Il verbo
The verb
Communicative goal (CEFR A1): I can recognise the verb in a simple sentence, read the infinitive in a dictionary and say which of the three groups it belongs to (-are, -ere, -ire). I can separate the stem from the ending, recognise person and number (who does the action and how many they are) and understand the basic concepts: mood (modo) and tense (tempo). I understand the difference between a transitive verb (mangio la pizza) and an intransitive verb (dormo). This is a «can-do» descriptor: I can describe with simple verbs what I and other people do every day (lavoro, mangio, dormo, parto) and conjugate a verb correctly in the first person singular.
Leggi questa breve presentazione: «Ciao! Mi chiamo Marco. Ogni giorno io lavoro in un ufficio. La mattina parlo con i clienti, poi scrivo molte email. A mezzogiorno mangio un panino. La sera dormo otto ore. Mia sorella, invece, non lavora: studia all'università e parte spesso per Roma.» Hai notato le parole evidenziate? lavoro, parlo, scrivo, mangio, dormo, studia, parte. Sono VERBI: dicono che cosa fa una persona. Guarda le loro finali: parlo, scrivo, dormo… non sono uguali! E nel dizionario non trovi «parlo», ma parlare, scrivere, dormire. Perché? Scopriamolo insieme.
The verb (il verbo) is the heart of the sentence: it says what someone DOES (lavoro = I work), or what someone IS like / what state they are in (sono stanco = I am tired). In the dictionary the verb is listed in its basic form, the INFINITIVE (infinito) — «to do, to write, to sleep». Italian infinitives end in -ARE, -ERE or -IRE, and these three endings divide all Italian verbs into THREE GROUPS (conjugations). Here is some good news and one trap. GOOD NEWS: the Italian verb CHANGES ITS ENDING according to the person (io parlo, tu parli, lui parla), that is, it is conjugated. TRAP: because the ending already says WHO does the action, Italian very often OMITS the subject pronoun: you simply say «parlo», not «io parlo». First you will look at the examples in context and try to discover the pattern yourself, then we will confirm it.
1. Tre coniugazioni: -are, -ere, -ire (three verb groups)
The basic form of the verb is the INFINITIVE (infinito). By looking at its last three letters you immediately know which of the THREE CONJUGATIONS (coniugazioni) the verb belongs to. The FIRST conjugation ends in **-are**: parl**are** (to speak), lavor**are** (to work), mangi**are** (to eat) — it is the LARGEST and most regular group. The SECOND ends in **-ere**: scriv**ere** (to write), legg**ere** (to read), prend**ere** (to take). The THIRD ends in **-ire**: dorm**ire** (to sleep), part**ire** (to leave), apr**ire** (to open). When you learn a new verb, ALWAYS memorise it in the infinitive together with its group: it is like memorising a noun with its article. This way you know how to conjugate it later.
| Koniugacja | Ending | Examples | Znaczenie |
|---|---|---|---|
| I (pierwsza) | -are | parlare, lavorare, mangiare | to speak, to work, to eat |
| II (druga) | -ere | scrivere, leggere, prendere | to write, to read, to take |
| III (trzecia) | -ire | dormire, partire, aprire | to sleep, to leave, to open |
- **Lavorare** è un verbo della prima coniugazione.
- **Scrivere** finisce in -ere: seconda coniugazione.
- **Dormire** e **partire** sono della terza coniugazione.
