Conversational Italian

for Travelers

Kathryn Occhipinti
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs
Copyright © November 2014, by Kathryn Occhipinti

International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9903834-3-7

Publisher: Stella Lucente, LLC

Author: Kathryn Occhipinti
Italian Editor: Simona Giuggioli
Graphics and Page Layout: Cyndi Clark
Cover Photograph: Entrance to Piazza San Marco, Venezia
Kathryn Occhipinti
Map of Italian Cities: www.maps-of-europe.net

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,
recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.

Order at:
Internet: www.StellaLucente.com or www.Learntravelitalian.com
Stella Lucente, LLC
P.O. Box 9640
Peoria, IL 61612
 How to Use This Book
This book, Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs, is a companion book to the
Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook. The handbook Just the Verbs contains the
complete verb section from each of the 18 chapters in the textbook, all condensed into
one smaller book for easy access and reading.

Just the Verbs contains detailed, but easy to read descriptions of how to conjugate Ita-
lian present tense verbs, familiar command forms, reflexive verbs, past tense passato
prossimo and imperfetto verbs, future tense and conditional verbs. There are spe-
cial sections that discuss in detail the irregular verbs for each tense, including helpful
explanations for how to conjugate each irregular verb to make memorization easier.

Like the textbook from which it is derived, Just the Verbs focuses on the conversational
use of the Italian verb, with emphasis on of verb placement in Italian sentence structu-
re, when and how to use subject pronouns, and situations in which to use the different
types and tenses of each verb. These details are included in the verb sections themsel-
ves, as well as in additional excerpts from the “Grammar” and “Idiomatic Expressions”
sections of the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbbook. As a complete work in in
of itself, this book makes learning Italian verbs really come alive!

Just the Verbs is a complete text in and of its own right, and will provide a wonderful
basis for the beginning and intermediate student of Italian to use for many years. A
few words about the textbook from which it is derived:

Conversational Italian for Travelers is unique in that it functions both to teach the
Italian language in a gradual, understandable way, and also to serve as a reference
book for important travel phrases, basic and intermediate grammar, verb conjugations,
numbers, and the idiomatic expressions spoken by real Italians today.

The idea is that the adult who is interested in learning a second language has spe-
cific needs to communicate with other adults and the world around him, and that
these needs should be stressed. In fact, most adults try to learn a new language fairly
quickly before they must visit, relocate, or do business in another country. This book
is designed to focus on the vocabulary and grammar adults will most often encounter,
while at the same time teaching the formal rules of the language. It is an instructional
book that can be kept for later reference as well.

The material covered is from beginning to intermediate levels, and contains three
units. The units describe the information covered: “Transportation,”“City Life,” and “Ho-
tels and Restaurants” – with three full chapters on how to read those Italian menus! All
books in the Conversational Italian for Travelers series are color-coded for easy visual
learning. Choose the book for you and get started today! -Kathryn Occhipinti

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Map of Italy
Italian Cities
 Table of Contents

Getting Started........................................................................ 12
The Italian Alphabet......................................................................................................................... 12
The Italian Sound Combinations................................................................................................. 13
General Pronunciation and Stress for Italian Words............................................................ 15

Unit 1 – Transportation.......................................................... 17
Chapter 1 – At the Airport...........................................................................................18
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 18
Studying Italian Verbs and Italian Subject Pronouns.............................................................. 18
The Many Forms of “You” in Italian – Singular Forms............................................................. 20
The Many Forms of “You” in Italian – Plural Forms................................................................. 21
Writing “I” in Italian....................................................................................................................... 22
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 23
First Conjugation – Regular –are Verbs..................................................................................... 23
Direct Reflexive Verbs and Their Pronouns............................................................................... 24
First Conjugation – More Regular –are Verbs.......................................................................... 26
First Conjugation – Irregular –are Verbs................................................................................... 28
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 1.................................................................................. 29
Chapter 2 – At Customs in Italy.................................................................................31
Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 31
Irregular –are Verb Andare.......................................................................................................... 31
Idiomatic Expressions...................................................................................................................... 32
Come va?......................................................................................................................................... 32
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 33
Auxiliary Verb Essere..................................................................................................................... 33
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 34
Writing “is” in Italian and Italian Accents.................................................................................. 34
Grammar Note.................................................................................................................................... 35
Describing Where You Are From................................................................................................. 35
Idiomatic Expressions...................................................................................................................... 36
Dove and Ecco............................................................................................................................... 36
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 2.................................................................................. 37
Chapter 3 – Taking a Taxi........................................................................................... 39
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 39
Auxiliary Verb Avere...................................................................................................................... 39
Expressions that Use Avere......................................................................................................... 39
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 41
Choosing Essere or Avere........................................................................................................... 41
Avere and Essere + di + Infinitive............................................................................................. 42
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 3.................................................................................. 43

