Learn16
Lesson 5 of 16

The Three Regular Verb Families

Unlock all three regular verb families in the present tense, master spelling changes like gioco and giochi, replace nouns with lo, la, li and le, say ages with avere and count up to one thousand.

⏱ About 55 minutes 25 phrases 41 exercises
Three Italian townhouses labelled -are, -ere and -ire under the title Three families, one street.

What you will learn

  • Conjugate regular -are, -ere and -ire verbs in the present tense
  • Apply the spelling changes in verbs like giocare and mangiare
  • Use the direct object pronouns mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le before a conjugated verb
  • Use the irregular past participles fatto, detto, scritto, letto, aperto, chiuso, preso and visto
  • Say your age and ask about others with avere
  • Count in hundreds up to one thousand

Quick review

Say these aloud before you start. They come from earlier lessons.

  • Parlo inglese. I speak English.
  • Dove abiti? Where do you live?
  • Ho una domanda. I have a question.
  • Non lavoro qui. I do not work here.
  • Ho parlato con Marco. I spoke with Marco.
  • Quanto costa? How much does it cost?

Theory

Three families, three patterns

You already know the -are family: parlo, parli, parla, parliamo, parlate, parlano. The other two regular families, -ere and -ire, share most of those endings. All three keep -o for io and -iamo for noi.

The -ere family (vedere): vedo, vedi, vede, vediamo, vedete, vedono. The -ire family (dormire): dormo, dormi, dorme, dormiamo, dormite, dormono. The only visible difference between -ere and -ire in the present tense is the voi form: -ete versus -ite.

The stress pattern is also identical in all three families: the stress falls on the stem for io, tu, lui/lei and loro (VÈ-do, DÒR-mo) and on the ending for noi and voi (ve-DIA-mo, dor-MI-te).

  • Vedo il mare. I can see the sea.
  • Prendiamo il treno. We are taking the train.
  • Dormono molto. They sleep a lot.
Side-by-side present-tense conjugation tables for parlare, credere and partire.

Spelling changes that protect the sound

Verbs like giocare and pagare end in -care and -gare, where c and g are hard sounds. Before the letter i, Italian adds a silent h to keep that hard sound: tu giochi, noi giochiamo, tu paghi, noi paghiamo. The h changes nothing you say — it only fixes the spelling.

Verbs like mangiare and cominciare end in -giare and -ciare. Here the g and c are already soft, so the extra i is not written: tu mangi (never mangii), io mangio, tu cominci. The sound stays the same; only one i survives.

  • Giochi a calcio? Do you play football?
  • Non mangio carne. I do not eat meat.
  • Paghiamo noi. We will pay.
Cartoon bodyguard guarding the letter h in giochi and paghi so the g keeps its hard sound.

Direct object pronouns: small words, big power

When you do not want to repeat a noun, Italian replaces it with a small pronoun: mi (me), ti (you), lo (him, it — masculine), la (her, it — feminine), ci (us), vi (you, plural), li (them — masculine), le (them — feminine).

The pronoun goes directly before the conjugated verb: Vedo Marco becomes Lo vedo. In a negative sentence, non still comes first: Non lo vedo.

Choose lo or li for masculine nouns and la or le for feminine nouns — the pronoun keeps the gender and number of the noun it replaces. Before a vowel, lo and la shrink to l': L'hai visto?

  • Lo vedo. I can see him.
  • Non la sento. I cannot hear her.
  • Le chiamo domani. I will call them tomorrow.
Diagram showing direct pronouns lo, la, li, le slotting in before the verb: compro il libro becomes lo compro.

Eight past participles to memorise

In Lesson 1 you built the past with ho + parlato. Regular verbs form the participle mechanically: -are becomes -ato, -ere becomes -uto, -ire becomes -ito (dormire → dormito). But some of the most useful verbs are irregular, and you simply learn their participles as words in their own right.

fare → fatto, dire → detto, scrivere → scritto, leggere → letto, aprire → aperto, chiudere → chiuso, prendere → preso, vedere → visto. Put them after ho, hai, ha and the sentence is done: Ho fatto. Hai letto? Abbiamo preso il treno.

  • Ho visto un bel film. I saw a great film.
  • Cosa hai detto? What did you say?
  • Hanno chiuso il negozio. They have closed the shop.

