Verb endings

Verbs are words involving doing or being, easy to recognise in English because you can put "to" in front of them - "to live, to be, to speak, to pay, to have". In Italian, verb endings are very important, as generally they show who is doing something and when it is done. Since the endings contain this information, the words for I, you, we, etc. are used sparingly, usually only for emphasis or contrast. In a dictionary, verbs end in -are, -ere or -ire; this form is called the infinitive. When -are, -ere or -ire are removed, you are left with a stem to which other endings can be added. mangiare Cosa mangia? to eat What are you eating? giocare Perché giocate al golf? to play Why do you play golf? more than one person preferire Preferisco mangiare il gelato to prefer I prefer eating ice-cream Most verbs follow regular patterns, according to their infinitive ending. ascoltare prendere partire preferire to... listen take leave prefer ascolto prendo parto preferisco I... ascolti prendi parti preferisci you... informal ascolta prende parte preferisce you... formal, he..., she... ascoltiamo prendiamo partiamo preferiamo we... ascoltate prendete partite preferite you... more than one person ascoltano prendono partono preferiscono they... Not all verbs follow the regular -are, -ere, -ire patterns. Some, change more radically and have to be learnt separately. Other verbs change their form instead of following this regular pattern. They are known as irregular verbs.

see also... io, tu, lei, noi, voi, loro sono, sei, è ho, posso, voglio, bevo reflexive verbs

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