The present simple tense - VERBS - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

VERBS

3. The present simple tense

1 How to make the present simple tense of regular –are verbs

Verbs that have an infinitive ending in –are, such as parlare, abitare and studiare have a particular pattern of endings.

To make the present simple tense of regular are verbs take off the –are ending to get the stem of the verb.

Infinitive

Meaning

Stem (without –are)

parlare

to speak

parl-

abitare

to live

abit-

studiare

to study

studi-

Then add the correct ending for the person you’re talking about.

Here are the present simple endings for regular –are verbs:

Present simple endings

Present simple of parlare

Meaning: to speak

–o

(io) parlo

I speak/am speaking

–i

(tu) parli

You speak/are speaking

–a

(lui/lei) parla
(lei/Lei) parla

he/she/it speaks/is speaking
you speak/are speaking

–iamo

(noi) parliamo

we speak/are speaking

–ate

(voi) parlate

You speak/are speaking

–ano

(loro) parlano

they speak/are speaking

Parli inglese?

Do you speak English?

Chi parla?

Who’s speaking?

Parlano bene italiano.

They speak good Italian.

Tip

When you are talking about a male, a female or a thing, or are using lei as the polite word for you, you use the same verb form.

For more information on How to say ‘you’ in Italian, see page 42.

Note that in Italian there’s often no need to use a subject pronoun such as io (meaning I) or tu (meaning you) because the verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action. However, when you’re talking about people you can use the pronouns lui, lei or loro with the verb for the sake of emphasis or to make things clearer.

Parla italiano lui?

Does he speak Italian?

Lei parla bene inglese, ma lui no.

She speaks good English, but he doesn’t.

Loro non parlano mai.

They never speak.

When you’re talking about things you ALWAYS use the verb by itself, with no pronoun.

Vedi l’autobus? – Sì, arriva.

Can you see the bus? – yes, it’s coming.

Vuole queste? – No, costano troppo.

Do you want these? – No, they cost too much.

For more information on Subject pronouns, see page 41.

Key points

If you take the –are ending off the infinitive of a regular verb you get the stem.

you add one of these endings to the stem: –o, –i, –a, –iamo, –ate or –ano.

you only use a pronoun with the verb for emphasis or to be specially clear, but only when talking about people.

2 How to make the present simple tense of regular –ere verbs

Verbs that have an infinitive ending in –ere, such as credere, ricevere and ripetere have their own pattern of endings.

To make the present simple tense of regular –ere verbs take off the –ere ending to get the stem and then add the correct ending for the person you’re talking about.

Infinitive

Meaning

Stem (without –ere)

credere

to believe

cred-

ricevere

to receive

ricev-

ripetere

to repeat

ripet-

The io, tu and noi endings you add to the stem of –ere verbs are the same as –are verb endings. The other endings are different.

Here are the present simple endings for regular –ere verbs:

Present simple endings

Present simple of credere

Meaning: to believe

–o

(io) credo

I believe

–i

(tu) credi

You believe

–e

(lui/lei) crede
(lei/Lei) crede

he/she believes
you believe

–iamo

(noi) crediamo

we believe

–ete

(voi) credete

You believe

–ono

(loro) credono

they believe

Non ci credo.

I don’t believe it.

Credi ai fantasmi?

Do you believe in ghosts?

Lo credono tutti.

They all believe it.

Tip

When you are talking about a male, a female or a thing, or are using lei as the polite word for you, you use the same verb form.

Note that in Italian there’s often no need to use a subject pronoun such as io (meaning I) or tu (meaning you) because the verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action. However, when you’re talking about people you can use the pronouns lui, lei or loro with the verb for the sake of emphasis or to make things clearer.

Lui non ci crede.

He doesn’t believe it.

Lei crede ai fantasmi, io no.

She believes in ghosts, I don’t.

Loro lo credono tutti.

They all believe it.

When you’re talking about things you ALWAYS use the verb by itself, with no pronoun.

La minestra? Non sa di nulla.

The soup? It doesn’t taste of anything.

Le piante? Crescono bene.

The plants? They’re growing well.

For more information on Subject pronouns, see page 41.

Tip

Remember that you never use a pronoun in Italian to translate it at the beginning of a sentence.

Dipende.

It depends.

Piove.

It’s raining.

Key points

If you take the –ere ending off the infinitive of a regular verb you get the stem.

you add one of these endings to the stem: –o, –i, –e, –iamo, –ete or –ono.

you only use a pronoun with the verb for emphasis or to be specially clear, but only when talking about people.

