As you already know, there are three groups of verbs.
| 1st (-ARE verbs) | cucinare | to cook | mangiare, studiare, guardare |
| 2nd (-ERE verbs) | scrivere | to write | leggere, vedere, vincere |
| 3rd (-IRE) verbs) | dormire | to sleep | aprire, partire, finire |
Most of the “ire” verbs follows a regular conjugation, like in the following chart :
| Io | dorm-o | I sleep |
| Tu | dorm-i | You sleep (singular, informal) |
| Lui/Lei | dorm-e | He/She sleeps |
| Noi | dorm-iamo | We sleep |
| Voi | dorm-ite | You sleep |
| Loro | dorm-ono | They sleep |
The -ISC verbs
The -ISC conjugation pattern is a subset of the Italian 3rd conjugation (-ire). This subset of verbs, such as finire, capire, and pulire, add “-isc” in the present tense for the first, second, third persons singular, and third person plural. The “noi” and “voi” forms do not use “-isc”. Luckly, there are not many verbs that follow these conjugation pattern.
Irregular conjugation of ‘-ISC’ verbs in Italian
| Io | cap-isc-o | I understand |
| Tu | cap-isc-i | You understand (singular, informal) |
| Lui/Lei | cap-isc-e | He/She understands |
| Noi | capiamo | We understand |
| Voi | capite | You understand |
| Loro | cap-isc-ono | They understand |
Pronunciation Rule
The first person singular (io capisco – I understand) and third person plural (loro capiscono) have a hard sound in the combination ‘sc,’ which should be pronounced like “skateboard.”
Instead, the second and third person singular (tu capisci – you understand / lui capisce – he understands) should be pronounced as in “shoot.
| Pronoun | Conjugation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Io | capisc-o | ‘sk’ as in “skateboard” |
| Tu | capisc-i | ‘ch’ as in “shoot” |
| Lui/Lei | capisc-e | ‘ch’ as in “shoot” |
| Noi | capiam-o | ‘sk’ as in “skateboard” |
| Voi | capite | ‘sk’ as in “skateboard” |
| Loro | capisc-ono | ‘sk’ as in “skateboard” |
Test Your Italian
Not sure what your Italian level is? I’ve created a free online Italian test to help you determine it.List of the most used “-ISC verbs” in Italian.
| preferire | to prefer | preferisco, preferisci, preferisce, preferiamo, preferite, preferiscono |
| finire | to finish | finisco, finisci, finisce, finiamo, finite, finiscono |
| pulire | to clean | pulisco, pulisci, pulisce, puliamo, pulite, puliscono |
| spedire | to ship | spedisco, spedisci, spedisce, spediamo, spedite, spediscono |
| costruire | to build | costruisco, costruisci, costruisce, costruiamo, costruite, costruiscono |
| chiarire | to clear | chiarisco, chiarisci, chiarisce, chiariamo, chiarite, chiariscono |
| digerire | to digest | digerisco, digerisci, digerisce, digeriamo, digerite, digeriscono |
| contribuire | to contribute | contribuisco, contribuisci, contribuisce, contribuiamo, contribuite, contribuiscono |
| fiorire | to blossom | fiorisco, fiorisci, fiorisce, fioriamo, fiorite, fioriscono |
| guarire | to recover | guarisco, guarisci, guarisce, guariamo, guarite, guariscono |
| inserire | to insert | inserisco, inserisci, inserisce, inseriamo, inserite, inseriscono |
| reagire | to react | reagisco, reagisci, reagisce, reagiamo, reagite, reagiscono |
| restituire | to return sth back | restituisco, restituisci, restituisce, restituiamo, restituite, restituiscono |
| unire | to unite | unisco, unisci, unisce, uniamo, unite, uniscono |
Is there any way to determine when to use the -isc- conjugation?
Unfortunately, there is no strict rule, but rather a trend. Verbs whose fifth-to-last letter in the infinitive is a vowel tend to use the -isc- conjugation, though this is not always true.
Examples include:
- Finire (to finish)
- Pulire (to clean)
- Spedire (to ship)
- Proibire (to prohibit)
However, if the fifth-to-last letter in the infinitive happens to be a consonant, the verb follows the regular conjugation.
Examples include:
- Aprire (to open)
- Dormire (to sleep)
- Offrire (to offer)
- Seguire (to follow)
