regular verbs	AMARE	CREDERE	CAPIRE
io	amerò	crederò	capirò
tu	amerai	crederai	capirai
lui, lei, Lei	amerà	crederà	capirà
noi	ameremo	crederemo	capiremo
voi	amerete	crederete	capirete
essi	ameranno	crederanno	capiranno

some irregular verbs	ESSERE	AVERE	VEDERE
io	sarò	avrò	vedrò
tu	sarai	avrai	vedrai
lui, lei, Lei	sarà	avrà	vedrà
noi	saremo	avremo	vedremo
voi	sarete	avrete	vedrete
essi	saranno	avranno	vedranno

When you start learning the past tense, that is il passato prossimo, you run into the unique situation (at least for native English speakers) of having to not only figure out what the equivalent is of the verb you want to use, but also a second verb that you combine it with.
Let me paint a clearer picture for you.

I want to say two sentences:

— Yesterday I talked to Marco.

— Then, we went to the club.

In Italian, here’s what would happen in my head:

Okay, so the word for yesterday is “ieri.” Great. Now, if I want to say “I talked,” I know that the past participle of “parlare” is “parlato.” Then I have to use the verb “avere” as the auxiliary verb, and since it’s me doing the action, it’s “ho,” so “ho parlato.” Then of course, the preposition is “con.”

Ieri ho parlato con Marco.

Avere = Auxiliary verb

Parlato = Past participle of “parlare”

However, in the next sentence, things change slightly.

So, the word I want to use for “then” is “poi.” Then I know that the past participle for “andare” is “andato” and that the auxiliary verb here to use is “essere,” Then the preposition is “in” and “club” is “discoteca”. However, since there are two of us, “essere” is conjugated as “siamo” and the ending of “andato” is replaced with an -i, making it “andati.”

Poi siamo andati in discoteca.

Essere = Auxiliary verb

Andato = Past participle

I break this down to the tiniest detail so you can all of the moving parts in front of your eyes that go into using auxiliary verbs, and knowing how to choose between “avere” and “essere” is incredibly important because you’re going to be using auxiliary verbs in more tenses than just the past.

So you have two choices here – avere and essere.

Which one do you choose?

How to Choose Between Avere and Essere

While there are a handful of exceptions, you choose “essere” with verbs that describe movement, a state of being, or a condition, like “andare – to go,” “uscire – to go out,” or “succedere – to happen.” Reflexive verbs, like “alzarsi – to get up” are always conjugated with “essere.”

“Avere” is typically used with all other verbs, like “parlare – to speak,” “mangiare – to eat,” or “imparare – to learn.”

What are some of the exceptions?

— Camminare – to walk: Even though this verb deals with motion, it takes “avere” as its auxiliary verb.

— Diventare – to become: This is one that you might not be sure about, but it does take the verb “essere” as an auxiliary.

— Rimanere – to stay: Even though nothing is technically changing when you’re staying in one place, this verb takes “essere” as an auxiliary verb as well.

Transitive or intransitive?

Another way that you could decide which verb to use is to recognize whether the meaning of the verb is transitive or intransitive. What does that mean?
Transitive verbs are ones that require a direct object, like “I finished my homework.” What did I finish? The homework — that’s the direct object. These types of verbs take “avere.” Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, don’t require an object and often represent a change of state or condition, like “The movie is over.” It was playing, but now it’s over. It’s changed its state. These types of verbs take “essere.”

Here’s a longer list of common verbs that take “avere”:

— Fare – to do/to make

— Portare – to bring

— Vedere – to see

— Sentire – to smell, hear, taste

— Aspettare – to wait

— Bere – to drink

— Capire – to understand

— Chiedere – to ask

— Credere – to believe, to think

— Cominciare – to begin

— Comprare – to buy

— Dare – to give

— Dire – to say

— Finire – to finish

— Imparare – to learn

— Pensare – to think

— Perdere – to lose, to miss

— Potere – to be able to, can

— Scrivere – to write

— Spiegare – to explain

— Vivere – to live

— Volere – to want

Here’s a longer list of common verbs that take “essere”:

— Abituarsi – to get used to

— Arrivare – to arrive

— Entrare – to enter

— Mettersi – to get dressed

— Morire – to die

— Nascere – to be born

— Partire – to leave

— Perdersi – to get lost

— Rimanere – to stay

— Riuscire – to be able to, to succeed (at)

— Salire – to go up

— Scendere – to descend, get off

— Stare – to be

— Tornare – to return

— Venire – to come

And then some verbs swing both ways (if you know what I mean).

There are a whole lot of verbs that can swing both ways, so I’ll just highlight five popular ones that you may hear or use in daily conversation.

— Cambiare – to change: When you’re talking about changing an object, like getting a new job (ho cambiato lavoro), you use “avere” as the auxiliary. But when you’re talking about someone changing (in quel periodo sono cambiato molto), you use “essere” as the auxiliary.

