Present Tense of Regular Verbs

Please note: Read carefully the information on Subject pronouns in Section 5 prior to
reading the information below.

In a sentence, the most important part is the verb.

* the meaning of the action

The verb contains (expressed by the verb stem)
this information
* the time of the action
(expressed by the verb tense)

* the person or thing doing the action (expressed by the

verb ending)

The tense of a verb indicates when the action happens. The present tense of a verb refers to
the present moment (as opposed to the past or future) and indicates that the action of the verb
is happening now, it is a general truth or an habitual action.

This is how it works:

Abita vicino alla scuola. (He/she lives near the school.)

meaning abita – from abitare

= to live

abita time abita – ending of the present tense

= he/she lives

doer abita – ending for he/she/it

= he/she lives
In Italian there are 3 classes of verbs

To know the class of the verb look at the infinitive form of the verb.

The infinitive is the form you find in the dictionary when you look up the verb.

The infinitive corresponds to the English form to + verb, e.g. to live.

Class 1 parlare – to speak –are verb

Class 2 vendere – to sell –ere verb

Class 3 partire – to leave –ire verb

The three vowels A for –ARE verbs

E for –ERE verbs

I for –IRE verbs

characterise the three classes of verbs.

Most verbs belonging to the same class have the same endings.
So, when you learn the present tense of parlare, for instance, you
would be able to say the present tense of all regular –are verbs.
This is how you form the present tense of PARLARE
Remove the -ARE part  PARL- then add to it the different endings.

Remember that the present tense in Italian can be expressed in three ways in English.

io parl–o I speak,
I am speaking,
I do speak

tu parl–i you speak,

you are speaking,
you do speak

Lei parl–a you (singular/formal) speak,

you are speaking,
you do speak
lui parl–a he speaks,
he is speaking,
he does speak
lei parl–a she speaks,
she is speaking,
she does speak
noi parl–iamo we speak,
we are speaking
we do speak

voi parl–ate you (pl.) speak,

you (pl.) are speaking,
you (pl.) do speak

loro parl–ano speak they speak,

they are speaking,
they do speak

Loro parl–ano speak you (plural formal) speak,

you are speaking,
you do speak
Here is the present tense of all three categories of regular verbs.

Notice the differences and the similarities.

-are verbs -ere verbs -ire verbs

io parlo io scrivo io parto

I speak I write I leave

tu parli tu scrivi tu parti

you (singular) speak you (singular) write you (singular) leave

lui parla lui scrive lui parte

he speaks he writes he leaves

lei parla lei scrive lei parte

she speaks she writes she leaves

Lei parla Lei scrive Lei parte

you (formal) speak you (formal) write you (formal) leave

noi parliamo noi scriviamo noi partiamo

we speak we write we leave

voi parlate voi scrivete voi partite

you (plural) speak you (plural) write you (plural) leave

loro parlano loro scrivono loro partono

they speak they write they leave
Verbs in -ire (third group)
Not all verbs ending in -ire are conjugated like partire in the present tense. Many -ire verbs
follow a different pattern.

Compare the two patterns.

Group 1 Group 2

partire – to leave capire – to understand

io parto io capisco
I leave I understand

tu parti tu capisci
you (singular) leave you (singular) understand

lui parte lui capisce

he leaves he understands

lei parte lei capisce

she leaves she understands

Lei parte Lei capisce

you (formal) leave you (formal) understand

noi partiamo noi capiamo

we leave we understand
capite
voi partite voi
understand
you (plural) leave you (plural)

loro partono loro capiscono

they leave they understand

Note the following points.

• The endings are the same.
• The second group inserts -isc- between the stem of the verb (cap-) and the
endings in the three singular forms and the loro form.
• The pronunciation of -isc changes according to the vowel that follows.
finire, e.g. Quando finisci? [sh sound]
When do you finish?
Finisco alle otto [sk sound]
I finish at eight
Here is a list of common group 2 -ire verbs.

capire to understand
finire to finish
preferire to prefer
pulire to clean
gradire to like, welcome
arrossire to blush

Please note:

To determine whether a verb ending in -ire belongs to the first or to the second
group follow the suggestion below.
When you cross off the -ire
• observe the 2 letters immediately before this -ire
• if either of these 2 letters is a vowel, in the majority of cases the verb will
follow the -isc- pattern (second group).

First group Second group

2 letters before -ire 2 letters before -ire
contain no vowels contain a vowel

pa rt ire c ap ire
do rm ire pref er ire
se nt ire f in ire