Italian present tense for regular verbs

Italian ⋙ Italian A1

Welcome to our Italian grammar course for beginners! Today we`re going to talk about the Present tense of verbs.

Verbs are essential elements in any language, and mastering them is crucial to express actions, feelings, and states of being in Italian. In general, verbs are words that represent an action (e.g., "to eat"), a state of being (e.g., "to be"), or an occurrence (e.g., "to happen"). Italian is no exception.

The Present tense is the most commonly used verb tense in everyday conversations. If you understand the Present tense, you will use other tenses in Italian without problems. It sets the stage for further language learning.

Regular verb conjugation in the present tense

The present tense is used to describe actions that are happening at the current moment or are habitual in nature. In Italian, regular verbs follow specific patterns when conjugated in the present tense. There are three main classes of verbs, which have the endings -are, -ere and -ire. So verbs are conjugated based on the subject pronoun to indicate who is performing the action. Let`s go through the basics of the present tense.

Subject Pronouns:

More about pronouns you can read here.

As it was written before, 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 remove the -are, -ere, or -ire ending and add the appropriate endings for each subject pronoun. Now let`s look at the verb endings for each class.

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 there are some irregular verbs in the present tense that do not follow these patterns. The most common irregular verbs in the present tense include essere (to be), avere (to have), fare (to do/make), andare (to go), dire (to say/tell), and others. We will cover them in other articles.

Tips for Learners

Remember, the present tense is the basis for conjugating Italian verbs. As you progress, you`ll gain confidence and proficiency in using Italian verbs in various contexts. Be patient with yourself, and keep practicing regularly. Good luck!