28 Italian Irregular Verbs and How to Conjugate Them in Four Tenses

In Italian, it’s simply a fact of life that the most frequently used verbs are often irregular.

But don’t be mad at Italian: it’s not alone in this.

For instance, in English, you’d say, “he has” and not “he haves,” or “I am” instead of “I be” (except in certain dialects).

To get through even basic Italian conversations—like ordering in a restaurant or flirting over a cappuccino—you’ll want to know your irregular Italian verbs, and know them well.

Contents

• A Quick Introduction to Italian Verbs
• The 28 Most Common Italian Irregular Verbs
• • 1. Andare (to go)
  • 2.  Avere (to have)
  • 3.  Essere (to be)
  • 4. Dare (to give)
  • 5. Stare (to be located, to remain, to be doing)
  • 6. Uscire (to go out)
  • 7. Piacere (to be pleasing)
  • 8. Compiacere (to make happy, appease)
  • 9. Spiacere (to mind)
  • 10. Dispiacere (to be sorry)
  • 11. Apparire (to appear, to emerge, to make an impression)
  • 12. Morire (to die)
  • 13. Sedere (to sit, be seated)
  • 14. Venire (to come)
  • 15. Tenere (to hold, to keep)
  • 16. Contenere (to contain)
  • 17. Intervenire (to intervene)
  • 18. Rimanere (to stay, to remain, to last)
  • 19. Volere (to want)
  • 20. Potere (to be able to)
  • 21. Sapere (to know)
  • 22. Dovere (to need to/must/should)
  • 23. Bere (to drink)
  • 24. Dire (to say)
  • 25. Fare (to do, to make)
  • 26. Condurre (to drive, to lead)
  • 27. Trarre (to pull, to bring)
  • 28. Porre (to put)
• How to Study Irregular Italian Verbs
• And One More Thing...

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A Quick Introduction to Italian Verbs

All Italian verbs are conjugated according to the subject (that is, the person or people doing the action).

So, before you launch into this post, you should be familiar with how to use the subject pronouns. Here’s a quick review:

You should also already know some Italian basics like the regular verb conjugations.

This article is intended for learners who have at least that basic amount of knowledge. It’s also intended for more advanced learners who are coming back for a refresher.

To be clear, this article isn’t going to cover all of the irregular Italian verbs or even all of their possible conjugations. Italian verbs aren’t only conjugated based on their corresponding subject pronouns and tenses—they’re also conjugated according to mood and number, among others.

For the purposes of this post, we’ll only cover the following tenses: indicativo presente (present tense),  passato prossimo (past tense),  imperfetto (imperfect tense) and  futuro semplice (future tense).

The goal is to cover many of the ones that you’re most likely to need, and to do so in a way that helps you identify patterns for easy memorization.

The 28 Most Common Italian Irregular Verbs

1. Andare (to go)

The first six verbs we’ll cover are so common that you’ll probably use them throughout every Italian conversation you have. They’re also the most irregular verbs, and the most likely to have many sub-meanings and expressions to go with them.

Let’s start with andare.

Here are a couple of examples of how you’d use andare:

Dove andate? — Where are you going?

Ricardo e Josa vanno dal dentista. — Ricardo and Josa are going to the dentist.

2.  Avere (to have)

Avere can be used for both concrete and abstract things. For example:

Lei ha due ragazzi. — She has two boyfriends. (concrete)

Abbiamo paura. — We’re afraid. (literally, we have fear) (abstract)

3.  Essere (to be)

One of the first uses of essere you’ll likely learn is talking about origins.

Sono di Roma. — I’m from Rome. / They’re from Rome.

Notice how the present tense conjugation is the same for both io and loro. So if it’s not clear who you’re talking about in context, you’ll need to add in the personal pronoun as well. For example:

Io sono di Roma. — I’m from Rome.

You can also talk about being many other things. For example, if someone isn’t taking you seriously, you can give up and tell them:

Non far caso a quello che dico, sono un pagliaccio. — Don’t pay attention to what I say, I’m a clown.