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 4 – At the Train Station...............................................................................45

Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 45
Regular Verbs that End in -care/-gare...................................................................................... 45
Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 46
Table for Regular Verbs that End in -care/-gare..................................................................... 46
Present Tense – Second Conjugation........................................................................................ 47
Irregular Verb Volere..................................................................................................................... 47
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 48
Expressing a Need with Volere and Desiderare..................................................................... 48
Idiomatic Expressions...................................................................................................................... 49
Voglio Bene.................................................................................................................................... 49
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 4.................................................................................. 50
Chapter 5 – On the Train to Milan............................................................................51
Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 51
Regular Verbs that End in -ciare/-giare.................................................................................... 51
Regular Verbs that End in -iare................................................................................................... 52
Present Tense – Second Conjugation........................................................................................ 53
Regular -ere Verbs......................................................................................................................... 53
Regular -ere Verbs......................................................................................................................... 54
Irregular -ere Verbs Sapere and Conoscere............................................................................ 56
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 57
When to Use Sapere vs. Conoscere.......................................................................................... 57
Idiomatic Expressions...................................................................................................................... 59
Sapere and Conoscere................................................................................................................. 59
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 5.................................................................................. 60
Chapter 6 – Driving with Pietro.................................................................................61
Present Tense – Second Conjugation........................................................................................ 61
Regular Verbs that End in -cere/-gere...................................................................................... 61
Irregular Verbs Bere, Scegliere, Spegnere, Tenere and Togliere...................................... 62
Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 63
Irregular Verb Stare....................................................................................................................... 63
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 65
Present Progressive Tense............................................................................................................ 65
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 66
Present Progressive Tense ........................................................................................................... 66
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 68
To Be / To Live Revisited – Essere and Stare; Abitare and Vivere...................................... 68
C’è and Ci sono vs. Ecco.............................................................................................................. 68
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 6.................................................................................. 70

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 Table of Contents

Unit 2 – City Life...................................................................... 73

Chapter 7 – A Family Reunion................................................................................... 74
Present Tense – First Conjugation............................................................................................... 74
Regular -ire Verbs.......................................................................................................................... 74
Regular -ire Verbs with the -isc Ending.................................................................................... 75
Present Tense – More Third Conjugation................................................................................. 76
Regular -ire Verbs.......................................................................................................................... 76
Regular -ire -isc Verbs.................................................................................................................. 76
Regular -ire -isc Verbs.................................................................................................................. 77
Irregular Verbs Dire, Morire, Salire, Uscire, Venire.............................................................. 78
Grammar Point .................................................................................................................................. 79
Verbs that Take di + Infinitive...................................................................................................... 79
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 7.................................................................................. 80
Chapter 8 – Getting Ready..........................................................................................81
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 81
Direct Reflexive Verbs.................................................................................................................... 81
More Direct Reflexive Verbs......................................................................................................... 82
Irregular Verb Sedersi................................................................................................................... 83
Important Phrases............................................................................................................................. 84
Getting Ready with Reflexive Verbs............................................................................................ 84
Present Tense – Direct Reflexive Verbs...................................................................................... 86
Verbs that Have Both Reflexive and Non-Reflexive Forms.................................................... 86
Present Tense ..................................................................................................................................... 88
Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs............................................................................................................ 88
Grammar Point................................................................................................................................... 90
Infinitive Reflexive Verbs and Reflexive Pronouns................................................................... 90
Using Si to Make Impersonal Statements................................................................................. 90
Idiomatic Expressions ..................................................................................................................... 91
Trovare............................................................................................................................................. 91
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 8.................................................................................. 92
Chapter 9 – It’s a Party................................................................................................ 95
Present Tense...................................................................................................................................... 95
Familiar Imperative Verbs............................................................................................................. 95
Irregular Verb Dare........................................................................................................................ 97
Irregular Familiar Imperative Verbs............................................................................................. 98
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................100
Negative Familiar Imperative Verbs..........................................................................................100
Idiomatic Expressions....................................................................................................................101
Dare del tu/Dare del Lei...........................................................................................................101
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 9................................................................................102

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 10 – Shopping in Milan............................................................................. 105

Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................105
Verbs that Take a + Infinitive.....................................................................................................105
Present Tense – First Conjugation.............................................................................................106
Irregular Verb Fare.......................................................................................................................106
Idiomatic Expressions....................................................................................................................107
Fare.................................................................................................................................................107
Commands Using Fare...............................................................................................................110
Grammar Note..................................................................................................................................111
The Weather..................................................................................................................................111
Present Tense....................................................................................................................................112
Reflexive and Indirect Object Pronouns for Reference to Clothing and the Body..........112
Present Tense – Second Conjugation......................................................................................114
Irregular Verb Piacere.................................................................................................................114
Irregular Verb Piacere (cont’d)..................................................................................................115
Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 10.............................................................................116
Chapter 11 – At the Coffee Shop..............................................................................119
Present Tense – Second Conjugation......................................................................................119
Modal Verbs Dovere, Potere and Volere...............................................................................119
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................121
How to Use Modal Verbs............................................................................................................121
Modal Verbs with Reflexive Forms............................................................................................122
Important Phrases...........................................................................................................................123
Basic Communication with Può................................................................................................123
Buying a Ticket and Taking the Train – Vorrei, Voglio, Devo.............................................124
Asking for Assistance – Using Polite Words Può and Sa.....................................................125
Finding One’s Way/Directions...................................................................................................128
Idiomatic Expressions....................................................................................................................130
Potere............................................................................................................................................130
Dovere and Volere......................................................................................................................131
Past Tense...........................................................................................................................................132
Passato Prossimo with Avere..................................................................................................132
Irregular Past Participles.............................................................................................................135
Regular Past Participles with Dovere, Potere and Volere..................................................137
Important Phrases...........................................................................................................................138
Making/Checking/Changing a Reservation............................................................................138
Verb Tables for Chapter 11..........................................................................................................140

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 12 – Phone Conversations........................................................................ 143

Past Tense...........................................................................................................................................143
Passato Prossimo with Essere.................................................................................................143
Verbs that Take Essere................................................................................................................146
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................148
Reflexive Verbs with the Passato Prossimo...........................................................................148
Modal Verbs with Essere and Passato Prossimo.................................................................149
Past Tense – Passato Prossimo.................................................................................................150
Avere and Essere Past Participles............................................................................................150
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................151
Single Negative with the Passato Prossimo..........................................................................151
Double Negative with the Passato Prossimo.......................................................................151
Grammar Note..................................................................................................................................152
Direct Object Pronouns and the Passato Prossimo.............................................................152
Ne and the Passato Prossimo..................................................................................................153
Direct Object Pronouns with Reflexive Verbs.........................................................................154
Verb Tables for Chapter 12..........................................................................................................156

Unit 3 – At the Hotel and Restaurant.................................. 159

Chapter 13 – Arriving at the Hotel......................................................................... 160
Past Tense...........................................................................................................................................160
Imperfetto....................................................................................................................................160
Irregular Verbs – Bere, Dire, Fare............................................................................................163
Auxiliary Verbs – Avere and Essere.........................................................................................164
Auxiliary Verbs – Avere and Essere (con’t).............................................................................165
Grammar Note..................................................................................................................................166
Expressions of Past Time.............................................................................................................166
Idiomatic Expressions....................................................................................................................167
Fa and Expressions of Past Time...............................................................................................167
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................168
Imperfetto vs. Passato Prossimo...........................................................................................168
Verb Tables for Chapter 13..........................................................................................................170
Chapter 14 – On the Beach at Last!......................................................................... 171
Past Tense...........................................................................................................................................171
Imperfetto with Dovere, Potere, Volere..............................................................................171
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................173
Imperfetto vs. Passato Prossimo – Final Summary............................................................173
Verb Tables for Chapter 14..........................................................................................................174

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 15 – Sightseeing.......................................................................................... 177

