MFLE
Italian Reference Grammar - Verbs
Irregular verbs
Unfortunately, a number of verbs are irregular. Equally unfortunately, they tend to be ones which are commonly used. This is not a case of Italian being awkward; it’s the same in all languages. Think of the present tense of the verb 'to be' in English, for example.
This section gives the full present tense of some common irregular verbs. In most cases teachers will not actually be using the full present tense, but they are included for reference.
andare: to go
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | vado | I go |
| tu | vai | You (singular, informal) go |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | va | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) is/are |
| noi | andiamo | We go |
| voi | andate | You (plural) go |
| loro/essi/esse | vanno | They go |
avere: to have
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | ho | I have |
| tu | hai | You (singular, informal) have |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | ha | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) has/have |
| noi | abbiamo | We have |
| voi | avete | You (plural) have |
| loro/essi/esse | hanno | They have |
bere: to drink
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | bevo | I drink |
| tu | bevi | You (singular, informal) drink |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | beve | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) drink/s |
| noi | beviamo | We drink |
| voi | bevete | You (plural) drink |
| loro/essi/esse | bevono | They drink |
dare: to give
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | do | I give |
| tu | dai | You (singular, informal) give |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | da | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) give/s |
| noi | diamo | We give |
| voi | date | You (plural) give |
| loro/essi/esse | danno | They give |
dire: to tell
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | dico | I tell |
| tu | dici | You (singular, informal) tell |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | dice | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) tell/s |
| noi | diciamo | We tell |
| voi | dite | You (plural) tell |
| loro/essi/esse | dicono | They tell |
fare: to do, to make
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | faccio | I do/make |
| tu | fai | You (singular, informal) do/make |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | fa | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) do/does/make/makes |
| noi | facciamo | We do/make |
| voi | fate | You (plural) do/make |
| loro/essi/esse | fanno | They do/make |
'Fare' is also used in the third person singular for some weather expressions.
sapere: to know
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | so | I know |
| tu | sai | You (singular, informal) know |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | sa | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) know/s |
| noi | sappiamo | We know |
| voi | sapete | You (plural) know |
| loro/essi/esse | sanno | They know |
scegliere: to choose
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | scelgo | I choose |
| tu | scegli | You (singular, informal) choose |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | sceglie | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) choose/s |
| noi | scegliamo | We choose |
| voi | scegliete | You (plural) choose |
| loro/essi/esse | scelgono | They choose |
stare: to stay
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | sto | I stay |
| tu | stai | You (singular, informal) stay |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | sta | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) stay/s |
| noi | stiamo | We stay |
| voi | state | You (plural) stay |
| loro/essi/esse | stanno | They stay |
tenere: to keep
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | tengo | I keep |
| tu | tieni | You (singular, informal) keep |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | tiene | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) keep/s |
| noi | teniamo | We keep |
| voi | tenete | You (plural) keep |
| loro/essi/esse | tengono | They keep |
tradurre: to translate
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | traduco | I translate |
| tu | traduci | You (singular, informal) translate |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | traduce | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) translate/s |
| noi | traduciamo | We translate |
| voi | traducete | You (plural) translate |
| loro/essi/esse | traducono | They translate |
uscire: to go out
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | esco | I go out |
| tu | esci | You (singular, informal) go out |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | esce | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) go out/goes out |
| noi | usciamo | We go out |
| voi | uscite | You (plural) go out |
| loro/essi/esse | escono | They go out |
vedere: to see
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | vedo | I see |
| tu | vedi | You (singular, informal) see |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | vede | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) see/s |
| noi | vediamo | We see |
| voi | vedete | You (plural) see |
| loro/essi/esse | vedono | They see |
venire: to come
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| io | vengo | I come |
| tu | vieni | You (singular, informal) come |
| lui/lei/esso/essa | viene | He/she/it or you (singular, formal) come/s |
| noi | veniamo | We come |
| voi | venite | You (plural) come |
| loro/essi/esse | vengono | They come |