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3 Verbs in Italian Every Beginner Should Master

July 4, 2014 By Cher Leave a Comment

Click play on the player at the bottom to listen to this podcast or find it on Apple Podcasts.

There are A LOT of verbs in Italian.

If you’re just starting out, I’m sure you’re aware of that.

Not only is there a boatload of verbs…but there are two handfuls of tenses you have to learn to express yourself in Italian.

When there is SO much to learn, it can be hard to choose just a few to master.

To help soothe you from the feeling of being overwhelmed that learning Italian can give you, here are three verbs that you need to master in the present tense, past tense, subjunctive mood, and the future tense.

If you don’t know what the subjunctive mood does yet and why it’s incredibly important for you to learn now, then go read this article: The Present Subjunctive Mood in Italian

Essere – To be

Why is “essere” so important to master?

Because we’re always expressing what we are when we speak.

In Italian specifically, we express how we’re feeling with our emotions, like happy, sad, or tired.

Presente indicativo

Sono- I am              Siamo – We are

Sei – You are          Siete – You all are

È – He/she/it is    Sono – They are

Esempi

— Sono contento/a. – I’m happy.

— Sei nervoso/a? – Are you nervous?

— Siamo a maggio! – We’re in May!

Read this article to learn or review the present tense: The Present Tense in Italian

Imperfetto

Ero – I was                           Eravamo – We could

Eri – You could                   Eravate – You all could

Era – He/she/it could       Eravano – They could

Esempi

— Non ero contento/a. – I wasn’t happy.

— Era un disastro! – It was a disaster!

Read this article to learn or review the imperfect tense: The Imperfect Tense in Italian

Passato prossimo

Sono stato/a – I was                Siamo stati/e – We were

Sei stato/a – You were            Siete stati/e – You all were

È stato/a – He/she/it was      Sono stati/e – They were

Esempi

— Sono stato/a contento/a. – I was happy.

— Sei stato/a nervoso/a. – Were you nervous?

— Sono stati/e in ritardo. – They were late.

Read this article to review or learn the past tense (il passato prossimo): The Past Tense in Italian

Il congiuntivo presente

Io sia – I am                                Siamo – We are

Tu sia – You are                         Siate – You all are

Lei/lui sia – He/she/it is         Siano – They are

Esempi

— Sono felice che tu sia contento/a. – I’m happy that you’re happy.

— Spero che siate pronti per andare. – I hope that you all are ready to go.

— Mi fa piacere che siano qui. – It makes me happy that they’re here.

Read this article to review or learn the subjunctive mood: The Subjunctive Mood in Italian

Il futuro

Sarò – I will be                          Saremo – We will be

Sarai – You will be                   Sarete – You all will be

Sarà – He/she/it will be         Saranno – They will be

Esempi

— Sarò contento/a quando (lui) arriverà.. – I will be happy when he arrives.

— Sarai triste? – Will you be sad?

— Il tuo matrimonio sarà un giorno speciale. – Your wedding will be a special day.

Read this article to review or learn the future tense: The Future Tense in Italian

Potere – To be able to, can

Start to notice how often you say can or can’t when you’re speaking in English.

I bet you’ll be surprised by how often it is.

Potere is one of the first verbs you should learn when expressing “can” or “can’t”.

The other verb that will be useful to you is “riuscire”, which you should put on your list to master after these three.

Curious now? Read this article: When to Use “Potere” and When to Use “Riuscire”

Presente indicativo

Posso – I can                  Possiamo – We can

Puoi – You can               Potete – You all can

Può – He/she/it can     Possono – They can

Esempi

— Non posso farcela. – I can’t do it.

— Perché non puoi andarci? – Why can’t you go there?

— Non possiamo aiutarvi. – We can’t help you all.

Read this article to learn or review the present tense: The Present Tense in Italian

Imperfetto

I’m giving you the imperfetto instead of the passato prossimo here because the imperfetto is used more often with this verb when talking about the past.

Potevo – I could                    Potevamo – We could

Potevi – You could                Potevate – You all could

Poteva – He/she/it could       Potevano – They could

Esempi

— Non potevo farcela. – I couldn’t do it.

— Perché non potevi andarci? – Why couldn’t you go there?

— Non potevamo aiutarvi. – We couldn’t help them.