Future Tense......................................................................................................................................177
Future Tense – Auxilliary Verbs...................................................................................................179
Avere and Essere.........................................................................................................................179
Future Tense – Verbs with Irregular Stems.............................................................................180
Verbs that Drop the Stem Vowel...............................................................................................180
Verbs that Do Not Change the Letter a in the Stem.............................................................180
Grammar Point.................................................................................................................................181
Use of Two Verbs in the Same Sentence with the Future Tense.........................................181
Grammar Note..................................................................................................................................182
Expressions of Future Time........................................................................................................182
Numbers.............................................................................................................................................184
Talking About Events in Future and Past Tense......................................................................184
Verb Tables for Chapter 15..........................................................................................................186
Chapter 16 – Ordering at the Restaurantl............................................................ 189
Antipasto and Il Primo................................................................................................................189
Present Tense....................................................................................................................................189
Piacere and the Disjunctive Pronouns ...................................................................................189
Future Tense......................................................................................................................................192
Verbs with Endings of -care, -gare..........................................................................................192
Verbs with Endings of -ciare, -giare........................................................................................193
Verb Tables for Chapter 16..........................................................................................................194
Chapter 17 – Dinner at the Restaurant.................................................................. 197
Grammar Note..................................................................................................................................197
Conditional Tense.........................................................................................................................197
Conditional Tense – Auxiliary Verbs ........................................................................................199
Avere and Essere.........................................................................................................................199
Conditional Tense – Verbs with Irregular Stems..................................................................200
Verbs that Drop the Stem Vowel...............................................................................................200
Conditional Tense – Verbs with Irregular Stems..................................................................201
Verbs that Do Not Change the letter a in the Stem..............................................................201
More Verbs with Irregular Stems...............................................................................................202
Conditional Tense and Introduction to the Subjunctive Mood.....................................203
Conditional Tense............................................................................................................................204
Modal Verbs Dovere, Potere and Volere...............................................................................204
Present Tense vs. Conditional Tense .......................................................................................205
The Meaning of Dovere, Potere, and Volere........................................................................205
Important Phrases...........................................................................................................................206
Speaking with the Waiter...........................................................................................................206
Verb Tables for Chapter 17..........................................................................................................208

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 18 – A Happy Birthday Surprise...............................................................211

Conditional Tense............................................................................................................................211
Verbs with Endings of -care, -gare..........................................................................................211
Dovere, Potere, and Volere – Should’ve, Could’ve, Would’ve..........................................213
Present Conditional Tense – Piacere.......................................................................................214
Would Like.....................................................................................................................................214
Would Have Liked........................................................................................................................215
Present Tense – Dispiacere.........................................................................................................216
Present and Past Conditional Tenses – Dispiacere............................................................217
Important Phrases...........................................................................................................................218
Common Conditional Phrases...................................................................................................218
Verb Tables for Chapter 18..........................................................................................................219
Appendix 1...................................................................................................................222
A Note About the Changing Italian Subject Pronouns.....................................................222
The Different Forms of “They” in Italian..................................................................................223

Regions of Italy

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 Just the Verbs

Getting Started

The Italian Alphabet

The Italian alphabet has only 21 letters, but there are names in Italian for all of the Latin
letters, including those traditionally described as foreign to Italian. The letters that
are foreign to Italian are listed in parenthesis and are included together with the Italian
alphabet given below. The written form of each letter’s name in Italian and the phonetic
pronunciation are listed in separate columns.

Letter Italian Phonetic Letter Italian Phonetic

Name Pronunciation Name Pronunciation
a a ah u u oo
b bi bee v vu/vi voo/vee
c ci chee (w) doppia vu doh-pee-ah voo
d di dee (x) ics eeks
e é eh (y) ipsilon eep-see-lohn
f èffe ehf-feh i greca ee greh-ka
g gi jee z zèta zeh-tah
h àcca ah-kah
i i ee
(j) i lunga ee loon-gah
(k) càppa kahp-pah
l èlle ehl-eh
m èmme ehm-eh
n ènne ehn-eh
o ò oh
p pi pee
q cu koo
r èrre ehr-reh
s èsse es-seh
t ti tee

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 Just the Verbs

Getting Started

The Italian Sound Combinations

Here is the Italian alphabet again, with an example word in Italian to represent how each
written letter should sound, as well as an example of an English word that has an equiv-
alent sound. If the sounds are identical in Italian and English, no explanation is given.
Multiple examples will be given for a letter if the pronunciation can vary. Italian is one of
the most phonetic (and beautiful) languages spoken, and a little time spent learning how to
pronounce the letter combinations will make learning this language much easier!

