Italian Irregular Verbs

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
Italian Irregular Verbs Chart

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.

iofinisco
tufinisci
lui, leifinisce
noifiniamo
voifinite
lorofiniscono
conjugation of the verb ‘finire’ in the present tense

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). 

The “isc” conjugation of Italian verbs

About the Author

Serena Capilli

I’m the creative force behind both this blog and my collection of short stories in simple Italian for language learners, available on Amazon.

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Ciao, I’m Serena! I’m the creative force behind both this blog and my collection of short stories in simple Italian for language learners, available on Amazon.

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