This lesson is about the three groups of Italian regular verbs.
All Italian regular verbs can be divided into three groups, as classified according to the ending of their infinitive forms.
Verbs in the first group or first conjugation end in – are, such as abitare, mangiare or lavare.
Abitare – to live
io abito
tu abiti
lui/lei/Lei abita
noi abitiamo
voi abitate
loro/Loro abitano
Verbs in the second group or second conjugation end in – ere, such as perdere and correre.
Perdere – to lose
io perdo
tu perdi
lui/lei/Lei perde
noi perdiamo
voi perdete
loro/Loro perdono
Verbs in the third group or third conjugation end in – ire, such as dormire and aprire. The main characteristic of the third group is that some verbs, such as preferire, add the suffix –isc between the root and the declination.
Dormire – to sleep
io dormo
tu dormi
lui/lei/Lei dorme
noi dormiamo
voi dormite
loro/Loro dormono
Preferire – to prefer
io preferisco
tu preferisci
lui/lei/Lei preferisce
noi preferiamo
voi preferite
loro/Loro preferiscono
It’s important to learn the conjugations for these three groups as early as you can!
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