Letters(s) Italian English Pronunciation Equivalent

Pronunciation
a cane father (ah sound)
b bene bell
ca/co/cu casa cat (hard c sound)
ci ciao cheese (soft ch with long ee sound)
ce cena cheddar (soft ch with short e sound)
chi chi key (hard c with long ee sound)
che che kennel (hard c with sort e sound)
d dado dad
e era bet (eh sound)
e vedi bait (ay sound)
f farfalla fan
ga/go/gu gusto good (hard g sound)
gi giro jeer (soft j with long ee sound)
ge gettare jet (soft j with short e sound)
gli figlio million (“gli” is a unique Italian sound
similar to the “lli” in million,
pronounced like mil-lyee-on)*
gn signora onion (sounds like the “ni” in onion)
h -- -- (h is not pronounced in Italian)
i vita meet (long ee sound)
l luna love
m mamma mother
n non no

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 Just the Verbs

Getting Started

The Italian Sound Combinations (cont’d)

Letters(s) Italian English Pronunciation Equivalent
Pronunciation
o sole soap (oh sound)
o modo law (aw sound)
p pasta pasta
qu quanto quest (qu together makes the kw sound)
r Roma --- (r is always trilled in Italian)
s rossa toss (hard s)
s rosa nose (soft s)
schi schiavo skeet (s + chi makes hard skey sound)
sche schema skill (s + che makes hard skeh sound)
sci sciare shield (soft sh sound with long ee sound)
sce scemo shed (soft sh sound with short e sound)
t tu to
u uva boot (oo sound)
v vincere vine
z zero zero (soft z)
z pizza pizza (hard z, like tz sound)

*To form the sound that corresponds to the letter combination ”gli” in Italian, place the tip of your
tongue behind your upper teeth. Then, raise the back part of your tongue to the palate and roll your
tongue forward to form the guttural “gl” sound that is a part of this combination. Finish with the “yee”
sound. By listening, you will note the word gli (the) stresses the guttural sound, but when placed in the
middle of the word, such as with figlio (son), the “yee” part of the sound is stressed.

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 Just the Verbs

Getting Started

General Pronunciation and Stress for Italian Words

The Italian language is a phonetic language, and so each letter in an Italian word needs to
be pronounced to create the final sound. If two vowels are written next to each other,
both are pronounced, but the sound is a combined sound (referred to as a diphthong).
There are many pronunciation rules, which include rules for consonants, pure vowels and
semivowels, but the easiest thing to remember is just to pronounce what you see!

Most Italian words will be stressed on the second to last syllable, which is easy to re-
member if the word contains only three syllables – just stress the syllable in the middle
of the word. In general, a syllable in Italian is usually made up of a vowel or consonant
group with its vowel. So, for many Italian words, just look for the vowel in the middle of
the word and stress the syllable it goes with by making your intonation a little higher and
more forceful. The word ragazzo, for instance, which means boy, will place the stress on
the /ga/ sound.
ragazzo: ra/GAZ/zo

There are many exceptions to this rule, however, and the first syllable is stressed instead
in many cases for words with three syllables, while the second syllable is often stressed
in words with four syllables, as in sabato (Saturday) and domenica (Sunday).
sabato: SA/ba/to
domenica: do/ME/ni/ca

A vowel alone can also form a complete syllable. Abito (I live), is a verb with three sylla-
bles where the first syllable, which happens to be the vowel /a/ is stressed.
abito: A/bi/to

In the few cases where the very last syllable is stressed, the vowel at the end of the word
will be given a grave (`) accent, as in città (city) or caffè (coffee). Otherwise, accents are
infrequently used in Italian, and pronunciation is learned by listening!

For words with double consonants, hold the original sound of the consonant a little longer.
For similar words, this can change the meaning; casa (house) or cassa (cash register)!

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 Unit 1

Transportation

17
Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Grammar Point
Studying Italian Verbs and Italian Subject Pronouns

The action words, or verbs, are the heart of every language. One who knows a wide va-
riety of verbs and how to conjugate them quickly has a much easier time understanding
others and also expressing their own point of view. We learn verb conjugation – how to
change the form of the verb to reflect the speaker – from our native language, naturally
and gradually, over many years as we are growing up, simply by listening to the people
around us. By the time we are teenagers, we know how to express present, past, and fu-
ture tenses to describe both action and time. As adults, often the way we use verbs can
denote where we are from as much as our accent does. A verb incorrectly conjugated just
sounds wrong to our ears in our native language, and this will soon be the case the more
we practice our Italian verbs.

At first, learning how to conjugate Italian verbs may seem complicated to the English
speaker, and for good reason. In English, we rely on the subject pronouns – I, you, he,
she, etc., to signal who is doing the talking. In Italian, however, the speaker is signaled by
the verb endings themselves. A different ending must be learned for each speaker for
each form of the verb!

Since the Italian verb endings are different for each speaker, the subject pronouns are
only included for emphasis in Italian. More often than not, subject pronouns are left out
of the sentence in conversational Italian. As an example, in cases where the word “it” is
the subject, the third person singular verb form is used, but the subject pronoun “it” is
always omitted.

