Italian Verb Tenses

The Present Tense

Formation

Regular verbs in the present tense fall into three groups depending on the ending of the verb. There are "are", "ere", and "ire" verbs. However, there are four different conjugations, because there are two different conjugations for the "ire" verbs. Make sure that when you learn a new "ire" verb you also learn which conjugation it uses.

The present tense is formed by adding the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb.

 

Group 1: -are Verbs

	singular	plural
1st-person	o	iamo
2nd-person	i	ate
3rd-person	a	ano

Examples:

io parlo, tu parli, lui parla, noi parliamo, voi parlate, loro parlano

Group 2: -ere Verbs

	singular	plural
1st-person	o	iamo
2nd-person	i	ete
3rd-person	e	ono

Examples:

io credo, tu credi, lui crede, noi crediamo, voi credete, loro credono

Group 3: -ire Verbs (First Conjugation)

	singular	plural
1st-person	o	iamo
2nd-person	i	ite
3rd-person	e	ono

Examples:

io dormo, tu dormi, lui dorme, noi dormiamo, voi dormite, loro dormono

Group 3: -ire Verbs (Second Conjugation)

	singular	plural
1st-person	isco	iamo
2nd-person	isci	ite
3rd-person	isce	iscono

Examples:

io finisco, tu finisci, lui finisce, noi finiamo, voi finite, loro finiscono

Usage

The present tense in Italian is used to refer to actions taking place in the present, continuous actions, habitual actions, as well as actions that will occur in the near future.

The 3 English forms it is equivalent to are as follows:

1. I speak
2. I do speak
3. I am speaking

*Note: Keep in mind that the conjugated form of the verb will already indicate the bolded parts. No further words need to be added.

For example:

1. io parlo
2. io parlo
3. io parlo

So as you can see, the Italian form of the verb can indicate any of the 3 of the English equivalents.