
io piaccio
tu piaci
essi piacciono
piaciuto
giacere
io giaccio
tu giaci
essi giacciono
giaciuto
Verbs ending in gnere are regular and maintain the i of the declinations iamo (indicative and
present subjunctive) and iate (present subjunctive): spe gnere
noi spegniamo
che voi spegniate
Verbs ending in iere drop the i of the root before declinations that start with i: comp iere

Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs
Irregular verbs are those that do not follow the typical conjugation patterns of their respective
types (infinitive stem + endings). There are three distinct irregularities:
change to the stem (andareio vado)
change in the normal ending (dareio dar)
change to both stem and ending (rimanereio rimasi)
Irregular Second Conjugation Verbs
There are only three first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in are) that are irregularandare,
dare, and stare. Much more numerous, however, are the irregular verbs of the second
conjugation (verbs ending in ere). These verbs are usually divided into two groups:
verbs in re, (cadere, dovere, valere). The majority of irregular changes occur in the root,
generally in the present indicative and subjunctive (valgo, valga).
verbs in ere (accendere, accludere) in which the accent falls on the stem. Usually these
irregular verbs have changes in the past remote and the past participle (accesi, acceso).
EXAMPLES OF IRREGULAR -ERE
VERBS
INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST


INDICATIVE PAST PARTICIPLE
contendere io contesi conteso
emergere io emersi emerso
tergere io tersi terso
discutere io discussi discusso
percuotere io percossi percosso
scindere io scissi scisso
attingere io attinsi attinto
frangere io fransi franto
vincere io vinsi vinto
affliggere io afflissi afflitto
leggere io lessi letto
trafiggere io trafissi trafitto
chiedere io chiesi chiesto
nascondere io nascosi nascosto
rispondere io rimasi risposto
Note!
Several irregular verbs of the second conjugation double the final consonant of the stem to form the I
and III person singular and III person plural of the remote past.
INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST
cadereio caddi, lui cadde, loro caddero
tenereio tenni, lui tenne, loro tennero
volereio volli, lui volle, loro vollero
Other irregular ere verbs double the final consonant of the irregular stem.
INFINITIVE REMOTE PAST (with past participle)
bereio bevvi, lui bevve...(bevuto)
conoscereio conobbi, lui conobbe...(conosciuto)
rompereio ruppi, lui ruppe...(rotto)
vivereio vissi, lui visse...(vissuto)
Verbs ending in arre (trarre), orre (porre), and urre (tradurre), like fare and dire, are
considered second conjugation verbs since they derive from contractions of Latin verbs of the
second conjugation (trahere, ponere, traducere, facere, dicere).
List of Principal Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs


