Most Common -IRE Verbs in Italian

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**Most Common -IRE Verbs: Regular vs. Irregular**

In Italian, -ire verbs fall into two main types:

Regular -ire verbs — like “dormire” (to sleep) — follow a standard conjugation pattern. See the first chart for this pattern.

Irregular -ire verbs — like “capire” (to understand) — follow a slightly different pattern. They insert “-isc-” before the ending in all forms except “noi” and “voi.” See the second chart for this conjugation.

? Key point:

Present Tense of ‘dormire‘ (Regular Conjugation)

Io	dormo	I sleep or I’m sleeping
Tu	dormi	You sleep (singular, informal) or you’re sleeping
Lui/Lei	dorme	He/She sleeps or she/he’s sleeping
Noi	dorm*iamo*	We sleep or we’re sleeping
Voi	dormite	You all sleep or you all are sleeping
Loro	dormono	They sleep or they’re sleeping

conjugation of “ire verbs” with the present tense (3rd group)

Present Tense of ‘capire‘ (Irregular Conjugation)

Io	cap-ISC–o	I understand or I’m understanding
Tu	cap-ISC-i	You understand or you’re understanding
Lui/Lei	cap-ISC-e	He/she understands or he/she’s understanding
Noi	capiamo	We understand or we’re understanding
Voi	capite	You all understand or you’ll are understanding
Loro	cap-ISC-ono	They understand or they’re understanding

conjugation of irregular “ire verbs” with the present tense (3rd group)

List of Common Verb -IRE Verbs

dormire	to sleep	regular verb
coprire	to cover	regular verb
restituire	to return something	irregular verb
seguire	to follow	regular verb
aprire	to open	regular verb
scoprire	to find out	regular verb
offrire	to offer	regular verb
partire	to leave for	regular verb
sentire	to hear	regular verb

most common “ere” verbs, in Italian (3rd group verbs)

List of Common Irregular -IRE Verbs (with -ISC-)

Italian Verb	English Meaning	Note
preferire	to prefer	irregular (-isc-)
restituire	to return something	irregular (-isc-)
finire	to finish	irregular (-isc-)
capire	to understand	irregular (-isc-)
dimagrire	to lose weight	irregular (-isc-)
spedire	to ship	irregular (-isc-)

✅ Note: All these verbs add “-isc-” in all forms except “noi” and “voi.”

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Italian Teacher and Author Serena capilli

Ciao! I’m Serena Capilli, the author behind ItalianPills and a certified Italian teacher. Originally from Sicily and based in Rome, I create Italian graded readers, Piazzetta Italiana magazine, and a slow Italian podcast for adult learners.

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