Say what you do: -ere and -ire verbs

Three families, three shared endings

Every regular verb belongs to a family, shown by the end of its infinitive: -are, -ere or -ire. Drop that ending to find the stem (prend-, dorm-), then add the ending for the person.

For io, tu and noi, all three families use the same endings: -o, -i and -iamo. So prendo, dormi and scriviamo work just like parlo, parli and parliamo.

Learn each new verb with its infinitive (leggere, not just leggo), because the other endings depend on the family. Common -ere verbs: prendere, leggere, scrivere, vedere, vivere, chiudere. Common -ire verbs: dormire, partire, sentire, aprire.

-ere: three new endings

Where -are verbs have an a, -ere verbs have an e or an o. One other person (lui, lei, or polite Lei) ends in -e: prende. You all (voi) ends in -ete: prendete. They (loro) ends in -ono: prendono.

The stress works as it does for -are verbs: prendono keeps it on the stem, PREN-do-no, and leggono is LEG-go-no.

Don’t carry the -are endings over: in the present, loro leggano and lei prenda are slips. Think e and o: legge, leggono.

-ire: the same, except voi

Verbs in -ire take exactly the same endings as -ere verbs, with one exception: voi ends in -ite, the vowel of the infinitive. Dormire gives voi dormite, while prendere gives voi prendete.

So the only new thing to learn for -ire is one ending. Everything else (dormo, dormi, dorme, dormiamo, dormono) you already know from -ere.

Voi borrows the vowel of the infinitive: parlare → parlate, prendere → prendete, dormire → dormite.

-isc- verbs: finire, capire, preferire, pulire

Some -ire verbs add -isc- between the stem and the ending: fin-isc-o, cap-isc-i. It appears in io, tu, lui/lei and loro, the four forms where the stress would fall on the stem.

Noi and voi never take -isc-, so there finire looks just like dormire: finiamo, finite. You can’t tell an -isc- verb from its infinitive (dormire has none, finire does), so learn the common ones as a group: finire (to finish), capire (to understand), preferire (to prefer), pulire (to clean).

Many dictionaries show these verbs with (-isco) after the infinitive. When you meet a new -ire verb, check for it.

Saying sc: hard or soft

You met this in the sounds lesson. Sc before o sounds like sk: capisco, capiscono. Before i or e it softens to sh, as in ship: capisci, capisce.

So one verb has both sounds, and the sound helps tell you the person. Capisco (ka-PEE-sko) is I understand; capisci (ka-PEE-shee) is you understand. The stress stays on the same syllable, even in the longer loro form: ka-PEE-sko-no.

Verbs you’ll use straight away

Prendo is an easy, everyday way to order at the bar: Prendo un cornetto e un cappuccino. The waiter will often ask you politely, with Lei: Cosa prende?

Capisco (I understand) and Capisci? (Do you understand?) keep a conversation going, and Capisco un po’ (I understand a little) is honest and useful. Like -are verbs, these present forms cover now, habits and plans: La sera leggo (In the evening I read), Parto domani (I’m leaving tomorrow).

Write po’ with an apostrophe, not an accent: it’s short for poco.

Common mistakes

• Loro leggano.Loro leggono.-ano is the -are ending. -ere and -ire verbs take -ono.
• Lei prenda un caffè?Lei prende un caffè?For lui, lei and Lei, -ere verbs end in -e, not -a.
• Voi dormete?Voi dormite?Voi is the one place -ire differs from -ere: -ite.
• Voi prendite un caffè?Voi prendete un caffè?-ite is only for -ire verbs. Prendere takes -ete.
• Io capo bene.Io capisco bene.Capire is an -isc- verb: cap-isc-o.
• Noi capisciamo.Noi capiamo.Noi and voi never take -isc-.

The full table

Drop -ere or -ire, then add the ending for who’s doing it.

-ere and -ire share every ending except voi: prendete, dormite.

-isc- verbs (finire, capire, preferire, pulire) add -isc- everywhere except noi and voi.

sc sounds like sk before o: capisco. Before i and e it sounds like sh: capisci, capisce.