Age and numbers up to one thousand

English says I am thirty; Italian says I have thirty years: Ho trent'anni. Always use avere plus anni for age. To ask, say Quanti anni hai? (informal) or Quanti anni ha? (formal).

You already know numbers up to one hundred. The hundreds are regular: cento, duecento, trecento, quattrocento, cinquecento, seicento, settecento, ottocento, novecento — then mille (one thousand). Cento never changes its form; just attach the rest of the number and write it as one word: centodieci (110), trecentoquarantadue (342), novecentonovantanove (999).

  • Ho trent'anni. I am thirty years old.
  • Mia sorella ha venticinque anni. My sister is twenty-five.
  • Costa trecento euro. It costs three hundred euros.
Birthday cake with the caption ho trent'anni and the reminder that in Italian age uses avere, not essere.
The three families in the present tense
parlare (-are) vedere (-ere) dormire (-ire)
io parlo vedo dormo
tu parli vedi dormi
lui / lei parla vede dorme
noi parliamo vediamo dormiamo
voi parlate vedete dormite
loro parlano vedono dormono

The voi row is the only difference between -ere and -ire: vedete versus dormite.

Spelling changes: keeping the sound
giocare pagare mangiare
io gioco pago mangio
tu giochi paghi mangi
lui / lei gioca paga mangia
noi giochiamo paghiamo mangiamo

-care and -gare add a silent h before i; -giare and -ciare simply drop the extra i.

Direct object pronouns
English Italian example
me me mi Marco mi vede.
you (singular) you ti Ti chiamo domani.
him / it (masculine) him, it lo Lo vedo.
her / it (feminine) her, it la La vedo.
us us ci Ci vedono.
you (plural) you vi Vi sentiamo.
them (masculine) them li Li prendo.
them (feminine) them le Le chiudo.

The pronoun stands before the conjugated verb; lo and la become l' before a vowel.

Irregular past participles
infinitive past participle example
to do, to make fare fatto Ho fatto.
to say dire detto Ha detto no.
to write scrivere scritto Ho scritto.
to read leggere letto Hai letto?
to open aprire aperto Hanno aperto.
to close chiudere chiuso Ho chiuso.
to take prendere preso Abbiamo preso.
to see vedere visto Hai visto?

No rule produces these — learn each one as a single word.

From one hundred to one thousand
number Italian
100 100 cento
200 200 duecento
300 300 trecento
500 500 cinquecento
900 900 novecento
1,000 1.000 mille

Cento never changes; build any number by attaching the rest: duecentocinquanta (250).

Vocabulary

Italian English Pronunciation Audio
vedere to see /veˈdere/ veh-DEH-reh
rispondere to answer, to reply /riˈspondere/ ree-SPOHN-deh-reh
chiedere to ask /ˈkjɛdere/ KYEH-deh-reh
aprire to open /aˈprire/ ah-PREE-reh
chiudere to close /ˈkjudere/ KYOO-deh-reh
sentire to hear, to feel /senˈtire/ sehn-TEE-reh
prendere to take, to have (food and drink) /ˈprɛndere/ PREHN-deh-reh
chiamare to call /kjaˈmare/ kyah-MAH-reh
vendere to sell /ˈvendere/ VEHN-deh-reh
dormire to sleep /dorˈmire/ dor-MEE-reh
leggere to read /ˈlɛddʒere/ LEHJ-jeh-reh
scrivere to write /ˈskrivere/ SKREE-veh-reh
mi me (direct object) /ˈmi/ MEE
ti you (direct object, informal singular) /ˈti/ TEE
lo him, it (masculine direct object) /ˈlo/ LOH
la her, it (feminine direct object) /ˈla/ LAH
ci us (direct object) /ˈtʃi/ CHEE
vi you (direct object, plural) /ˈvi/ VEE
li them (masculine direct object) /ˈli/ LEE
le them (feminine direct object) /ˈle/ LEH
cento one hundred /ˈtʃɛnto/ CHEHN-toh
mille one thousand /ˈmille/ MEEL-leh
la porta the door /la ˈporta/ lah POHR-tah
la finestra the window /la fiˈnɛstra/ lah fee-NEH-strah
il compleanno the birthday /il kompleˈanno/ eel kohm-pleh-AHN-noh

Ready-to-use phrases

Lo vedo.

I can see him.

IPA /lo ˈvedo/

Say it loh VEH-doh

Lo replaces a masculine noun and stands before the verb.

neutral pronouns

La vedo ogni giorno.

I see her every day.

