Present Tense (Presente)

The present tense in Italian is used to describe actions happening now, habitual actions, and general truths.

Regular Verbs

Italian has three main verb conjugations based on their infinitive endings:

-ARE Verbs (e.g., parlare - to speak)

Person	Conjugation	Example
io	parlo	I speak
tu	parli	you speak
lui/lei	parla	he/she speaks
noi	parliamo	we speak
voi	parlate	you (plural) speak
loro	parlano	they speak

-ERE Verbs (e.g., credere - to believe)

Person	Conjugation	Example
io	credo	I believe
tu	credi	you believe
lui/lei	crede	he/she believes
noi	crediamo	we believe
voi	credete	you (plural) believe
loro	credono	they believe

-IRE Verbs (e.g., dormire - to sleep)

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

Common Irregular Verbs

Some of the most common Italian verbs are irregular:

• essere (to be): sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono
• avere (to have): ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno
• fare (to do/make): faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate, fanno
• andare (to go): vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate, vanno

Practice Examples

1. Io parlo italiano. - I speak Italian.
2. Tu credi in me? - Do you believe in me?
3. Noi dormiamo otto ore. - We sleep eight hours.
4. Loro sono studenti. - They are students.