What’s an irregular verb?
One of the most common difficulties for learners is learning and remembering irregular Italian verbs.
The irregular verbs are those that do not follow the standard conjugation rules, such as the verbs ending in -are, -ere, or -ire. There are some in every language. The verbs to be, can, or may are common irregular verbs in English. There are even more in Italian.
It’s important to learn and memorize irregular verbs in Italian because they are the most commonly used verbs in everyday conversation.
How to Learn Italian Irregular Verbs
Make a list of the most common Italian irregular verbs in your notebook or on flashcards to help you remember them. Note that irregular verbs in the present tense tend to remain irregular when conjugated in other tenses (e.g. past, future) and moods (e.g. conditional, subjunctive).
You can find exercises on irregular verbs a little bit everywhere online or on a grammar textbook for beginners.
Most common Irregular Verbs in Italian
| AVERE (to have) | io ho, tu hai, lui ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno |
| ESSERE (to be) | io sono, tu sei, lui/lei è, noi siamo, voi siete, loro sono |
| ANDARE (to go) | io vado, tu vai, lui/lei va, noi andiamo, voi andate, loro vanno |
| USCIRE (to leave, to go out) | io esco, tu esci, lui/lei esce, noi usciamo, voi uscite, loro escono |
| VENIRE (to come) | io vengo, tu vieni, lui/lei viene, noi veniamo, voi venite, loro vengono |
| FARE (to do, to make) | io faccio, tu fai, lui/lei fa, noi facciamo, voi fate, loro fanno |
| DARE (to give) | io do, tu dai, lui/lei da, noi diamo, voi date, loro danno |
| DIRE (to say, to tell) | io dico, tu dici, lui/lei dice, noi diciamo, voi dite, loro dicono |
| SCEGLIERE (to choose) | io scelgo, tu scegli, lui/lei sceglie, noi scegliamo, voi scegliete, loro scelgono |
| RIMANERE (to remain) | io rimango, tu rimani, lui/lei rimane, noi rimaniamo, voi rimanete, loro rimangono |
| VOLERE (to want) | io voglio, tu vuoi, lui/lei vuole, noi vogliamo, voi volete, loro vogliono |
| POTERE (can, may) | io posso, tu puoi, lui/lei può, noi possiamo, voi potete, loro possono |
| DOVERE (to need, must / to have to) | io devo, tu devi, lui/lei deve, noi dobbiamo, voi dovete, loro devono |
Test Your Italian
Not sure what your Italian level is? I’ve created a free online Italian test to help you determine it.Irregular Italian Verbs Ending in “-IRE”
A number of verbs in the third conjugation are considered semi-irregular. They are the -ire verbs’ irregular verbs. This category includes some very common verbs, such as capire (to understand), finire (to finish), or pulire (to clean). These verbs add the chunk-isc to all persons except the first and second person plural (noi e voi), as shown in the example.
| io | finisco |
| tu | finisci |
| lui, lei | finisce |
| noi | finiamo |
| voi | finite |
| loro | finiscono |
More verbs adding the chunk “isc”: capire (to understand) , costruire (to build), pulire (to clean), preferire (to prefer), restituire (to return something), spedire (to send, to ship).
