A. In Italian, we only have four irregular verbs in the first conjugation (-are): andare (to go), dare (to give), fare (to do/to make), and stare (to stay). In the last lesson we covered stare - its uses and conjugations. Here, we will look at it in context of the other irregular verbs ending in -are.
In the table below you can see the conjugations of these verbs. Notice how they follow a similar pattern.
B. Most irregular verbs in Italian are in the second and third conjugations (-ere, -ire). For the most part, these verbs do not share established patterns like the verbs in the -are conjugations. To learn them, they must be memorized. Some, however, do share patterns. For example, the verbs rimanere (to stay/remain), tenere (to keep), venire (to come), and salire (to go up).
In the table below note the use of the letter -g- in the io and loro conjugations.
C. Like we mentioned previously, most irregular verbs follow no established pattern and must be memorized individually. In the table below you will find the conjugations for three more frequently used irregular verbs in the second and third conjugations: dire (to say/tell), sapere (to know), and uscire (to go out).
In the table below you can see the conjugations of these verbs. Notice how they follow a similar pattern.
andare | dare | fare | stare | |
| io | vado | do | faccio | sto |
| tu | vai | dai | fai | stai |
| lui/lei/Lei | va | dà | fa | sta |
| noi | andiamo | diamo | facciamo | stiamo |
| voi | andate | date | fate | state |
| loro | vanno | danno | fanno | stanno |
| Vado spesso al cinema. I often go to the movies. Mi dai un po’ di pane, per favore? Will you please give me a bit of bread? La domenica, non facciamo un bel niente. Sundays we do absolutely nothing. |
B. Most irregular verbs in Italian are in the second and third conjugations (-ere, -ire). For the most part, these verbs do not share established patterns like the verbs in the -are conjugations. To learn them, they must be memorized. Some, however, do share patterns. For example, the verbs rimanere (to stay/remain), tenere (to keep), venire (to come), and salire (to go up).
In the table below note the use of the letter -g- in the io and loro conjugations.
rimanere | salire | tenere | venire | |
| io | rimango | salgo | tengo | vengo |
| tu | rimani | sali | tieni | vieni |
| lui/lei/Lei | rimane | sale | tiene | viene |
| noi | rimaniamo | saliamo | teniamo | veniamo |
| voi | rimanete | salite | tenete | venite |
| loro | rimangono | salgono | tengono | vengono |
| Fino a quando rimanete qui? How long are you staying here for? Le segretarie non tengono ordinato l’ufficio. The secretaries don’t keep the office in order. Perché non saliamo nella nostra stanza? Why don’t we go up to our room? Roberto viene con sua madre. Roberto is coming with his mother. |
C. Like we mentioned previously, most irregular verbs follow no established pattern and must be memorized individually. In the table below you will find the conjugations for three more frequently used irregular verbs in the second and third conjugations: dire (to say/tell), sapere (to know), and uscire (to go out).
dire | sapere | uscire | |
| io | dico | so | esco |
| tu | dici | sai | esci |
| lui/lei/Lei | dice | sa | esce |
| noi | diciamo | sappiamo | usciamo |
| voi | dite | sapete | uscite |
| loro | dicono | sanno | escono |
| Sapete dov’è la banca? Do you know where the bank is? Cosa dici? What are you saying? Con chi esce Giuseppina stasera? With whom is Giuseppina going out tonight? |