Verbs are 'action words'! The verb is the element that conveys information on what the subject does or is and what actions he/she/it accomplishes or undergoes.

The "Indicative" is the basic mode we use in order to "indicate" what the subject does or is. We can give information about the subject in the present, in the past or in the future.

The use of the "present" is rather easy (Io amo l'Italia = I love Italy).

We have 3 main kinds of past: "passato prossimo , imperfetto , passato remoto" (1. Quando ero piccolo, sono andato a Venezia. 2. Garibaldì organizzò la "spedizione dei mille").

The use of the "future" is also rather easy (sometimes it is even omitted and the present is used instead: 1. Questo fine settimana andrò al mare. 2. Questo fine settimana vado al mare).

"Essere" (to be) and "Avere" (to have) are called "auxiliary verbs"; they are called so because they "help" in the formation of compound tenses ("essere" + the past participle of a verb, "avere" + the past participle of a verb) and the passive construction ("essere" + a verb)

[ BEGINNER STUDENTS : please study only the Present Indicative of this verb, as required in Lesson b_1]

[ BEGINNER STUDENTS : please study only the Present Indicative of this verb, as required in lesson 3]

In informal, daily and colloquial situations, Italians often combine the particle "ci" with the verb "avere"; this use of the verb "avere" is grammatically incorrect, but it is pretty common in the spoken language. Therefore you may hear someone asking "ciavete una penna?" (or spelled "c'avete una penna") instead of "avete una penna?" (do you have a pen?) or "ciabbiamo un buon libro da leggere" instead of "abbiamo un buon libro da leggere" (we have a good book to read.) Some Italian writers (Carlo Emilio Gadda...) use the verb "avere" with the particle "ci" in their writings to convey a feeling of 'informal, every day' language.

Italian verbs are divided into three classes:

• first class: verbs ending with "are" (e.g.: "ballare" = to dance)
• second class: verbs ending with "ere" (e.g.: "ridere" = to laugh)
• third class: verbs ending with "ire" (e.g.: "dormire" = to sleep)

Each class has different verb endings that need to be memorized ! See sample in the following chart of regular verbs.

The present indicative of regular verbs is formed by replacing the endings of the infinitive with the endings of the present indicative:

For an automatic verb conjugator click here

The Italian language has many irregular verbs. Following are charts of the most important irregular verbs:

These verbs are called "verbi servili", ( verb that 'serve' - modal verbs); they can be used alone, "voglio una torta" (I want a cake) or, as modal verbs, they are used with another verb in the infinitive tense "voglio viaggiare" (I want to travel). The verb "sapere" is also a modal verb.

The verbs whose infinitive ends with "g+ are" or "c+ are", add an "h" before the endings "i" and "iamo"

The participle indicates "participation".

The participle has a present (participio presente) and a past form (participio passato).

The present form can be replaced by a relative pronoun and the according verb: "il bambino ridente" , "il bambino che ride" (the child who laughs).

The past participle can be used in combination with "essere" or "avere" to create other forms of past like the "passato prossimo, passato remoto", etc... (recent past, remote past...): "ho rotto il bicchiere" (I have broken the glass, I broke the glass.)

The past participle agrees in gender and number with the noun to whom it refers: "il libro comprato ieri è interessante, i libri comprati ieri sono interessanti" (the book bought yesterday is interesting, the books bought yesterday are interesting), "la pasta cucinata da lui è buona" (the pasta cooked by him is good.)

The present participle of verbs ending with "are", "ere", "ire" is formed by adding "ante", "ente", "ente" to the stems of the infinitive.

The past participle is very useful to create many different forms of past (e.g. passato prossimo, trapassato prossimo, trapassato remoto...)

The past participle of verbs ending with "are", "ere", "ire" is formed by adding "ato", "ito", "uto" to the stems of the infinitive.
Please note: the past participle agrees in gender and number with the noun to whom it refers: "il libro comprato ieri è interessante, i libri comprati ieri sono interessanti" (the book bought yesterday is interesting, the books bought yesterday are interesting), "la pasta cucinata da lui è buona" (the pasta cooked by him is good.)

Several verbs have an irregular past participle:

The "passato prossimo" ( recent-past tense ) is used to express an action that began and was completed in a recent past (yesterday, last week, last summer...) : "ieri ho mangiato la mela" ( I ate the apple, I did eat the apple, I have eaten the apple ...) In many Italian regions it is used as the main form of past "l'anno scorso ho viaggiato molto" (literally: last year I have traveled a lot.)

The "passato prossimo" is a "compound tense" because it is formed with one of the auxiliary verbs ("essere" or "avere") plus the past participle of a verb. Whether it requires "essere" or "avere", depends on the verb. If the verb is a transitive verb, it requires the auxiliary "avere." If the verb is intransitive (like most verbs that express movement or state of being) or if the verb is reflexive, it requires the auxiliary "essere."

Transitive verbs may be followed by an object to complete their meaning: "leggo la lettera" (I read the letter) I read what? I read the letter. The "passato prossimo" of transitive verbs is formed with "AVERE" (present indicative) + the past participle of the verb.

Intransitive verbs don't need an object to complete their meaning. The "passato prossimo" of most intransitive verbs is formed with "ESSERE" (present indicative) + the past participle of the verb (if you are not sure whether a verb requires "essere" or "avere" check the dictionary.) With "essere", the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb.

Remember:

• "dormire"(to sleep), "rispondere" (to answer), "viaggiare" (to travel), "vivere" (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary "avere" ("ho dormito, ho risposto, ho viaggiato, ho vissuto...")
• verbs that express movement, like "venire" (to come), "andare" (to go), "uscire" (to go out)... require the auxiliary "essere"
• verbs that express state of being, like "essere" (to be), "stare" (to stay), "rimanere" (to remain), "nascere" (to be born)... require the auxiliary "essere"
• reflexive verbs require the verb "essere"
• the verb "piacere" requires the auxiliary "essere"
• for the position of the pronouns with compound tenses, please refer to the pronouns section

For a verb conjugator click here

To continue with the verbs page click here