2. Radice e desinenza (stem and ending)
Every verb is made of two parts. The RADICE (stem) is the FIXED part that carries the meaning: it remains when we remove the ending of the infinitive. The DESINENZA (ending) is the VARIABLE part that we add according to person, number, tense and mood. For example in parl**are**: stem = parl-, infinitive ending = -are. When we conjugate, we add the personal endings to the stem parl-: parl-**o**, parl-**i**, parl-**a**… First find the stem (remove -are / -ere / -ire), then choose the right ending. This is the key to the whole conjugation.
| Bezokolicznik | Temat (radice) | Infinitive ending | Conjugation example |
|---|---|---|---|
| parlare | parl- | -are | io parl-o |
| scrivere | scriv- | -ere | io scriv-o |
| dormire | dorm- | -ire | io dorm-o |
- parl**are** → radice **parl-** + io parl**o**
- lavor**are** → radice **lavor-** + tu lavor**i**
- dorm**ire** → radice **dorm-** + noi dorm**iamo**
3. Persona e numero (osoba i liczba)
The ending of the verb tells us TWO things: PERSONA (who does the action) and NUMERO (how many people: singular or plural). There are SIX persons: 1. io (I), 2. tu (you), 3. lui/lei (he/she): these are the singular (singolare); 4. noi (we), 5. voi (you, plural), 6. loro (they): these are the plural (plurale). KEY POINT: because each person has a DIFFERENT ending, Italians usually do NOT say the pronoun — «parlo» already means «I speak», so «io» is unnecessary. The pronoun is used only for emphasis or contrast (Io lavoro, tu dormi! = I am working, and you are sleeping!).
| Osoba | Zaimek | Forma | Polski | Liczba |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | (io) | parlo | (I) speak | pojedyncza |
| 2. | (tu) | parli | (you) speak | pojedyncza |
| 3. | (lui/lei) | parla | (he/she) speaks | pojedyncza |
| 1. | (noi) | parliamo | (we) speak | mnoga |
| 2. | (voi) | parlate | (you pl.) speak | mnoga |
| 3. | (loro) | parlano | (they) speak | mnoga |
- **Parlo** italiano.
- **Parliamo** italiano.
- Maria e Luca **parlano** italiano.
4. Modo e tempo (tryb i czas)
Besides person and number, the verb also has MODO (mood) and TEMPO (tense). The MODO says HOW we present the action: as a fact (indicativo: io lavoro), as a command (imperativo: Lavora!), as a hypothesis or wish (congiuntivo, condizionale: later), or impersonally (infinito: lavorare). At A1 level we work mainly with the INDICATIVO. The TEMPO says WHEN the action happens: now (presente: parlo = I speak), in the past (passato: ho parlato = I spoke) or in the future (futuro: parlerò = I will speak). Every verb form is therefore a combination: stem + person + number + mood + tense. For now it is enough to recognise these concepts and master the INDICATIVO PRESENTE.
| Czas (tempo) | Italian form | Polski |
|---|---|---|
| presente (present) | io parlo | I speak |
| passato (past) | io ho parlato | I spoke / I was speaking |
| futuro (future) | io parlerò | I will speak |
- Oggi **lavoro** a casa.
- Ieri **ho lavorato** molto.
- Domani **lavorerò** in ufficio.
5. Transitivi e intransitivi (przechodnie i nieprzechodnie)
Verbs are also divided into TRANSITIVE (transitivi) and INTRANSITIVE (intransitivi). A TRANSITIVE verb can have a direct object, which answers the question «whom? what?» WITHOUT a preposition: mangio **la pizza** (I eat pizza — what do I eat? pizza), leggo **un libro** (I read a book). An INTRANSITIVE verb does NOT have such an object: the action «stops» at the subject: io dormo (I sleep — you cannot «sleep something»), Marco parte (Marco leaves). NOTE already at A1: this distinction will matter later for the passato prossimo, because transitive verbs usually combine with «avere» and many intransitive verbs with «essere». For now, just notice the difference.
| Typ | Example | Polski | Direct object? |
|---|---|---|---|
| transitivo | Mangio la pizza. | I eat pizza. | tak: la pizza |
| transitivo | Leggo un libro. | I'm reading a book. | tak: un libro |
| intransitivo | Dormo bene. | I sleep well. | nie |
| intransitivo | Marco parte oggi. | Marco leaves today. | nie |
- **Mangio** una mela.
- **Scrivo** una lettera.
- I bambini **dormono**.