IPA /la ˈvedo ˈoɲɲi ˈdʒorno/

Say it lah VEH-doh OHN-yee JOHR-noh

neutral pronouns

Non li sento.

I cannot hear them.

IPA /non li ˈsento/

Say it nohn lee SEHN-toh

Order in a negative sentence: non + pronoun + verb.

neutral pronouns negation

Le chiamo domani.

I will call them tomorrow.

IPA /le ˈkjamo doˈmani/

Say it leh KYAH-moh doh-MAH-nee

Le replaces a feminine plural noun, for example le ragazze.

neutral pronouns

Cosa vedi?

What can you see?

IPA /ˈkɔza ˈvedi/

Say it KOH-zah VEH-dee

informal questions

Vedo il mare.

I can see the sea.

IPA /ˈvedo il ˈmare/

Say it VEH-doh eel MAH-reh

neutral travel

Perché non rispondi?

Why do you not answer?

IPA /perˈke non riˈspondi/

Say it pehr-KEH nohn ree-SPOHN-dee

informal questions negation

Ti faccio una domanda.

Let me ask you a question.

IPA /ti ˈfattʃo ˈuna doˈmanda/

Say it tee FAHT-choh OO-nah doh-MAHN-dah

Literally: I make you a question. Faccio is the io form of fare.

informal pronouns questions

Apro la finestra.

I am opening the window.

IPA /ˈapro la fiˈnɛstra/

Say it AH-proh lah fee-NEH-strah

neutral home

Chiudi la porta, per favore.

Close the door, please.

IPA /ˈkjudi la ˈporta per faˈvore/

Say it KYOO-dee lah POHR-tah pehr fah-VOH-reh

polite home requests

Il negozio chiude alle otto.

The shop closes at eight.

IPA /il neˈɡɔttsjo ˈkjude ˈalle ˈɔtto/

Say it eel neh-GOHT-syoh KYOO-deh AHL-leh OHT-toh

Alle is a + le, used before a plural hour.

neutral shopping time

Prendo un caffè.

I will have a coffee.

IPA /ˈprɛndo um kafˈfɛ/

Say it PREHN-doh oon kahf-FEH

Italians use prendere when ordering food and drink.

restaurant food

Cosa prendi?

What are you having?

IPA /ˈkɔza ˈprɛndi/

Say it KOH-zah PREHN-dee

informal questions food

Come ti chiami?

What is your name?

IPA /ˈkome ti ˈkjami/

Say it KOH-meh tee KYAH-mee

Literally: how do you call yourself?

informal introductions pronouns

Mi chiamo Sofia.

My name is Sofia.

IPA /mi ˈkjamo soˈfia/

Say it mee KYAH-moh soh-FEE-ah

neutral introductions pronouns

Qui vendono frutta fresca.

They sell fresh fruit here.

IPA /kwi ˈvendono ˈfrutta ˈfreska/

Say it kwee VEHN-doh-noh FROOT-tah FREH-skah

neutral shopping food

Dormo otto ore.

I sleep eight hours.

IPA /ˈdormo ˈɔtto ˈore/

Say it DOHR-moh OHT-toh OH-reh

neutral daily life

Il bambino dorme.

The baby is sleeping.

IPA /il bamˈbino ˈdorme/

Say it eel bahm-BEE-noh DOHR-meh

neutral family daily life

Ho trent'anni.

I am thirty years old.

IPA /o ˌtrentˈanni/

Say it oh trehn-TAHN-nee

Age uses avere, not essere: in Italian you have years.

neutral age avere

Quanti anni hai?

How old are you?

IPA /ˈkwanti ˈanni ai/

Say it KWAHN-tee AHN-nee eye

Formal: Quanti anni ha?

informal age questions

Mia nonna ha novant'anni.

My grandmother is ninety.

IPA /ˈmia ˈnonna a noˌvantˈanni/

Say it MEE-ah NOHN-nah ah noh-vahn-TAHN-nee

neutral age family

Ho visto un bel film.

I saw a great film.

IPA /o ˈvisto um bɛl ˈfilm/

Say it oh VEE-stoh oon behl FEELM

Bel is the form of bello used before a masculine singular noun.

neutral past free time

Hai letto il libro?

Have you read the book?

IPA /ai ˈletto il ˈlibro/

Say it eye LEHT-toh eel LEE-broh

informal past questions

Abbiamo preso il treno.

