The everyday workhorse tense: The present tense (il presente indicativo) is the first tense you master in Italian. With a regular verb you do one simple thing: take the stem (the infinitive minus its -are / -ere / -ire ending) and add a personal ending. parlare → stem parl- → io parlo, tu parli, lui parla…. Because most Italian verbs are regular, this one pattern unlocks the majority of everyday sentences.
- il presente indicativo
- the present tense
- l'infinito
- the infinitive — the dictionary form (parlare, scrivere, dormire)
- la radice / il tema
- the stem — the infinitive minus -are/-ere/-ire (parl-, scriv-, dorm-)
- la desinenza
- the ending — added to the stem (-o, -i, -a/-e, -iamo, -ate/-ete/-ite, -ano/-ono)
- la coniugazione
- the conjugation — the group a verb belongs to (1st -are, 2nd -ere, 3rd -ire)
- regolare
- regular — the verb follows the standard pattern and the stem does not change
Why it carries the marks: Almost every reading text, listening clip and written answer at SL uses the present. Getting the ending right for the right person is core Criterion A (Language) accuracy — examiners notice a wrong ending immediately. Learn the endings for the three conjugations once and reuse them on hundreds of verbs.
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Three conjugations, one idea: Drop the -are / -ere / -ire from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the ending for each person. The io and tu forms (-o, -i) and the noi form (-iamo) are the same for all three groups; only the lui/lei, voi and loro endings differ. A big group of -ire verbs adds -isc- before the ending in four persons (capire → capisco, capisci, capisce, … capiscono).
| Person | parlare (-are) | scrivere (-ere) | dormire (-ire) | capire (-isc-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlo | scrivo | dormo | capisco |
| tu | parli | scrivi | dormi | capisci |
| lui / lei | parla | scrive | dorme | capisce |
| noi | parliamo | scriviamo | dormiamo | capiamo |
| voi | parlate | scrivete | dormite | capite |
| loro | parlano | scrivono | dormono | capiscono |
Where the groups differ: For lui/lei: -are takes -a (parla) but -ere and -ire take -e (scrive, dorme). For voi: -ate / -ete / -ite — one for each group. For loro: -are takes -ano (parlano) while -ere and -ire take -ono (scrivono, dormono). The -isc- verbs slot -isc- in for io/tu/lui/loro but the noi and voi forms stay plain (capiamo, capite).
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More jobs than English present: Italian uses the present for more situations than English does. It covers habits and facts, what is happening right now, and — very often — the near future with a time word. There is no separate «-ing» form: «Adesso parlo con Maria» means both I speak and I am speaking. Because the ending already shows who does the action, the subject pronoun is usually dropped.
Uses of the present (regular verbs)
- Habits & routines — «Ogni giorno studio l'italiano.» (Every day I study Italian.)
- General facts — «Roma è in Italia.» (Rome is in Italy.)
- Actions happening now — «In questo momento leggo il giornale.» (Right now I'm reading the paper.)
- Near-future plans (with a time word) — «Domani parto per Milano.» (Tomorrow I'm leaving for Milan.)
- Things generally true — «Abitiamo qui da dieci anni.» (We've lived here for ten years.)
Drop the pronoun: Because each ending is different, Italian usually leaves out the subject pronoun: you say «parlo italiano», not «io parlo italiano», unless you want to stress who. Keep the ending right and the sentence is clear. After a time word the verb does not need to move — «Domani parto» and «Parto domani» are both fine.
A day told with regular verbs: Here is a short everyday paragraph built one sentence at a time. Each sentence uses regular present verbs from all three groups — note how the endings change with the subject (abito, prendo, leggo, lavoro, finisco, parliamo, guardiamo, preferisco, dormo, parto). Read it once for meaning, then tap Mostra traduzione for the English or the audio button to hear it.
IB-style task — il presente in azione
Una giornata, frase per frase
- Mi chiamo Luca e abito in un piccolo paese vicino a Firenze.
- Ogni mattina prendo l'autobus e, durante il viaggio, leggo un libro.
- Il pomeriggio lavoro due ore nella biblioteca della scuola e finisco i compiti.
- Io e i miei amici parliamo molto e la sera guardiamo un film insieme.
- Preferisco andare a letto presto, così dormo otto ore e non parto stanco al mattino.
Steal this for your routine: Notice how few patterns you need: pick high-frequency regular verbs (abitare, parlare, lavorare, guardare, leggere, prendere, dormire, partire, finire, preferire), add the right ending, and you can describe a whole day. Swap in your own activities and you have a ready-made paragraph for the oral or a writing task.
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The slips to watch for: Three mistakes dominate: mixing up the lui vs loro ending («loro parla» instead of loro parlano), giving an -ere/-ire verb an -are ending («loro scrivano» instead of scrivono), and forgetting -isc- on an -isc- verb («io capo» instead of io capisco). Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
Corretto
- Loro parlano tre lingue.
- Loro scrivono una lettera.
- Non capisco la domanda.
Errore comune
- Loro parla tre lingue.
- Loro scrivano una lettera.
- Non capo la domanda.
Ask: which person, and which conjugation?: Before you write a regular verb, do two quick checks. 1. Match the ending to the person (-o io, -i tu, -a/-e lui, -iamo noi, -ate/-ete/-ite voi, -ano/-ono loro). 2. Check the conjugation: an -ere/-ire verb takes -ono for loro (not -ano), and an -isc- verb needs -isc- for io/tu/lui/loro.