The infinitives of these verbs end in –are, and the present tense endings are –o, –i, –a, –iamo, –ate, –ano. These endings are attached to the stem of the infinitive (the infinitive minus –are).

parlare– “to speak” or “to talk”

parlo             parliamo

parli              parlate

parla             parlano

This category constitutes by far the largest group of Italian verbs. Each present-tense form has three possible translations: parlo may be translated by “I speak,” “I am speaking,” or “I do speak,” depending on the context.

The following are some fairly common first-conjugation verbs. Note that several are easily recognizable cognates; the others should be learned.

accompagnare      to accompany            fumare      to smoke

accusare          to accuse                        guardare    to look (at)

amare             to love                              lavorare    to work

ascoltare         to listen (to)                      presentare  to present

aspettare         to wait (for)                      spiegare    to explain

cantare           to sing                              studiare    to study

cercare           to look (for)                       trovare     to find

cominciare        to begin                         usare       to use

comprare          to buy

Verbs like cercare and spiegare, whose stem ends in c or g, add an h before verb endings that begin with i: (noi) cerchiamo; (tu) spieghi. Verbs like cominciare and studiare, with infinitives that end in –iare, add nothing in the 2d person singular and only –amo in the 1^st person plural: (tu) cominci; (noi) studiamo.

VOCABULARY

The possessive adjective and pronoun mio (my or mine) has the following forms.

Note: The definite article is part of the possessive, but in a few cases (in direct address, and with certain unmodified names of relatives used in the singular) it is omitted.

VOCABULARY

Second-conjugation regular verbs have infinitives ending in –ere. The present tense endings of these verbs are –o, –i, –e, –iamo, –ete, –ono; they are attached to the stem of the infinitive.

vendere– “to sell”

vendo             vendiamo

vendi              vendete

vende             vendono

As in the case of first-conjugation verbs, each present-tense form has three possible translations” vendo may be translated by “I sell,” “I am selling,” or “I do sell,” depending on the context.

Third-conjugation regular verbs have infinitives ending in –ire. The present tense endings of many of these verbs are –o, –i,-e, –iamo, –ite, –ono; they are attached to the stem of the infinitive.

sentire– “to hear,” “to listen”; “to feel”

(either physically or emotionally)

sento                   sentiamo

senti                    sentite

sente                   sentono

Again, each present-tense form has three possible translations: sento may mean “I hear” (or “I feel”), “I am hearing,” or “I do hear,” depending on the context.

The following are some fairly common second- and third-conjugation regular verbs:

dormire     to sleep                      spendere*   to spend

partire     to leave                        vedere*     to see

prendere*   to take                      vivere*     to live

ricevere    to receive

*These verbs are irregular in some tenses, but behave like second-conjugation regular verbs in the present.

VOCABULARY

lo¹   him or it (m.)                      li    them (m.)

la¹   her or it (f.)                        le    them (f.)

These direct-object pronouns usually precede the verb of which they are the object. (Exceptions to this word order will be introduced later.)

¹ The pronouns lo and la usually become l’ before a verb beginning with a vowel. The plural pronouns li and le never elide (never become l’ before a verb beginning with a vowel).

VOCABULARY