We took the train.

IPA /abˈbjamo ˈpreso il ˈtreno/

Say it ahb-BYAH-moh PREH-zoh eel TREH-noh

neutral past travel

L'hai visto?

Did you see it?

IPA /lai ˈvisto/

Say it lie VEE-stoh

Lo shrinks to l' before a vowel: lo hai becomes l'hai.

informal past pronouns questions

Dialogues

At the market stall

Giulia buys fruit at a market stall in Bologna; the vendor, Marco, serves her politely.

  1. Giulia

    Buongiorno! Cosa vende oggi?

    Good morning! What are you selling today?

  2. Marco

    Vendo frutta e verdura fresca, signora.

    I sell fresh fruit and vegetables, madam.

  3. Giulia

    Quanto costano le mele?

    How much are the apples?

  4. Marco

    Due euro al chilo. Le prende?

    Two euros a kilo. Will you take them?

  5. Giulia

    Sì, le prendo. E anche due arance.

    Yes, I will take them. And two oranges as well.

  6. Marco

    Altro?

    Anything else?

  7. Giulia

    No, grazie. Ecco dieci euro.

    No, thank you. Here is ten euros.

  8. Marco

    Grazie a Lei, arrivederci!

    Thank you, goodbye!

The window and the door

Sara and Paolo are working in a small office on a hot afternoon.

  1. Sara

    Apro la finestra?

    Shall I open the window?

  2. Paolo

    Sì, apri la finestra, per favore.

    Yes, open the window, please.

  3. Sara

    E la porta? La chiudo?

    And the door? Shall I close it?

  4. Paolo

    No, la chiudo io dopo.

    No, I will close it later.

  5. Sara

    Senti le macchine in strada?

    Can you hear the cars in the street?

  6. Paolo

    Sì, le sento, ma non le vedo.

    Yes, I can hear them, but I cannot see them.

  7. Sara

    Guarda! Vedo il treno!

    Look! I can see the train!

  8. Paolo

    Lo vedo anch'io.

    I can see it too.

How old are they?

Emma and Luca look at old family photographs during a break.

  1. Emma

    Quanti anni hai, Luca?

    How old are you, Luca?

  2. Luca

    Ho ventotto anni. E tu?

    I am twenty-eight. And you?

  3. Emma

    Ho trentun anni.

    I am thirty-one.

  4. Luca

    E tuo fratello? Quanti anni ha?

    And your brother? How old is he?

  5. Emma

    Lui ha trentacinque anni.

    He is thirty-five.

  6. Luca

    E la signora in questa foto? Chi è?

    And the lady in this photo? Who is she?

  7. Emma

    È mia nonna. Ha novantadue anni!

    She is my grandmother. She is ninety-two!

  8. Luca

    Novantadue! Non li dimostra.

    Ninety-two! She does not look it.

Exercises

Multiple Choice Exercise 1

Choose the correct form of vedere.

Io ___ la televisione la sera. (vedere)
Multiple Choice Exercise 2

Choose the correct form of rispondere.

Tu ___ alla domanda. (rispondere)
Multiple Choice Exercise 3

Choose the correct form of chiudere.

Loro ___ la porta. (chiudere)
Multiple Choice Exercise 4

Choose the correct form of dormire.

Noi ___ otto ore ogni notte. (dormire)
Multiple Choice Exercise 5

Choose the correctly spelt form.

Tu ___ a calcio con Marco. (giocare)
Multiple Choice Exercise 6

Choose the correctly spelt form.

Tu ___ troppo, Marco! (mangiare)
Multiple Choice Exercise 7

Choose the pronoun that replaces Marco.

Vedo Marco. → ___ vedo.
Multiple Choice Exercise 8

Choose the pronoun that replaces Anna e Sara.

Chiamo Anna e Sara. → ___ chiamo.
Pronoun Choice Exercise 9

Choose the correct direct object pronoun.

___ chiamo domani. (you — one person, informal)
Pronoun Choice Exercise 10

Choose the correct direct object pronoun.

I nonni? ___ vediamo ogni domenica. (them — masculine)
Conjugation Exercise 11

Write the correct form.

vendere — noi (present tense)
Conjugation Exercise 12

Write the correct form.

prendere — voi (present tense)
Conjugation Exercise 13

Write the correct form.

aprire — io (present tense)
Conjugation Exercise 14

Write the correct form.

chiedere — loro (present tense)
Conjugation Exercise 15

Write the correct form.

sentire — tu (present tense)
Conjugation Exercise 16

Write the correctly spelt form.

giocare — noi (present tense)
Fill Gap Exercise 17

Fill the gap with the past participle.

