Regular verbs in -ere and -ire

OBSERVE

Ming dipinge un quadro. (Ming paints a picture)
Said ama la pizza – Gianni preferisce la pasta. (Said loves pizza – Gianni prefers pasta)

REFLECT

In the last unit, we learned the conjugation of verbs ending in -are, such as amare. Dipingere and preferire are examples of verbs ending in -ere and -ire, respectively. The vowels -e- and -i- frequently appear in the conjugation of these verbs.

REMEMBER

To form the present tense of regular verbs in -ere, first find the stem by eliminating the ending -ere:

                    prendere > prendere > prend-

Then, add the following endings:

io prendo (I take)
tu prendi (you take)
lei/ lui / Lei prende (she / he takes / You take)
noi prendiamo (we take)
voi prendete (you take)
loro prendono (they take)

 

To form the present tense of regular verbs in -ire, first find the stem by eliminating the ending -ire:

                       dormire > dormire > dorm-

Then, add the following endings:

io dormo (I sleep)
tu dormi (you sleep)
lei / lui / Lei dorme (she / he sleeps / You sleep)
noi dormiamo (we sleep)
voi dormite (you sleep)
loro dormono (they sleep)

Some verbs in -ire add -isc- in most persons. These verbs include preferire (prefer), capire (understand), pulire (clean), finire (finish), restituire (return something).

io preferisco (I prefer)
tu preferisci (you prefer)
lei / lui / Lei preferisce (she / he prefers / You prefer)
noi preferiamo (we prefer)
voi preferite (you prefer)
loro preferiscono (they prefer)

 

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Cotto e mangiato. Corso di Italiano multiculturale 1 Copyright © 2024 by Roberta Ricci and Luca Zipoli is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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