Italian presente: conjugation, endings, and when to use it
- Mood: Indicativo
- Level: A1
The presente is the first tense you learn and the one you'll use most. It covers what is happening now, what happens habitually, and what is generally true. Unlike English, it also covers what you're doing right this second and what you've arranged to do tomorrow.
Presente conjugation
Three endings sets, plus the -isc- pattern that roughly two thirds of -ire verbs follow.
parlare
to talk, to speak · -are (first conjugation)
| io | parlo |
| tu | parli |
| lui/lei | parla |
| noi | parliamo |
| voi | parlate |
| loro | parlano |
credere
to believe · -ere (second conjugation)
| io | credo |
| tu | credi |
| lui/lei | crede |
| noi | crediamo |
| voi | credete |
| loro | credono |
dormire
to sleep · -ire (third conjugation)
| io | dormo |
| tu | dormi |
| lui/lei | dorme |
| noi | dormiamo |
| voi | dormite |
| loro | dormono |
finire
to finish · -ire (third conjugation) · -isc-
| io | finisco |
| tu | finisci |
| lui/lei | finisce |
| noi | finiamo |
| voi | finite |
| loro | finiscono |
When to use the presente
-
What's happening now
Italian has no separate progressive tense it must use. Parlo covers both "I speak" and "I am speaking". (There is a progressive, sto parlando, but it's for emphasising that something is in progress right now, not the default.)
Parlo con Marco.
I'm speaking with Marco. -
Habits and repeated actions
Anything you do regularly, with or without a time expression.
La domenica dormiamo fino a tardi.
On Sundays we sleep in. -
General truths and states
Facts, definitions, permanent characteristics, abilities.
L'Italia ha venti regioni.
Italy has twenty regions. -
A planned future
With a future time marker, the presente is the normal, natural way to talk about arranged events. Using the futuro semplice here isn't wrong, but it sounds heavier than a native speaker usually goes for.
Domani parto per Roma.
Tomorrow I'm leaving for Rome. -
How long something has been going on
Where English switches to the present perfect ("I have lived here for three years"), Italian keeps the presente with da. This is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make.
Abito qui da tre anni.
I've lived here for three years.
How the presente is formed
Drop the infinitive ending (-are, -ere or -ire) to get the stem, then add the endings for that group. The -are endings differ most; -ere and -ire share four of six.
Roughly two thirds of -ire verbs insert -isc- between the stem and the ending in the three singular persons and the third-person plural, the four forms where the stress falls on the ending. finire gives finisco, finisci, finisce, finiscono, but the noi and voi forms stay plain: finiamo, finite. There is no rule that predicts which -ire verbs do this; it has to be learned per verb, which is why every -ire verb page here flags it.
Spelling adjustments keep pronunciation constant rather than changing the verb. Verbs in -care and -gare add an h before endings starting with i (cerchi, paghiamo) so the c and g stay hard. Verbs in -ciare and -giare drop the i instead of doubling it (cominci, mangi).
Irregular verbs in the presente
Fourteen verbs carry most of the irregularity in the presente, and they're also the most frequent verbs in the language, so they're worth memorising as whole paradigms rather than as exceptions to a rule.
essere
to be
| io | sono |
| tu | sei |
| lui/lei | è |
| noi | siamo |
| voi | siete |
| loro | sono |
avere
to have
| io | ho |
| tu | hai |
| lui/lei | ha |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | avete |
| loro | hanno |
andare
to go
| io | vado |
| tu | vai |
| lui/lei | va |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andate |
| loro | vanno |
fare
to do
| io | faccio |
| tu | fai |
| lui/lei | fa |
| noi | facciamo |
| voi | fate |
| loro | fanno |
dare
to give
| io | do |
| tu | dai |
| lui/lei | dà |
| noi | diamo |
| voi | date |
| loro | danno |
stare
to stay, to be (feel)
| io | sto |
| tu | stai |
| lui/lei | sta |
| noi | stiamo |
| voi | state |
| loro | stanno |
potere
can, could
| io | posso |
| tu | puoi |
| lui/lei | può |
| noi | possiamo |
| voi | potete |
| loro | possono |
volere
to want
| io | voglio |
| tu | vuoi |
| lui/lei | vuole |
| noi | vogliamo |
| voi | volete |
| loro | vogliono |
dovere
must, to have to
| io | devo |
| tu | devi |
| lui/lei | deve |
| noi | dobbiamo |
| voi | dovete |
| loro | devono |
sapere
to know
| io | so |
| tu | sai |
| lui/lei | sa |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sapete |
| loro | sanno |
dire
to say, to tell
| io | dico |
| tu | dici |
| lui/lei | dice |
| noi | diciamo |
| voi | dite |
| loro | dicono |
uscire
to go out, leave
| io | esco |
| tu | esci |
| lui/lei | esce |
| noi | usciamo |
| voi | uscite |
| loro | escono |
venire
to come
| io | vengo |
| tu | vieni |
| lui/lei | viene |
| noi | veniamo |
| voi | venite |
| loro | vengono |
bere
to drink
| io | bevo |
| tu | bevi |
| lui/lei | beve |
| noi | beviamo |
| voi | bevete |
| loro | bevono |
Common mistakes
Don't translate the English progressive
"I am eating" is mangio, not sono mangiando. Sto mangiando exists and is correct, but it specifically emphasises that the action is in progress at this moment. It isn't the default present.
da + presente, not the past
"How long have you been studying Italian?" is Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano?, presente, not passato prossimo. Italian sees the action as still going on, so it uses a present tense.
The -isc- verbs are unpredictable
Dormire and finire are both regular -ire verbs, but dormo versus finisco. Nothing in the infinitive tells you which pattern applies.
Related tenses
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