accadere
accendere
accludere
accogliere
accorgersi
accorrere
accrescere
addire
addurre
affiggere
affliggere
aggiungere
alludere
ammettere
annettere
anteporre
appartenere
appendere
apporre
apprendere
ardere
arrendersi
arridere
ascendere
ascrivere
aspergere
assistere
assolvere
assuefare
assumere
astringere
attendere
attenere
attingere
attrarre
avvalersi
avvedersi
avvincere
avvolgere
bere
cadere
cedere
chiedere
chiudere
cingere
circoncidere
circonflettere
circoscrivere
cogliere
coincidere
commettere
commuovere
compiacere
compiangere
compiere
comporre
comprendere
comprimere
compungere
concedere
concludere
concorrere
condividere
condurre
configgere
confondere
congiungere
connettere
conoscere
consistere
consumare
contendere
contenere
contorcere
contraddire
contrarre
contundere
convergere
convincere
convivere
correggere
correre
corrispondere
corrodere
corrompere
cospargere
costringere
crescere
cuocere
decadere
decidere
decorrere
decrescere
dedurre
deflettere
deludere
deporre
deprimere
descrivere
desistere
detergere
difendere
diffondere
dipendere
dipingere
dire
dirigere
discendere
discernere
dischiudere
disciogliere
discorrere
discutere
disdire
disfare
disilludere
disperdere
dispiacere
dissolvere
dissuadere
distinguere
distogliere
distruggere
divellere
divergere
dividere
dolere
dovere
eccellere
eleggere
elidere
eludere
emergere
equivalere
ergere
erigere
erompere
escludere
escutere
esigere
esistere
espandere
espellere
esporre
esprimere
estendere
estrarre
evadere
fare
fendere
figgere
fingere
flettere
fondere
frangere
friggere
fungere
genuflettersi
giacere
giungere
godere
illudere
immergere
imporre
imprimere
incidere
includere
incutere
indisporre
indulgere
indurre
infingere
infliggere
infondere
infrangere
insistere
insorgere
intendere
interrompere
intingere
intridere
introdurre
invadere
invalere
involgere
irrompere
ledere
leggere
maledire
mantenere
mescere
mettere
mordere
mungere
muovere
nascere
nascondere
nuocere
occorrere
offendere
omettere
opporre
opprimere
ottenere
ottundere
parere
pendere
percorrere
perdere
permanere
permettere
persuadere
pervadere
piacere
piangere
piovere
porgere
porre
posporre
possedere
potere
precludere
prediligere
predire
prefiggere
preludere
premettere
prendere
preporre
prescegliere
prescindere
prescrivere
presiedere
presumere
pretendere
prevalere
prevedere
produrre
promettere
prorompere
prosciogliere
proteggere
protendere
protrarre
provvedere
pungere
racchiudere
radere
raggiungere
recidere
recingere
redigere
redimere
reggere
rendere
reprimere
rescindere
resistere
respingere
restringere
retrocedere
riaccendere
riaccorgersi
riannettere
riardere
ricadere
richiedere
richiudere
ricogliere
riconoscere
ricrescere
ridere
ridire
ridividere
ridurre
rifare
riflettere
rifrangere
rifriggere
rifulgere
rileggere
rilucere
rimanere
rimettere
rimuovere
rinascere
rincrescere
riporre
riprendere
risapere
riscegliere
riscuotere
risiedere
risolvere
risorgere
rispondere
ristringere
ritingere
ritrarre
rivalersi
rivincere
rivivere
rivolgere
rodere
rompere
sapere
scadere
scegliere
scendere
scernere
scindere
sciogliere
scommettere
sconnettere
sconvolgere
scorgere
scrivere
scuotere
sedere
sedurre
socchiudere
soccorrere
soddisfare
soggiacere
soggiungere
sommergere
sopprimere
sopravvivere
sorgere
sorprendere
sorreggere
sospendere
sospingere
spandere
spargere
spegnere
spendere
sperdere
spingere
sporgere
stendere
stringere
struggere
succedere
suddividere
supporre
svellere
svolgere
tacere
tendere
tenere
tergere
tingere
togliere
torcere
tradurre
transigere
trapungere
trarre
trascendere
trasmettere
travolgere
uccidere
ungere
valere
vedere
vilipendere
vincere
vivere
volere
volgere
Third Conjugation Italian Verbs
Verbs with infinitives ending in ire are called third conjugation, or ire, verbs. The present tense of a
regular ire verb is formed by dropping the infinitive ending ire and adding the appropriate endings to
the resulting stem. There is a different ending for each person.
Characteristics of the Third Conjugation
Many ire verbs add, between the root and declination, the suffix isc to the first, second,
and third person singular and third person plural of the indicative and subjunctive present
tense, and to the second and third person singular and third person plural of the present
imperative tense:
finireio finisco
tu finisci
egli finisce
essi finiscono
che io finisca
che tu finisca
che egli finisca
che essi finiscano
finisci finisca finiscono
some verbs have both forms, similar to the model of sentire and finire:
languire io languo io languisco
mentire io mento io ment isco
other verbs also have both forms but take on diverse significance:
ripartire
io riparto (to leave again)
io ripartisco (to divide)
Generally the present participle (il participio presente) of third conjugation verbs end in
ente, several have the form iente, and a few can have both endings:
morire morente
esordire esordiente
dormire dormente/dormiente
Some participles change the letter t that precedes the declination of the participle iente to
the letter z:
sent ire senziente
Irregular Third Conjugation Italian Verbs
There are relatively few third conjugation Italian verbs (verbs ending in ire) that are irregular.
In general, irregular third conjugation verbs have alterations to their roots in the present
indicative and in the subjunctive (venire, vengo, venga). Consult the list of principal irregular
third conjugation Italian verbs for reference.
EXAMPLES OF IRREGULAR -IRE
VERBS
INFINITIVE PRESENT PRESENT

INDICATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE
apparire io appaio che io appaia
comparire io compaio che io compaia
morire io muoio che io muoia
salire io salgo che io salga
uscire io esco che io esca
udire io odo che io oda
venire io vengo che io venga
List of Principal Irregular Third Conjugation Italian Verbs

addivenire
apparire
applaudire
aprire
assalire
avvenire
benedire
comparire
convenire
coprire
costruire
divenire
inferire
morire
offrire
premorire
prevenire
provenire
riapparire
riaprire
ricoprire
risalire
riscoprire
riuscire
salire
scolpire
scomparire
scoprire
sdrucire
sovvenire
svenire
udire
uscire
venire

Simple Tenses (Tempi Semplici)

The Latin verbal endings are modified in Italian the dominating trend being the closed
syllables to become open. The major transformations are as follows:
the final -m, -s, -t were dropped everywhere, cf. the Latin forms vivam that I live, vivas
that you live, vivat that he live all coincided in It. viva that I/you/he live;
the final Latin -nt (3rd. p. pl. ending) was changed everywhere to -no, cf. L. amant [they]
love vs. It. amano [they] love, L. legunt [they] read vs. It. leggono [they] read, etc.;
the 1st. p. pl. Latin terminations -mus, -mus, -imus and -mus are generalized in
Italian to -iamo, cf. L. ammus [we] love, tenmus [we] hold, legimus [we] read,
venmus [we] come vs. It. amiamo, teniamo, leggiamo, veniamo;
the Latin characteristic -ba- was softened into -v- and the subsequent endings were
transformed on the pattern of the present tense, cf. L. amabam I was loving, amabas
you were loving, amabat he was loving vs. It. amavo, amavi, amava (cf. the present
forms amo, ami, ama...);
the endings for past simple are easily recognizable as they show much conservatism;
note that some Italian verbs of the 2nd conjugation may use alternative endings;
many verbs of the 4th conjugation (in its major part derived from the Latin 4th
conjugation) have incorporated the inchoative affix -sc- between the root and declination
in some of their forms (namely the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd p. sg. and 3rd p. pl. of the indicative
and subjunctive present tense, and to the 2nd and 3rd p. sg. and 3rd p. pl. of the present
imperative):
Present Indicative
Present
Subjunctive
Present Imperative
Sg. 1 p. io finisco che io finisca finisci
2 p. tu finisci che tu finisca finisca
3 p. egli finisce che egli finisca
Pl. 3 p. essi finiscono che essi finiscano finiscono
Some verbs may have forms either with sc or without sc, cf.:
languire to languish : io languo and io languisco
mentire to lie : io mento and io mentisco
Other verbs have both forms but take on diverse significance:
ripartire : io riparto I leave again vs. io ripartisco I divide.
A similar phenomenon occurs in French (finir : finissons, finissez, finissent
etc.), in Spanish (establecer : establezco, establezca; traducir : traduzco,
traduzca etc.), in Portuguese (agradecer : agradezo etc.) etc.; see the Latin
inchoative verbs.

Non-Finite Verbal Forms
I
II III
stress on
the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Present Infinitive amare temere credere partire finire
Present Participle
Sg.
amante temente credente partente finente
Pl.
amanti tementi credenti partenti finenti
Gerund amando temendo credendo partendo finendo
Past Participle
Sg.
amato temuto creduto partito finito
Pl.
amati temuti creduti partiti finiti
Generally the present participle of 3rd conjugation verbs end in -ente, several have the
form -iente, and a few can have both endings:
morire to die morente dying
esordire to begin esordiente beginning
dormire to sleep dormente / dormiente sleeping

Some participles change the letter t that precedes the declination of the participle iente to the
letter z:
sentire to feel senziente feeling
Many 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs have irregular past pasticiples.
See the list of the Irregular Past Participles.

