Unità 4 – Grammatica
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) |