But, with a little practice (that is with “verb drills,” which are available in the Conversa-
tional Italian Audio Dialogue Practice Books), this way of speaking will become more easily
understood and the correct conjugation of the verb alone will be easy to remember and
just “sound right.”

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The table below shows the order in which all subject pronouns will be listed when learning
each verb form, with the technical names (first, second, third person singular and plural)
for each type of conjugation.

At first, when learning to conjugate a verb, try to focus only on the io, tu, and noi forms,
as these forms will be used the most in conversation; and luckily, the endings will be the
same in the present tense for all three major Italian verb forms!

Subject Pronouns
io I 1st person singular
tu you (familiar) 2nd person singular
Lei/lei/lui you (polite)/she/he/(it) 3rd person singular

noi we 1st person plural

voi you all (familiar) 2nd person plural
Loro/loro you all (polite)/they 3rd person plural

Gondolas on the Grand Canal, Venice

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Grammar Point
The Many Forms of “You” in Italian – Singular Forms
In Italian, when we address someone as “you,” different subject pronouns and verb end-
ings are used. As we’ve seen already from the last section in this chapter, there are four
different subject pronouns and verb endings in Italian that all mean “you” – for each verb!
How do we know which is the correct form to use in a given situation? Prior to studying
verb conjugations, we will go through the situations when each form of “you” is used.
Also, throughout the text from here on, references to the familiar (fam.) and polite (pol.)
forms of the Italian verbs may appear for clarity after the English translation of the
verb.

Keep in mind that for conversational Italian, the familiar is used very commonly in Italy
today, so if you can remember the verb endings for the io, tu, and noi forms (which will
be the same for each subject pronoun in all three conjugations), you are well on your way
to speaking Italian! Remember these forms when you speak; recognize the other forms
when you are listening.

You familiar (singular) – tu with an –i ending for the –are, –ere, and –ire verbs is used for
people you know well, or are familiar with – family (always with children), friends, or someone
you would like to be a friend. For instance, “Tu parli italiano?” uses the “familiar you” form
of the verb parlare to ask the question, “Do you speak Italian?” Remember this form for
traveling, as it can be used in almost all situations.

You polite (singular) – Lei with an –a ending for the –are verbs is used for people you do
not know or have just met, and to be respectful toward someone older than you. “Lei parla
italiano?” also means, “Do you speak Italian?” but asks this question in a more polite way
than the example given in the last paragraph. This form of the verb, called the “polite“ or
“formal form,” is important to show respect to others.

For the traveler, who is often a customer, the hotel personnel or the salespeople in a shop
may use the polite form. You, in turn, may also want to use this polite form when making re-
quests, and this will be emphasized throughout the text. The response may be in the familiar
or polite form, and the situation will usually determine what form the rest of the conversation
will continue in.

In written Italian, the subject pronoun Lei is capitalized in formal situations. In spoken Ital-
ian, the meaning of Lei, which means polite you, and lei, which means she, is, of course,
understood from the situation.

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 Grammar Point
The Many Forms of “You” in Italian – Plural Forms
You familiar (plural) – voi with an –ate ending for the –are verbs is used when calling a group
of people “you.” In this text, this form will be referred to as the “you all“ form, since the use of
this subject pronoun is similar to the colloquial phrase used in the southern states of Amer-
ica. If speaking directly to a group of people you know, such as your family, use this form.
Tour guides when addressing “all of you” on the tour will probably use this form, as they will
become familiar with the members of the tour group.

When asking shop clerks, “Do you have…?” use this form for the “collective you” that in-
cludes owners and shopkeepers, and start your question with, “Avete…?” “Do you all
have…? To ask a group of people if they speak Italian, we can say, “Voi parlate italiano?”
which means, “Do you all speak Italian?”

You polite (plural) – Loro with an –ano ending for –are verbs. Loro is capitalized to distin-
guish the “polite plural you” from loro, which means they. Loro as the “polite you plural”
is almost never used by Italians today, and it gives the language a very stiff feeling when
it is occasionally used. In a very formal situation, Loro may be used to address a group of
people, but it is unlikely one will encounter this use while traveling. So, the subject pronoun
Loro with a capital “L” to mean “polite you all” will not be included in the tables used to
present verb conjugation after this section.

