1.1 The present tense: regular verbs

1.1
The present tense: regular verbs
Il treno parte dal binario 9.
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The present tense: regular verbs
Subject pronouns
• In Italian, the subject pronouns are:
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
io
I
tu/Lei
you/you (formal)
lui
he
Plural
noi
we
voi/Loro
you/you (formal)
loro
they (m./f.)
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lei
she
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The present tense: regular verbs
ATTENZIONE!
Some pronouns have formal equivalents. Egli and ella are
formal, literary forms for lui and lei. They are rarely used in
conversation. Esso and essa (it) usually refer to animals and
things, but essi and esse (they) can refer to people, in
addition to animals or things. Note that these forms are rarely
used in conversational Italian.
Cerco la mia gatta, ma essa non è qui.
I’m looking for my cat, but she’s not here.
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Italian subject pronouns are used much less frequently
than their English counterparts because the verb form
usually identifies the subject.
Mangiamo spesso al ristorante.
We eat often at the restaurant.
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Abiti ancora a Roma?
Do you still live in Rome?
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Subject pronouns add emphasis with words such as
neanche, soltanto, and anche; they also add emphasis
when placed after the verb. Before the verb, subject
pronouns prevent ambiguity or contrast subjects.
È lei che odia la pizza.
She’s the one who hates pizza.
Neanche noi siamo sposati.
We aren’t married either.
Lui ha un fratello e lei ha una sorella.
He has a brother and she has a sister.
Anche tu puoi venire alla festa.
You can also come to the party.
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The present tense: regular verbs
ATTENZIONE!
Be careful not to confuse lei and loro with the second
person, formal pronouns Lei and Loro. In this text, the
formal pronouns will be capitalized as a visual hint.
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Use Lei and Loro to address people formally. Voi, rather
than Loro, is typically used for both the formal and informal
second person plural, especially in speaking. That style will
be followed in this book.
Buonasera, signori, Loro desiderano?
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, what would you like?
Ehi, ragazzi, dove andate voi?
Hey, guys, where are you going?
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The present tense: regular verbs
The present tense
• The present indicative tense expresses actions and
circumstances in the present. It has three equivalents
in English.
canto
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I sing
I am singing
I do sing
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The present tense: regular verbs
ATTENZIONE!
In Italian, you may also use the present indicative to talk
about an action that will happen in the immediate future.
Stasera Enrico esce con Rosa.
Tonight Enrico is going to go out with Rosa.
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The present tense: regular verbs
• To form the present indicative of the three regular verb
conjugations, drop the ending of the infinitive (–are, –ere,
or –ire) and add the appropriate endings to the stem.
io
tu
lui/lei/Lei
noi
voi
loro/Loro
adorare
prẹndere
dormire
capire
adoro
adori
adora
adoriamo
adorate
adọrano
prendo
prendi
prende
prendiamo
prendete
prẹndono
dormo
dormi
dorme
dormiamo
dormite
dọrmono
capisco
capisci
capisce
capiamo
capite
capịscono
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The present tense: regular verbs
• There are two types of –ire verbs. Verbs conjugated like
capire insert -isc- between the stem and the ending of all
forms except the first and second person plural. Verbs
conjugated like dormire do not require insertion of -isc-.
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Most –ire verbs that do not require insertion of -isc- have a
consonant five letters from the end of the infinitive: aprire,
coprire, dormire, offrire, partire, scoprire, seguire,
sentire, servire, soffrire, etc.
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Spelling changes are required in the present indicative of
some –are verbs. To avoid a double i, drop the i of the tu
and noi stems of most verbs ending in -iare.
cominciare
cominci + i/iamo
cominci (tu) / cominciamo (noi)
cambiare
cambi + i/iamo
cambi (tu) / cambiamo (noi)
lasciare
lasci + i/iamo
lasci (tu) / lasciamo (noi)
sbagliare
sbagli + i/iamo
sbagli (tu) / sbagliamo (noi)
studiare
studi + i/iamo
studi (tu) / studiamo (noi)
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The present tense: regular verbs
• When the i of the stem is stressed in the first person of the
present indicative, in verbs ending in –iare like inviare and
sciare, do not drop the i of the stem in the tu form.
sciare
scịo (io)
scịi (tu)
inviare
invịo (io)
invịi (tu)
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Add an h to the tu and noi forms of verbs ending in –care
and –gare to maintain the hard sound of the c and g.
cercare
cerch + i/iamo
cerchi (tu) / cerchiamo (noi)
spiegare
spiegh + i/iamo
spieghi (tu) / spieghiamo (noi)
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The present tense: regular verbs
ATTENZIONE!
Verbs with a root ending in –gn —such as guadagnare
(to earn), insegnare (to teach), and sognare (to dream)—
can be spelled with or without the i in the first person plural.
guadagniamo or guadagnamo
sogniamo or sognamo
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The present tense: regular verbs
• Use the simple present tense for ongoing actions that
began in the past. Use da (for; since) to indicate when the
action first began. Use da quando or da quanto tempo
when asking How long? or Since when?
Da quanto tempo sei fidanzata?
How long have you been engaged?
Sono fidanzata da sei mesi.
I’ve been engaged for six months.
Da quando escono insieme Mario
e Carla?
Since when have Mario and Carla
been going out?
Escono insieme dal mese scorso.
They’ve been dating since
last month.
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