Taking Action in Italian
Using Regular ARE Verbs
What are Infinitives?
In English, infinitives are the words
To + a verb, such as:
to play
to read
to study
Italian Infinitives
In Italian, infinitives end in the
following letters: ARE, ERE or IRE.
Such as:
Parlare
to speak
Scrivere
to write
Sentire
to feel
What is conjugation?
Conjugation is the act of changing an
infinitive to a verb used with a
subject.
For example:
To speak
Parlare
We speak
Noi parliamo
Conjugating Italian Verbs
Step 1:
Find the stem of the verb, using the
following formula:
Infinitive – ARE = Stem
Parlare – ARE = Parl
Conjugating Italian Verbs
Step 2:
Bring down the stem to each pronoun.
io
tu
parl
parl
lui, lei, Lei parl
noi
parl
voi
parl
loro, Loro parl
Conjugating Italian Verbs
Step 3:
Add the correct endings to the stems
io parlo
noi
parliamo
tu
voi
parlate
parli
lui, lei, Lei parla
loro, Loro parlano
Important points to
remember
• Do NOT translate the word do in
Italian verbs it’s already understood:
tu parli- you speak, you do speak,
you are speaking
• When making sentences negative, put
the word non directly in front of the
verb:
tu non parli- you don’t speak, you
are not speaking
Important Points to
Remember
• When writing questions, the verb
comes before the subject:
Parli tu l’italiano?
Do you speak Italian?
Un po’ di prattica!
Translate the following in your notes!
We study French.
I travel a lot.
He explains the lesson.
They speak German.