Hai ___ la finestra? (chiudere — past participle)
Fill Gap Exercise 18

Fill the gap with the past participle.

Ho ___ un caffè al bar. (prendere — past participle)
Fill Gap Exercise 19

Fill the gap to say I am thirty.

Ho trenta ___.
Fill Gap Exercise 20

Fill the gap with the question word.

___ anni hai, Marco?
Fill Gap Exercise 21

Fill the gap with the past participle.

Ieri ho ___ tutto il libro. (leggere — past participle)
Translate To Italian Exercise 22

Translate into Italian.

I see him.
Translate To Italian Exercise 23

Translate into Italian.

She closes the window.
Translate To Italian Exercise 24

Translate into Italian.

How old are you? (informal)
Translate To Italian Exercise 25

Translate into Italian.

I am twenty-five.
Translate To Italian Exercise 26

Translate into Italian.

We took the train.
Translate To English Exercise 27

Translate into English.

Non li sento.
Translate To English Exercise 28

Translate into English.

Mia nonna ha novant'anni.
Word Order Exercise 29

Tap the words in the correct order.

Build the sentence: I see it (it = la porta).
Word Order Exercise 30

Tap the words in the correct order.

Build the question: How old are you? (informal)
Match Pairs Exercise 31

Tap an Italian pronoun, then tap its meaning.

Match each Italian pronoun to its English meaning.
Match Pairs Exercise 32

Tap an infinitive, then tap its participle.

Match each infinitive to its past participle.
True False Exercise 33

True or false?

In regular -ere and -ire verbs, the io form ends in -o.
True False Exercise 34

True or false?

The direct object pronoun goes after the conjugated verb: Vedo lo.
True False Exercise 35

True or false?

The correct tu form of mangiare is tu mangi.
Listen And Type Exercise 36

Play the audio, then type exactly what you hear.

Listen and write the Italian question.
Listen And Choose Exercise 37

Play the audio, then tap the matching sentence.

Listen and choose the sentence you hear.
Sentence Transform Exercise 38

Rewrite the sentence with a direct object pronoun.

Vedo il film. → Replace il film with a pronoun.
Sentence Transform Exercise 39

Rewrite the sentence with a direct object pronoun.

Chiudo le finestre. → Replace le finestre with a pronoun.
Multiple Choice Exercise 40

Choose the correct word.

How do you say 500 in Italian?
Flashcard Self Rating Exercise 41

Say the sentence aloud, then show the meaning and rate yourself.

Ho trent'anni.

Speak now

Say each sentence aloud three times: once slowly, once at normal speed, once from memory. Then change one word and say your own version.

  • Lo vedo e lo chiamo. I see him and I call him.
  • Apro la finestra e chiudo la porta. I open the window and close the door.
  • Ho trentun anni. E tu, quanti anni hai? I am thirty-one. And you, how old are you?
  • Non ti sento. Ripeti, per favore? I cannot hear you. Can you say that again, please?
  • Ho visto il mare e ho preso il treno. I saw the sea and I took the train.

Lesson checkpoint

Before you move on, make sure you can do all of this without looking:

  1. Conjugate one regular verb from each family in the present tense
  2. Write the tu and noi forms of giocare and mangiare with the correct spelling
  3. Replace a noun with lo, la, li or le and put the pronoun before the verb
  4. Say your age and ask three people theirs
  5. Count from one hundred to one thousand in hundreds
  6. Say the eight irregular past participles from memory

Remember this

  • -are: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano. -ere: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono. -ire is identical to -ere except voi: -ite.
  • giocare and pagare add a silent h before i (gioco, giochi); mangiare and cominciare drop the extra i (mangio, mangi).
  • Direct object pronouns mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le stand before the conjugated verb: Lo vedo. Non lo vedo.
  • Irregular past participles: fatto, detto, scritto, letto, aperto, chiuso, preso, visto — learn each one as a single word.
  • Age works with avere: Ho trent'anni. Ask Quanti anni hai?
  • Hundreds are regular and written as one word: cento, duecento, trecento … novecento, mille.

Go deeper: -are verbs · -ere verbs · -ire verbs · Direct object pronouns · avere · Numbers