3 How to make the present simple tense of regular –ire verbs

Most verbs that have an infinitive ending in –ire, such as finire (meaning to finish), pulire (meaning to clean) and capire (meaning to understand) follow one pattern of endings in the present. Some common verbs such as dormire and servire have a different pattern.

To make the present simple tense of all –ire verbs take off the –ire ending to get the stem of the verb.

Infinitive

Meaning

Stem (without –ire)

finire

to finish

fin-

pulire

to clean

pul-

capire

to understand

cap-

dormire

to sleep

dorm-

servire

to serve

serv-

Here are the present simple endings for regular –ire verbs:

Present simple endings

Present simple of finire

Meaning: to finish

–isco

(io) finisco

I finish/am finishing

–isci

(tu) finisci

You finish/are finishing

–isce

(lui/lei) finisce

he/she/it finishes/is finishing

(lei/Lei) finisce

You finish/are finishing

–iamo

(noi) finiamo

we finish/are finishing

–ite

(voi) finite

You finish/are finishing

–iscono

(loro) finiscono

they finish/are finishing

Il film finisce alle dieci.

The film finishes at ten.

Finiscono il lavoro.

They’re finishing the work.

Non pulisco mai la macchina.

I never clean the car.

Preferisci l’altro?

Do you prefer the other one?

Non capiscono.

They don’t understand.

Note that in Italian there’s often no need to use a subject pronoun such as io (meaning I) or tu (meaning you) because the verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action. However, when you’re talking about people you can use the pronouns lui, lei or loro with the verb for the sake of emphasis or to make things clearer.

Lui non pulisce mai la macchina.

He never cleans the car.

Lei mi capisce sempre.

She always understands me.

Loro preferiscono l’altro.

They prefer the other one.

When you’re talking about things you ALWAYS use the verb by itself, with no pronoun.

Il primo treno? – Parte alle cinque.

The first train? It goes at five.

Le lezioni quando finiscono? –

When do lessons finish?

Finiscono alle quattro.

They finish at four.

Some common –ire verbs do not add –isc– to the stem. The most important ones are dormire (meaning to sleep), servire (meaning to serve), aprire (meaning to open), partire (meaning to leave), sentire (meaning to hear) and soffrire (meaning to suffer).

The endings of these verbs are as follows:

Present simple endings

Present simple of dormire

Meaning: to sleep

–o

(io) dormo

I sleep/am sleeping

–i

(tu) dormi

You sleep/are sleeping

–e

(lui/lei) dorme

he/she/it sleeps/is sleeping

(lei/Lei) dorme

You sleep/are sleeping

–iamo

(noi) dormiamo

we sleep/are sleeping

–ite

(voi) dormite

You sleep/are sleeping

–ono

(loro) dormono

they sleep/are sleeping

Note that these endings are the same as –ere verb endings, except for the second person plural (voi).

Dormo sempre bene.

I always sleep well.

A che cosa serve?

What’s it for?

Quando partite?

When are you leaving?

Soffrono molto.

They are suffering a lot.

Tip

When you are talking about a male, a female or a thing, or are using lei as the polite word for you, you use the same verb form.

Key points

Take the –ire ending off the infinitive of a regular verb to get the stem.

For most –ire verbs the endings you add to the stem are: –isco, –isci, –isce, –iamo, –ite or –iscono.

A few common –ire verbs add these endings to the stem: –o, –i, –e, –iamo, –ite, –ono.

you only use a pronoun with the verb for emphasis or to be specially clear, but only when talking about people.

4 Infinitives that end in –rre

All regular verbs have infinitives ending in –are, -ere, or –ire.

A few common irregular verbs have infinitives ending in –rre. For example:

comporre

to compose

condurre

to lead

porre

to put

produrre

to produce

proporre

to propose

ridurre

to reduce

supporre

to suppose

tradurre

to translate

Here are the present simple forms of comporre:

Present simple of comporre

Meaning: to compose

(io)

compongo

I compose/I am composing

(tu)

componi

You compose/you are composing

(lui/lei)

compone

he/she/it composes/is composing

(lei/Lei)

compone

You compose/are composing

(noi)

componiamo

we compose/are composing

(voi)

componete

You compose/are composing

(loro)

compongono

they compose/are composing

Here are the present simple forms of produrre:

Present simple of produrre

Meaning: to produce

(io)

produco

I produce/I am producing

(tu)

produci

You produce/you are producing

(lui/lei)
(lei/Lei)

produce

he/she/it produces/is producing
you produce/are producing

(noi)

produciamo

we produce/are producing

(voi)

producete

You produce/are producing

(loro)

producono

they produce/are producing

The present tense of all verbs ending in –porre follow the pattern of comporre, and all verbs ending in –durre follow the pattern of produrre.

