Kilo Lingo

Ch 1 · Lesson 23

Three verb families: parlo, credo, dormo

Drop -are, -ere or -ire and add the ending that says who. The regular majority conjugates on sight: , , .

The short version

ends in -o and in -i in every family

, ,

I speak, you believe, we sleep
Why?

Drop -are, -ere or -ire and add the person ending. Most of the endings are shared: is always -o, always -i, always -iamo, and keeps the infinitive's vowel, -ate, -ete or -ite. Because the ending already says who, Italians leave and out: , not .

Italian verb conjugation is kinder than its reputation. The regular system is genuinely regular: drop the infinitive ending, add a person ending, and you can conjugate a verb you have never met. The difficulty is concentrated in the irregulars, and the commonest of them are the verbs you use most.

The whole system on one screen

the ending that says whoWhat do the colours mean?

The three regular families in the present, with parlare (to speak), credere (to believe) and dormire (to sleep):

Person-are-ere-ire
/

Read it by row and you see how little varies:

  • ends in -o and in -i in every family.
  • is -iamo in every family.
  • keeps the infinitive's vowel: -ate, -ete, -ite.
  • -ere and -ire differ only in .

The three families in use

Take the infinitive, drop -are, -ere or -ire, and add the ending:

ItalianEnglishFamily
.I speak Italian.-are
Anna.My name is Anna.-are
?Do you think so?-ere
.We see the house.-ere
.They sleep a lot.-ire
Four panels, each person in the middle of an action: a woman with long hair and a bow reads an open book; a man with a moustache stirs a steaming pot on the stove; a boy runs, arms swinging; a girl with pigtails talks on the phone, with sound waves and a speech bubble.

Four people busy right now, each in the plain present: legge is both she reads and she is reading. -are verbs end in -a, -ere verbs in -e.

Because the ending already says who, the subject pronoun is usually left out: , not . Subject pronouns explains when it comes back.

A spelling note: cerchi, paghi

Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h before an ending that starts with i, to keep the hard sound:

tu cerchi, you look for
  • ? - What are you looking for?
  • ? - Are you paying?

The sound stays regular; the spelling protects it.

Going further: The -isc- verbs and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.

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Lesson 23 of 40 in this chapter

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