Read this article to learn or review the imperfect tense: The Imperfect Tense in Italian

Il congiuntivo presente

Io possa – I can                                             Possiamo – We can

Tu possa – You can                                      Possiate – You all can

Egli/Ella/Esso possa – He/she/it can     Possano – They can

Esempi

— Sono contento/a che tu possa aiutarmi. – I am happy that you can help me.

— Dubito che possano aiutarci. – I doubt that they can help us.

— Siamo tristi , perché in Oregon non si può fare surf. – We are sad that in Oregon one cannot go surfing.

Read this article to review or learn the subjunctive mood: The Subjunctive Mood in Italian

Il futuro

Potrò – I will be able to                    Potremo – We will be able to

Potrai – You will be able to             Potrete – You all will be able to

Potrà – He/she/it will be able to   Potranno – They will be able to

Esempi

— Potrai aiutarci? – Will you be able to help us?

— Potremo farcela! – We will be able to do it!

— Potranno fare surf in Oregon? – Will they be able to go to surfing in Oregon?

Read this article to review or learn the future tense: The Future Tense in Italian

Avere – To have

Notice that the verb “avere – to have” doesn’t work the same in English as it does in Italian.

When we speak Italian, we aren’t hungry, but we do have hunger.

We’re not scared, but we have fear.

It’s as if we’re containers for these feelings as opposed to “being” these things like in English.

This is one of the biggest reasons why mastering “avere” is so important beyond the obvious reasons that we must talk about the things we have at some point in conversation.

Presente indicativo

Ho – I have                         Abbiamo – We have

Hai – You have                  Avete – You all have

Ha – He/she/it has          Hanno – They have

Esempi

— Hai tempo per parlare con me? – Do you have time to talk with me?

— Ho fame! – I have hunger!

— Abbiamo paura dei ragni. – We have fear of spiders.

— Ho tre sorelle ed un fratello. – I have three sisters and one brother.

Read this article to learn or review the present tense: The Present Tense in Italian

Imperfetto

I’m giving you the imperfetto instead of the passato prossimo here because the imperfetto is used more often with this verb when talking about the past.

Avevo – I had                  Avevamo – We had

Avevi – You had              Avevate – You all had

Aveva – He/she/it had  Avevano – They had

Esempi

— Quando avevo quindici anni…- When I had 15 years…

— Avevi un gatto? Come si chiamava? – You had a cat? What was its name?

— Quando aveva cinque anni, lei aveva paura dei ragni. – When she had five years, she was scared of spiders.

Notice here that Italian also uses the verb “avere” to talk about age. You aren’t fifty-seven years old, but you do have fifty-seven years.

It’s like you’re collecting the years!

Read this article to learn or review the imperfect tense: The Imperfect Tense in Italian

Il congiuntivo presente

Io abbia – I have                         Abbiamo – We have

Tu abbia – You have                  Abbiate – You all have

Lei/lui abbia – He/she/it has  Abbiano – They have

Esempi

— Penso che tu abbia fame. – I think that you are hungry.

— Spero che tu abbia fame. Ho preparato una gran cena! – I hope you’re hungry. I prepared a big dinner!

— Lei dubita che lui abbia paura del matrimonio. – She doubts that he has fear of marriage.

Read this article to review or learn the subjunctive mood: The Subjunctive Mood in Italian

Il futuro

Avrò – I will have                       Avremo – We will have

Avrai – You will have                Avrete – You all will have

Avrà – He/she/it will have      Avranno – They will have

Esempi

— La settimana prossima avrò più tempo. – I will have more time next week.

— I bambini avranno paura dei pagliacci! – The kids will be scared of the clowns!

— Fai uno spuntino o avrai fame. – Make a snack or you’ll be hungry.

Read this article to review or learn the future tense: The Future Tense in Italian

I recognize that this is still A LOT to learn, but at least now you have three main verbs to focus on.

Make these your mission for the next week or if you’re really strapped for a time, learn them over the next 2-3 weeks.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!


Listen to the Episode!

Filed Under: 30 Minute Italian Podcast, Beginner Italian, Grammar, Italian Tagged With: ep 122, episode 122, show notes

About Cher

Cher is the founder of The Iceberg Project and a passionate learner of the Italian, Mandarin and Spanish languages. In a little town called Vegas, you can find her searching the Internet for Doctor Who and Parks & Rec memes, drinking bubble tea, or talking about how much she loves grammar.

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