5 Where to put the stress when saying the infinitive

When you say the infinitives of –are and –ire verbs the stress goes on the a, or i of the ending:

Non vuole parlare.

He doesn’t want to speak.

Non riesco a dormire.

I can’t sleep.

When you say the infinitive of most –ere verbs the stress goes on the syllable that comes before the ending.

Devono vendere la casa.

They’ve got to sell their house.

Può ripetere?

Could you repeat that?

However, there are a number of very important irregular –ere verbs which have the stress on the first e of the ending.

–ere verb

Meaning

avere

to have

cadere

to fall

dovere

to have to

persuadere

to persuade

potere

to be able

rimanere

to remain

vedere

to see

Fa’ attenzione a non cadere.

Mind you don’t fall.

Non puoi avere il mio.

You can’t have mine.

For more information on the Infinitive, see page 138.

6 How to make the present simple tense of common irregular verbs

There are many verbs that do not follow the usual patterns. These include some very common and important verbs such as avere (meaning to have), fare(meaning to do or to make) and andare (meaning to go).

Here are the present simple forms of avere:

Present simple of avere

Meaning: to have

(io)

ho

I have/have got

(tu)

hai

You have

(lui/lei)
(lei/Lei)

ha

he/she/it has
you have

(noi)

abbiamo

we have

(voi)

avete

You have

(loro)

hanno

they have

Ho due sorelle.

I’ve got two sisters.

Hai abbastanza soldi?

Have you got enough money?

Abbiamo tempo.

We’ve got time.

Hanno i capelli biondi.

They have blonde hair.

Here are the present simple forms of fare:

Present simple of fare

Meaning: to do, to make

(io)

faccio

I do/am doing, I make/am making

(tu)

fai

You do/are doing, you make/are making

(lui/lei)
(lei/Lei)

fa

he/she/it does/is doing, he/she/it makes/is making
you do/are doing, you make/are making

(noi)

facciamo

we do/are doing, we make/are making

(voi)

fate

You do/are doing, you make/are making

(loro)

fanno

they do/are doing, they make/are making

Faccio troppi errori.

I make too many mistakes.

Cosa fai sta sera?

What are you doing this evening?

Fa caldo.

It’s hot.

Fanno quello che possono.

They’re doing what they can.

Here are the present simple forms of andare:

Present simple of andare

Meaning: to go

(io)

vado

I go/am going

(tu)

vai

You go/are going

(lui/lei)
(lei/Lei)

va

he/she/it goes/is going
you go/are going

(noi)

andiamo

we go/are going

(voi)

andate

You go/are going

(loro)

vanno

they go/are going

Ci vado spesso.

I often go there.

Dove vai?

Where are you going?

Va bene.

That’s okay.

Vanno tutti al concerto.

They’re all going to the concert.

For other irregular verbs in the present simple tense, see Verb tables in the supplement.

7 How to use the present simple tense in Italian

The present simple tense is often used in Italian in the same way as in English, but there are also some important differences.

As in English, you use the Italian present simple to talk about:

things that are generally true

La frutta fa bene.

Fruit is good for you.

current situations

Vivono in Francia.

They live in France.

what people and things usually do

Litigano sempre.

They always quarrel.

Si blocca spesso.
It often jams.

fixed arrangements

Comincia domani.

It starts tomorrow.

Unlike in English, the Italian present simple is used to talk about:

what is happening right now

Arrivo!

I’m coming!

Non mangi niente.

You’re not eating anything.

what you are going to do

È rotto, lo butto via.

It’s broken, I’m going to throw it away.

Ci penso io.

I’ll see to it.

predictions

Se fai così lo rompi.

If you do that you’ll break it.

offers

Pago io.

I’ll pay.

In English the perfect tense is used to say how long someone has been doing something, or how long something has been happening. In Italian you use da and the present simple tense for this kind of sentence.

Aspetto da tre ore.

I’ve been waiting for three hours.

Da quanto tempo studi l’italiano?

How long have you been learning Italian?

For more information on the use of tenses with da, see page 174.

Key points

The present simple tense in Italian is used as in English, and has a few additional uses.

Use the present simple with da to talk about how long something has been going on.