4. Dare (to give)

Similar to avere, this verb can be used for concrete and abstract things like:

Danno il coniglio a mia sorella. — They’re giving the rabbit to my sister. (concrete)

Ti do un consiglio. — I’m giving you a piece of advice. (abstract)

5. Stare (to be located, to remain, to be doing)

There are so many ways to use stare. For example:

Lui sta per arrabbiarsi. — He’s about to get angry.

Sto presso il mio domicilio a Barcellona in primavera e in autunno. — I’m residing at my domicile in Barcelona for all of the springs and autumns. (This is a very stiff, formal use of stare.)

6. Uscire (to go out)

This verb has several possible meanings. It can mean literally going out (like leaving a house) or “going out” with someone (i.e., dating them), among other uses. For example:

Esco con Raffaella. — I’m going out with Raffaella. (I’m dating Raffaella.)

Usciamo da casa alle 19:00. — We leave home at 7:00 p.m. (We are going out of the house at 7:00 p.m.)

7. Piacere (to be pleasing)

Now, let’s move on to the Italian verbs that change their spelling slightly when they’re conjugated. For example, you may have already used piacere without ever realizing that it’s irregular.

Here, the irregularity is the double consonant (cc), and yes, this is something that Italian speakers can actually hear and pronounce—but it can be difficult for learners to master.

With a language partner, you can practice listening and speaking about pleasing singular things versus pleasing plural things to tease out the difference in consonants between piace and piacciono.

Also, recall that this verb is used to talk about liking something, but the subject of the verb is the thing that’s pleasing and the object is the person who’s pleased. So:

Mi piace la fisarmonica. — I like the accordion. (literally, the accordion is pleasing to me)

Io gli piaccio. — He likes me. (literally, I am pleasing to him)

In the next three sections, we’ll cover three verbs that have similar conjugation patterns as piacere: compiacere, spiacere and dispiacere.

8. Compiacere (to make happy, appease)

9. Spiacere (to mind)

10. Dispiacere (to be sorry)

Similar to piacere, the person experiencing the displeasure is the object of the verb.

11. Apparire (to appear, to emerge, to make an impression)

Some irregular verbs have relatively minor stem changes when they’re conjugated. These verbs include apparire, morire and sedere. As you will see, the io and loro stem changes are often similar. The noi and voi conjugations often don’t have changes in the stem.

Here’s what apparire looks like in action:

A novembre appaiono le ostriche al mercato. — The oysters show up in the market in November.

Raffaella appare sempre nei miei incubi. — Raffaella always appears in my nightmares.

Appaiono spesso in minigonna sui loro profili Instagram. — They often appear in mini skirts on their Instagram.

And here’s an example of a commonly-said piece of wisdom with this verb:

Le persone vogliono solo apparire e non essere. — People want to show off, and not be themselves.

Just note that conjugation isn’t necessary here, as it’s used with the modal verb  volere (to want).

12. Morire (to die)

Again, this one has both literal and figurative uses:

Muoio di crepacuore per Raffaella. — I’m dying of a broken heart for Raffaella.

Lei morirà a casa. — She’s dying at home.

Moriamo di sonno. — We’re dead tired.

13. Sedere (to sit, be seated)

Siedono sempre vicino al palco. — They always sit close to the stage.

Ci sediamo?  — Shall we sit down?

For the action of sitting down, you’ll also need the appropriate reflexive pronoun.

14. Venire (to come)

A number of verbs have a G that gets inserted into their io and loro conjugations. They may even have vowel stem changes, similar to the last few verbs we just discussed. Let’s talk about venire, tenere, contenere, intervenire and rimanere.

Here’s venire in action:

Veniamo da te alle 13:00 per il pranzo, va bene?  — We’re coming to your place at 1:00 p.m. for lunch, okay?

Vengo!  — I’m coming!

15. Tenere (to hold, to keep)

16. Contenere (to contain)

17. Intervenire (to intervene)

18. Rimanere (to stay, to remain, to last)

Here’s how you’d use rimanere:

Rimaniamo in tema. — We’re staying on topic.

Rimango in Italia per sempre, tesori miei. — I’m staying in Italy forever, my darlings.

