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Italian verbs fall into three conjugations, recognisable by their infinitive ending: -are, -ere, -ire. Verbs ending in -are belong to the first conjugation: they are the most numerous and mostly regular, which makes them the ideal starting point. Once you have learnt essere and avere, this is the natural next step.
How to form the present tense
Remove -are from the infinitive and add these endings:
| Person | Ending | parlare (to speak) | abitare (to live) | lavorare (to work) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | -o | parlo | abito | lavoro |
| tu | -i | parli | abiti | lavori |
| lui / lei / Lei | -a | parla | abita | lavora |
| noi | -iamo | parliamo | abitiamo | lavoriamo |
| voi | -ate | parlate | abitate | lavorate |
| loro | -ano | parlano | abitano | lavorano |
The same pattern works for hundreds of common verbs: ascoltare (to listen), guardare (to watch), comprare (to buy), cucinare (to cook), arrivare (to arrive), aspettare (to wait), chiamare (to call), trovare (to find)…
Watch the pronunciation: in the third person plural the stress does not fall on the ending: say PÀR-la-no, À-bi-ta-no, la-VÒ-ra-no, not “parlÀno”. And in àbito, àbiti, àbita the stress is on the first syllable.
Verbs ending in -care and -gare
To keep the hard sound of c and g, add an h before endings that start with i (tu and noi):
- cercare (to look for): cerco, cerchi, cerca, cerchiamo, cercate, cercano
- pagare (to pay): pago, paghi, paga, paghiamo, pagate, pagano
Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare
The i in the stem only softens the sound, so it disappears before another i:
- cominciare (to begin): comincio, cominci, comincia, cominciamo, cominciate, cominciano
- mangiare (to eat): mangio, mangi, mangia, mangiamo, mangiate, mangiano
Other verbs ending in -iare
- if the i is unstressed in the first person, the tu form has one i: studiare → io stùdio, tu studi; cambiare → tu cambi;
- if the i is stressed, the tu form has two: inviare → io invìo, tu invii (to send); sciare → io scìo, tu scii (to ski).
Four irregular verbs to learn straight away
| andare (to go) | fare (to do / make) | stare (to stay / be) | dare (to give) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | vado | faccio | sto | do |
| tu | vai | fai | stai | dai |
| lui / lei | va | fa | sta | dà |
| noi | andiamo | facciamo | stiamo | diamo |
| voi | andate | fate | state | date |
| loro | vanno | fanno | stanno | danno |
Note the accent on dà (the verb), which distinguishes it from the preposition da. These verbs are extremely common: Come stai? (How are you?) Che lavoro fai? (What do you do?) Dove vai in vacanza? (Where are you going on holiday?)
When to use the present tense
- actions happening now: Parlo al telefono. (I’m on the phone.)
- habits: Lavoro dal lunedì al venerdì. (I work Monday to Friday.)
- general truths: In Svizzera si parlano quattro lingue. (Four languages are spoken in Switzerland.)
- the near, planned future: Domani arrivo alle otto. (Tomorrow I’m arriving at eight.)
According to Treccani’s Enciclopedia dell’italiano, the present indicative can also take a future meaning in certain contexts [1]: that is why Domani arrivo alle otto is a correct sentence.
The Most Useful -are Verbs to Know
| Area | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Daily life | abitare, lavorare, mangiare, cucinare, comprare, pagare, cercare, trovare |
| Communication | parlare, chiamare, ascoltare, domandare, spiegare, ringraziare, aiutare |
| Study | studiare, imparare, cominciare, pensare, ricordare, preparare, controllare |
| Free time | giocare, viaggiare, ballare, cantare, camminare, nuotare, guardare |
Mini-Dialogue: An Ordinary Day
Elena: Dove lavori adesso?
Peter: Lavoro in un ufficio a Lugano, ma abito a Bellinzona. Cerco un appartamento più vicino.
Elena: Ah! E la sera che cosa fai?
Peter: Cucino, studio un po’ di italiano e guardo un film. Il sabato mangiamo con gli amici.
The Most Common Mistakes
- Always saying “Io parlo italiano”: in Italian the subject pronoun is usually left out: parlo, abito, lavoro. It is used for contrast: Io parlo tedesco, lei parla italiano.
- “cerci”, “pagi”: the h is missing. Write cerchi, paghi.
- “mangiiamo”: one i too many. Write mangiamo.
- “fai” instead of “fa” (she): check the person: io faccio, tu fai, lei fa.
Why andare, dare, fare and stare are so useful
These four verbs are irregular, but they are worth the effort because they appear in countless everyday phrases. Treccani’s dictionary describes andare as moving from one place to another, but also as the verb of things that “proceed”, as in le cose vanno bene (things are going well) [2]. Dare means making someone have something, that is, passing it from yourself to another person [3]. Fare is described as a very generic verb that can express almost any action, material or not [4], which is why it hides in so many expressions: fare la spesa, fare colazione, fare una domanda. As for stare, the dictionary notes that today it usually needs a place or an adverb to complete it [5]: sto bene, sto a casa, stai zitto.