Finally, then, if we want to ask a group of people if they speak Italian in an extremely formal
way, we could say, “Loro parlano italiano?” which, again, means, “Do you all (to a group)
speak Italian?” When making a general statement about a group of people, one would also
say, “Loro parlano italiano,” to mean, “They speak Italian.”

Subject Pronouns
io I 1st person singular
tu you (familiar) 2nd person singular
Lei/lei/lui you (polite)/she/he/(it) 3rd person singular

noi we 1st person plural

voi you all (familiar) 2nd person plural
Loro/loro you all (polite)/they 3rd person plural

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Grammar Point
Writing “I” in Italian
You may have noticed that the word for I, io, is not capitalized in Italian the way it is
in English. Instead, Italians give emphasis in writing to the polite forms of you, Lei and
Loro, by capitalizing both of these forms. When addressing a man in Italian, of course, it
is simly understood that Lei refers to the polite form of you, and not the word for “she.”

Tiburtina Railway Station, Rome

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

Present Tense
First Conjugation - Regular -are Verbs

Italian verbs are categorized into three main types that are called infinitive forms, and
also referred to as conjugations. In English, verbs have just one infinitive form, the “to”
form – for instance: “to live,” “to sell,” and “to sleep.” In Italian, the infinitive verb is
recognized by its ending: -are for the first conjugation, -ere for the second conjugation,
and -ire for the third conjugation. For instance, we will soon learn the verbs that
correspond to the above English translations: abitare, vendere and dormire.

To form the present tense of the first conjugation -are verbs, just drop the -are and add
the appropriate ending to the stem that remains, as given in the table below for the
conjugation of abitare. Let’s try this: start with abitare > abitare > the stem abit. The
endings to be added are as follows: o, i, a, iamo, ate, ano. These endings alone will tell
you who is doing the talking, although we always will include the subject pronouns in our
table for clarity when we learn verb conjugations.

Abitare
Abitare –– to
to live
live
io abito o I live*
tu abiti i you (familiar) live
Lei abita a you (polite) live
lei/lui she/he lives

noi abitiamo iamo we live

voi abitate ate you all live
loro abitano ano they live

*Note this simple present tense in Italian can be translated four ways:
io abito is equivalent to the English I live, I do live, I am living, I am going to live.

As a general guide to the pronunciation of verbs in Italian, remember that the stress will
fall in the beginning of the word for the io, tu, and lei forms. This is most often on the
second syllable, but can also be on the first, as with our example verb, abitare.

For the noi and voi forms, an additional syllable is created by combining the root with the
first vowel of the new ending. The stress will change to the end of the word, and will be at
the second to the last syllable. Finally, for loro, the stress reverts back to its original
location at the beginning of the word! The stressed syllables will be underlined for our
examples.

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Present Tense
Direct Reflexive Verbs and Their Pronouns
Direct reflexive verbs are recognized by the additional ending of –si to the usual –are,
-ere, and –ire endings of our infinitive verbs. In our textbook dialogue from Chapter
1, we encounter the reflexive verb chiamarsi, as this is the infinitive verb from which
chiama and chiamo originate. These are verbs that take the reflexive pronouns (myself,
yourself, etc.), which refer back directly to the person who is doing the action.

The reflexive pronouns are:

mi –myself, ti –yourself (fam.), si –yourself (polite), herself, himself, itself
ci –ourselves, vi –yourselves (fam.), si –yourselves (polite), themselves

For now, the only reflexive verb we will learn is chiamarsi, since it is so commonly used in
introductions. To conjugate all reflexive verbs, both the reflexive pronoun and the verb
ending must be changed to agree with the subject pronoun.

So, first let’s conjugate chiamarsi the way we would any other –are verb: Drop the –arsi
and add the endings you already know to the stem chiam to form the new words below.
The stress will fall on the second syllable for our first three forms and the loro form.

Chiamarsi – to be called, as in a name

io chiamo I call
tu chiami you (familiar) call
Lei chiama you (polite) call
lei/lui she/he calls

noi chiamiamo we call

voi chiamate you all call
loro chiamano they call

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To finish the conjugation, add the reflexive pronoun before the verb. Notice that in En-
glish the reflexive pronoun goes after the verb, so this may take a little getting used to.