Finite Verbal Forms
The Present Indicative (Presente Indicativo)


I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
amo
ami
ama
temo
temi
teme
credo
credi
crede
parto
parti
parte
finisco
finisci
finisce
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
amiamo
amate
amano
temiamo
temete
temono
crediamo
credete
credono
partiamo
partite
partono
finiamo
finite
finiscono

Formation: The Latin pattern of endings is modified with the aim the syllables to be opened; thus the final -s and -t
were dropped and the -nt was changed to -no; the 1st. p. pl. termination for all conjugations was generalized to -
iamo.
See the Latin Present Indicative.
See the Usage of the Present tense.

The Imperfect Indicative (Imperfetto Indicativo)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
amavo
amavi
amava
temevo
temevi
temeva
credevo
credevi
credeva
partivo
partivi
partiva
finivo
finivi
finiva
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
amavamo
amavate
amavano
temevamo
temevate
temevano
credevamo
credevate
credevano
partivamo
partivate
partivano
finivamo
finivate
finivano
Formation: The imperfect terminations are marked by the characteristic -v(a)-; in
sigular they were influenced by the endings of the present indicative (-o, -i, -a).
The only exception to the standard formation is the verb essere: ero, eri, era etc.
See the Latin Imperfect Indicative.
See the Usage of the Imperfect tense.

The Past Simple Indicative (Passato Remoto)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
amai
amasti
am
temei
temesti
tem
credetti
credesti
credette
partii
partisti
part
finii
finisti
fin
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
amammo
amaste
amarono
tememmo
temeste
temerono
credemmo
credeste
credettero
partimmo
partiste
partirono
finimmo
finiste
finirono
Formation: The terminations follow well the Latin pattern. The -v- / -u- characteristic
was however dropped and this brought about some regular changes:
L. amavi, finivi => It. amai, finii.
Note the evolution of the 3rd. p. sg. terminations of the -are verbs:
L. amavit => VL. *amau(t) => It. am.
The 2nd conjugation verbs have developped two types of endings for the 1st and 3rd p.
sg. and the 3rd p. pl.; usually they may be used alternatively:
credetti and credei credette and cred credettero and crederono
temetti and temei temette and tem temettero and temerono
vendetti and vendei vendette and vend vendettero and venderono
In standard usage the forms etti, ette, and ettero are preferred. The majority of verbs
whose root ends in t though, such as battere to beat, potere can, and riflettere to
reflect, take the endings ei, and erono.
io battei egli batt essi batterono
io potei egli pot essi poterono
io riflettei egli riflett essi rifletterono
See the Latin Perfect Indicative.
Many 2nd conjugation verbs and a few 3rd conjugation verbs have particular (irregular)
forms in the Past Simple tense.
See the Usage of the Past Simple tense.
The Future Indicative (Futuro Semplice)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
amer
amerai
amer
temer
temerai
temer
creder
crederai
creder
partir
partirai
partir
finir
finirai
finir
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
ameremo
amerete
ameranno
temeremo
temerete
temeranno
crederemo
crederete
crederanno
partiremo
partirete
partiranno
finiremo
finirete
finiranno
Formation: It is derived from the Vulgar Latin modal construction infinitive +the
Present Indicative of the auxiliary habre (It. avere) to have, which is of a future
meaning. In Italian writing the forms of avere were appended to the infinitive to make a
whole word, cf.: finir ho => finir, finir hai => finirai, finir ha => finir etc. Note in the
plural the verbal forms abbiamo, avete were shortened to -mo, -te. Note that the 1st
conjugation verbs change the thematic vowel -a to -e: amare => amer.
See the List of Irregular Future Indicative and Present Conditional verbal forms.
See the Usage of the Future tense.