Stress: where does your voice go?
In the present tense of -are verbs the stress moves around. In io, tu, lui/lei and loro it falls on the stem: PÀR-lo, PÀR-li, PÀR-la, PÀR-la-no. In noi and voi it jumps to the ending: par-LIÀ-mo, par-LÀ-te. Many learners stress every form in the same place, and the result sounds foreign even when the spelling is perfect. Read these pairs aloud, slowly at first: lavoro – lavoriamo, cerchi – cercate, mangio – mangiate.
Verbs in -iare: tu and noi at a glance
| Infinitive | io | tu | noi |
|---|---|---|---|
| mangiare | mangio | mangi | mangiamo |
| studiare | stùdio | studi | studiamo |
| cambiare | cambio | cambi | cambiamo |
| inviare | invìo | invìi | inviamo |
The noi form never has a double i: the ending -iamo already contains the i. Only the tu form of verbs with a stressed i (like inviare and sciare) keeps two.
Reading: Sara’s ordinary day
Sara abita a Locarno e lavora a Bellinzona. La mattina prepara il caffè, ascolta la radio e aspetta il treno. A mezzogiorno mangia con una collega: la collega cucina molto bene e Sara paga il caffè. La sera studia un po’ di tedesco, chiama un’amica e guarda una serie. Il sabato Sara e suo fratello vanno al mercato e comprano frutta e verdura.
In English: Sara lives in Locarno and works in Bellinzona. In the morning she makes coffee, listens to the radio and waits for the train. At lunchtime she eats with a colleague: the colleague cooks very well and Sara pays for the coffee. In the evening she studies a little German, calls a friend and watches a series. On Saturdays Sara and her brother go to the market and buy fruit and vegetables.
Your turn: rewrite the text in the io form («Abito a…») and then in the noi form («Abitiamo a…»). Check every ending, especially in mangiare, pagare and andare.
A preview: reflexive -are verbs
Many daily-routine verbs are reflexive, such as lavarsi (to wash oneself). The -are endings stay the same; you only add a small pronoun before the verb: mi lavo, ti lavi, si lava, ci laviamo, vi lavate, si lavano. Compare lavo la macchina (I wash the car) with mi lavo (I wash myself). We will study these verbs in detail in a dedicated lesson.
Exercise 1: conjugate the verb in brackets
- Noi (mangiare) ______ sempre alle sette.
- Tu (cercare) ______ casa a Lugano?
- Loro (abitare) ______ a Zurigo.
- Io (andare) ______ a scuola in autobus.
- Voi (studiare) ______ italiano da molto tempo?
- Tu (pagare) ______ con la carta o in contanti?
- Lei (fare) ______ la cuoca.
- Noi (cominciare) ______ la lezione alle nove.
Answers: 1. mangiamo – 2. cerchi – 3. abitano – 4. vado – 5. studiate – 6. paghi – 7. fa – 8. cominciamo.
Exercise 2: find the mistake
- Marco cerca un lavoro e io cerco un appartamento. Noi cerciamo insieme.
- Voi mangiate sempre troppo tardi.
- Maria fai la spesa il sabato.
- Gli studenti studiano molto.
- Tu paghi il caffè? Sì, io pago.
Answers: 1. cerchiamo. 2. Correct. 3. fa. 4. Correct. 5. Correct.
Think about it: describe your day in six sentences using six different -are verbs and at least one irregular (andare, fare, stare or dare).
Keep learning
- The verbs essere and avere
- Italian definite and indefinite articles
- Irregular plurals in Italian
- Italian grammar course A1
Let’s practise together
Conjugation is the heart of Italian grammar, and you learn it by using it. Book a free trial lesson or check your level with the free test. For a structured path, join the course waiting list.
Sources
- [1] Mario Squartini, “Indicativo”, Enciclopedia dell’Italiano, Treccani (accessed 6 October 2026)
- [2] “Andare”, Vocabolario Treccani online (accessed 6 October 2026)
- [3] “Dare”, Vocabolario Treccani online (accessed 6 October 2026)
- [4] “Fare”, Vocabolario Treccani online (accessed 6 October 2026)
- [5] “Stare”, Vocabolario Treccani online (accessed 6 October 2026)
Tables, dialogue and exercises come from my experience teaching Italian to foreign learners.
📚 Further reading
To practise this point with graded exercises and an answer key, I recommend:
- Italian Grammar in Practice (Susanna Nocchi, Alma Edizioni) – rules explained in English, with exercises, tests and games.
- Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Italian All-in-One (Marcel Danesi, McGraw Hill) – grammar and vocabulary in one workbook, with plenty of exercises.
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