Chiamarsi – to be called, as in a name/to name oneself

io mi chiamo I call myself
tu ti chiami you (familiar) call yourself
Lei/lei/lui si chiama you (polite)name/she/he calls
yourself, herself, himself, itself

noi ci chiamiamo we call ourselves

voi vi chiamate you all call yourselves
loro si chiamano they call themselves

Tour Bus by La Scala Opera House, Milan

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Present Tense
First Conjugation – More Regular –are Verbs
Here are some important regular –are verbs. Practice the different conjugated forms of
each verb to get used to how the words sound with their different endings, focusing on
the “I,” “you familiar,” and “we” forms. Drop the –are and add: o, i, a, iamo, ate, ano.

abitare to live fermare to stop

accettare to accept firmare to sign
accompagnare to come along with fotografare to take a picture
affittare to rent funzionare to function/work
amare to love girare to turn/tour
annullare to cancel giurare to swear/take an oath
arredare to furnish/equip guadagnare to earn money
arrivare to arrive guardare to look at
ascoltare to listen guidare to drive
aspettare to wait gustare to enjoy the taste of food
attraversare to cross illuminare to light up
atterrare to land (plane) imparare to learn
aiutare to help importare to be important/matter
ballare to dance indossare to wear/put on
buttare to throw (away) informare to inform/educate
camminare to walk iniziare to begin/start
cantare to sing insegnare to teach
cenare to eat diner mandare to send
chiaccierare to chat/gossip mostrare to show/exhibit
chiamare to call/telephone nuotare to swim
compilare to fill out (a form) obliterare to cancel/validate ticket
comprare to buy ordinare to order
confermare to confirm parlare to talk/speak
(reservation)
controllare to check/control passare to pass (through)
convalidare to validate to put through
(telephone)
costare to cost pensare to think

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cucinare to cook food portare to carry/bring
danzare to dance (perform) pranzare to eat lunch
decollare to take off prenotare to make a reservation
depositare to check baggage preparare to prepare
desiderare to desire/want/wish presentare to introduce
dichiarare to declare (customs) provare to try/test/rehearse
domandare to ask raccomandare to recommend
entrare to enter regalare to give a gift
restare to stay/remain sembrare to seem/appear/look or
feel like
richiamare to call back sognare to dream
(telephone)
ricordare to remember sorpassare to overtake/pass on road
rifare to re-do/make up a sostare to take a break/stop
room
rinnovare to renovate sperare to hope
riparare to repair squillare to ring (telephone/
doorbell)
riposare to rest suonare to play music
riscaldare to reheat/warm up svoltare to turn around
riservare to reserve timbrare to stamp (ticket)
ritornare to return tornare to return
salutare to greet/say hello traslocare to move/change
residence
scappare to escape/run away/ trovare to find/meet by chance /
leave visit
scherzare to joke usare to use/employ
scontare to discount/reduce vietare to forbid/ban/obstruct/
(price) block
scordare to forget visitare to visit (a place)
volare to fly

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Chapter 1 Just the Verbs

At the Airport

Present Tense
First Conjugation – Irregular –are Verbs

The following verbs end in –care, -gare, -ciare, -giare, and -iare. and have irregular
spelling or pronunciation in some conjugations, to be discussed in later chapters:

abbracciare to hug/embrace litigare to argue/fight

allacciare to fasten/tie/lace mangiare to eat
annoiare to bore noleggiare to rent a car
assaggiare to taste/nibble odiare to hate
baciare to kiss pagare to pay
bloccare to block parcheggiare to park
cambiare to change passeggiare to walk slowly/stroll
cercare to look for pescare to fish
cominciare to start/begin pregare to pray/ask of/beg
consigliare to give advice ringraziare to thank
dimenticare to forget spagliare to be wong
festiggiare to celebrate/party significare to mean
giocare to play game/sport soffiare to blow
graziare to pardon/forgive spiegare to explain
imbarcare to board studiare to study
iniziare to begin/start tagliare to cut
inviare to send toccare to touch
lasciare to leave be/let go viaggiare to travel

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 Present Tense Verb Tables for Chapter 1
Infinitive Forms -are -ere -ire -ire (isco)
io o * * *
tu i * * ****
Lei/lei/lui a * * ****

noi iamo **** **** ****

voi ate *** *** ***
loro ano *** *** ******

Auxiliary Verbs Essere Avere

(*****) (******)
io **** **
tu *** ***
Lei/lei/lui * **

noi ***** *******

voi ***** *****
loro **** *****

Irregular Verbs Andare Volere Sapere Conoscere

(*****) (*******) (*******) (*******)
io **** ****** ** ******
tu *** **** *** *******
Lei/lei/lui ** ***** ** *******

noi ******* ******** ******** ********

voi ****** ****** ****** *********
loro ***** ******* ***** *********

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 Venice
Residential Canal