19. Volere (to want)

Volere (and our next entries potere, sapere and dovere) is an example of a modal or “helper” verb. They’re used along with a main verb to add meaning. 

As a modal verb, volere is directly followed by the verb that indicates what one wants to do. The word “to” from the English version is included within the infinitive (not conjugated) verb.

Vogliamo venire domani. — We want to come tomorrow.

In the case above,  venire is “to come,” supplying the “to.”

You can also simply want things, in which case a noun comes after the verb.

Lei vuole una scusa per fare come vuole? — Do you want an excuse to do as you want?

20. Potere (to be able to)

As you can see from the examples below, this one is used just like volere.

Non posso credere che lui sia il presidente.  — I can’t believe that he’s the president.

Possono fare i giocolieri. — They can juggle.

21. Sapere (to know)

22. Dovere (to need to/must/should)

23. Bere (to drink)

Some Italian verbs have infinitives that are very short, but the conjugated forms are longer and follow their own pattern, distinct from the infinitive. They include bere, dire, fare, condurre, trarre and porre.

It may be useful to identify these verbs as contracted infinitives when you’re learning them, as they’ll follow a similar pattern when you learn other tenses, such as the present continuous.

What do you drink and why? Let folks know with this verb:

Bevo soltanto vino rosso! — I only drink red wine.

Beviamo per dimenticare.  — We drink to forget.

24. Dire (to say)

When learning this verb, it’s important to remember that a C followed by an E or an I has a CH sound, and otherwise it sounds like K.

I’ve had the following two expressions with this verb said to me a lot while traveling in Italy because I’m mildly naughty and/or because of the faux-shocked, semi-conservative posture that Italians love to adopt.

Dici solo stupidaggini. — You say only stupid things.

Non diciamo sciocchezze!  — What are you saying! (literally, let’s not say nonsense)

25. Fare (to do, to make)

This nearly all-purpose verb can be translated as both “to make” and “to do.”

The fact that Italian has only one verb for our two English verbs probably explains why Italians often mix these two up when speaking English.

Fare can also be used in all kinds of other ways that lead to different English translations, and is the principal verb in countless expressions.

Faccio la pizza. — I’m making the pizza.

Mi fanno cadere le braccia a terra. — They exasperate me. (literally, they make my arms fall to earth)

Facciamo altrimenti. — We’re doing it another way.

Il suo piano fa acqua da tutte le parti. — Her plan is full of holes. (literally, her plan makes water from all parts)

Lui fa capo alla sua ragazza per tutto! — He depends on his girlfriend for everything!

Beware of (or enjoy) the fact that alongside a reflexive pronoun, fare becomes a vulgar term for sexual relations. Luckily, it’s not vulgar most of the time!

26. Condurre (to drive, to lead)

27. Trarre (to pull, to bring)

28. Porre (to put)

You can also use  mettere to mean the same thing; in fact, mettere is actually more common.

How to Study Irregular Italian Verbs

Taken together, these irregular verbs can seem like a lot to take on and memorize.

I highly recommend using flashcards (or a flashcard mobile app like Anki) for those that give you the most trouble. These will also eventually start to seem natural through speaking practice and consuming Italian media.

I also recommend learning these verbs and their conjugations in context. For that, you’ll need authentic Italian content, the kind that real Italian native speakers would consume. Media like TV shows, movies, commercials and even web videos can help you learn proper vocabulary and verb usage in different situations.

Luckily, authentic Italian content is easily accessible online, especially on social websites and video platforms. For example, the language learning program FluentU offers an array of short Italian videos with interactive subtitles.

You can also look up verbs that aren’t covered here individually on WordReference or check out this full printable sheet of the whole bunch. Wikipedia has a good page that groups the irregular Italian verbs by families, which is also worth a look.

The conjugations of irregular verbs are important not just because they’re used so much, but also because they form the basis for conjugations that you’ll need to study later, especially the imperative and the subjunctive.

The work you do now towards really nailing your irregular verbs in various tenses will pay you off many times over as you continue with your Italian studies and start to work with other conjugations.

Whatever you do, don’t give up and try to skip over this subject.

Stick with these verbs until you’ve mastered them all!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing...

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