The Present Subjunctive (Presente Congiuntivo)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
che ami
che ami
che ami
che tema
che tema
che tema
che creda
che creda
che creda
che parta
che parta
che parta
che finisca
che finisca
che finisca
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
che amiamo
che amiate
che temiamo
che temiate
che crediamo
che crediate
che partiamo
che partiate
che finiamo
che finiate
che amino che temano che credano che partano che finiscano
Practical Rule of Formation: Most verbs form their subjunctive stem from the first
person plural of the present indicative. The -o of the first person plural is dropped and
the relevant subjunctive endings are added in its place, cf.:
tenere (present: tengo) => che io tenga, che tu tenga etc.
finire (present: finisco) => che io finisca, che tu finisca etc.
venire (present: vengo) => che io venga, che tu venga etc.
See the Latin Present Subjunctive.
See the Irregular Present Subjunctives.
See the Usage of the Subjunctive mood.

The Imperfect Subjunctive (Imperfetto Congiuntivo)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
che amassi
che amassi
che amasse
che temessi
che temessi
che temesse
che credessi
che credessi
che credesse
che partissi
che partissi
che partisse
che finissi
che finissi
che finisse
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
che amassimo
che amaste
che amassero
che temessimo
che temeste
che temessero
che credessimo
che credeste
che credessero
che partissimo
che partiste
che partissero
che finissimo
che finiste
che finissero
Formation: It follows pretty well the Latin pattern. See the Latin Imperfect Subjunctive.

The Present Conditional (Condizionale Presente)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
amerei
ameresti
temerei
temeresti
crederei
crederesti
partirei
partiresti
finirei
finiresti
amerebbe temerebbe crederebbe partirebbe finirebbe
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
ameremmo
amereste
amerebbero
temeremmo
temereste
temerebbero
crederemmo
credereste
crederebbero
partiremmo
partireste
partirebbero
finiremmo
finireste
finirebbero
Formation: Historically the Present Conditional was formed by appending the past
simple forms of the auxiliary avere to have to the infinitive (in 1st and 2nd p. the
auxiliary is shortened). Note that the 1st conjugation verbs change the thematic vowel -
a to -e: amare => amerebbe.
See the List of Irregular Future Indicative and Present Conditional verbal forms.
See the Usage of the Conditional mood.

The Present Imperative (Imperativo)



I
II III
stress on the
penultimate
stress on the
antepenultimate
w/o -sc- with -sc-
Sg. 1.
2.
3.
--
ama
ami
--
temi
tema
--
credi
creda
--
parti
parta
--
finisci
finisca
Pl. 1.
2.
3.
amiamo
amate
amino
temiamo
temete
temano
crediamo
credete
credano
partiamo
partite
partano
finiamo
finite
finiscano
Formation: The forms of the 2 p. sg. and pl. inherit the Latin Present Imperative.
The other imperative forms are borrowed from the Present Indicative (1st p. pl.) and
Present Subjunctive.
See the Usage of the Imperative.

To Be & to Have / Essere & avere
Essere - to be
I am sono soh-noh we are siamo see-ah-moh
you are sei say you are siete see-eh-teh
he/she/it is eh they are sono soh-noh
You do not have to use the subject pronouns as the different conjugations imply the subject, but
they are included in the recordings.
Past & Future of Essere
I was ero we were eravamo I will be sar we will be saremo
you were eri you were eravate you will be sarai you will be sarete
he/she was era they were erano he/she will be sar they will be saranno
Avere - to have
I have ho oh We have abbiamo ahb-bee-ah-mo
you have hai eye you have avete ah-veh-teh
he/she has ha ah they have hanno ahn-noh
Past & Future of Avere
I had avevo we had avevamo I will have avr we will have avremo
you had avevi you had avevate you will have avrai you will have avrete
he/she had aveva they had avevano he/she will have avr they will have avranno

Avere is used with many idioms and expressions that normally use the verb "to be" in English:

avere fame - to be hungry
avere sete - to be thirsty
avere caldo - to be warm
avere freddo - to be cold
avere fretta - to be in a hurry
avere paura (di) - to be afraid (of)
avere ragione - to be right
avere torto - to be wrong
avere sonno - to be sleepy
avere bisogno di - to need
avere voglia di - to want, to feel like
avere 20 anni - to be 20 years old
When avere is followed by a word beginning with a consonant, the final -e is often dropped: aver
caldo, aver fretta, aver ragione, etc.