— Correre – to run, to be in a hurry: When you’re talking about running, you would use “avere” as the auxiliary, but when you’re talking about being in a hurry, you would use “essere”.

— Crescere – to grow, to raise: When you’re talking about how someone grew up, you use “essere” as the auxiliary (sono cresciuto/a in Michigan), but when you’re talking about someone raising children, you use “avere”  (mia madre mi ha cresciuto/a da sola).

— Finire – to finish: When you’re talking about a person finishing something, like homework, you use “avere” (ho finito i compiti), but when you’re talking about something being finished, like a movie, you use “essere” (il film è finito).

— Piovere – to rain: Typically you can use both “essere” and “avere” as the auxiliary verb here, but when you’re using “piovere” to talk about something more metaphorical, like people pouring in from a different country (500.000 di persone sono piovuti sull’Italia), then you would use “essere.

— Scendere – to go down: When you’re talking about getting off of something, like a bus, you use “essere” (sono sceso/a dall’autobus). When you’re talking about going down something, like a set of stairs, you use “avere” (ho sceso le scale).

Transitive:

The word transitive comes from the Latin transire meaning ‘to pass’, ‘to cross’, ‘to go beyond’, therefore it describes actions that move from the subject or doer directly to the object, without making use of prepositions such as di, da, per, a etc.
Examples:
The classic example that we learn at school is: io mangio la mela (I eat the apple); in this sentence io is the subject of the verb, mangio is the transitive verb, and la mela is the direct object.
It’s not always necessary to express the direct object, for example: la sera mangio presto (in the evening I eat early). Here, the direct object would be ‘dinner’, ‘meal’, or ‘food’, but it is implicit rather than expressed.
Another example would be: Giovanni guida la macchina per andare a lavorare (Giovanni drives his car to go to work). Here, guidare is a transitive verb because it is followed by the direct object, la macchina. However I could also omit ‘la macchina’ and simply say Giovanni guida per andare a lavorare.

Intransitive:
When using intransitive verbs, the action does not move directly from the subject to the object but makes use of a preposition such as di, da, in, a etc.
Some important intransitive verbs are those which don’t express an action but rather a state or a condition, such as essere (to be), stare (to stay), divenire (to become), or movement such as andare (to go), venire (to come), arrivare (to arrive), etc. When using these verbs we frequently add information, such as ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’, ‘for how long’, and so on.
Examples:
il treno è arrivato in stazione (the train arrived at the station). Here, il treno is the subject, è arrivato is the intransitive verb, in stazione is the indirect object introduced by the preposition in
sto in ufficio tutto il pomeriggio (I’ll be in the office all afternoon)
Giovanni va al lavoro in macchina (Giovanni goes to work by car)

The past perfect, in Italian as in English, is used to show that a past event or state happened prior to a past reference point.

It’s formed using the auxiliary verb ‘avere’ or ‘essere’ in the imperfect tense, and the past participle of the main verb.

Below are the conjunctions of ‘essere’, ‘avere’, and an example verb from each of the three main groups.

Remember that when you use the auxiliary verb ‘essere, the past participle needs to ‘agree’ with the gender and singular or plural nature of the subject.

essere [to be]

io ero stato/a
tu eri stato/a
lui/lei era stato/a
noi eravamo stati/e
voi eravate stati/e
loro erano stati/e

avere [to have]

io avevo avuto
tu avevi avuto
lui/lei aveva avuto
noi avevamo avuto
voi avevate avuto
loro avevano avuto

First group, -are

magiare [to eat]

io avevo mangiato
tu avevi mangiato
lui/lei aveva mangiato
noi avevamo mangiato
voi avevate mangiato
loro avevano mangiato

Second group, -ere

bere [to drink]

io avevo bevuto
tu avevi bevuto
lui/lei aveva bevuto
noi avevamo bevuto
voi avevate bevuto
loro avevano bevuto

Third group, -ire

venire [to come]

io ero venuto/a
tu eri venuto/a
lui/lei era venuto/a
noi eravamo venuti/e
voi eravate venuti/e
loro erano venuti/e

 

On this page, you will see several different types of object pronouns: 1) direct objects, 2) indirect objects, 3) objects of preposition, 4) reflexive pronouns, 5) the passive “si,” and 5) ci and ne.

1) Direct objects

A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers the question, “What?” For example:

• Vedo la ragazza. I see the girl.

We can ask, “What do I see?” and answer “The girl.” So “la ragazza” is our direct object.

Just like how in English we can replace “the girl” with the pronoun “her,” in Italian we can replace direct objects with pronouns. The direct object pronouns are the following:

1st person singular (me)	mi	1st person plural (us)	ci
2nd person singular (you)	ti	2nd person plural (you)	vi
3rd person singular (him, her, formal you)	lo, la, La	3rd person plural (them)	li, le

Usually these pronouns come before your verb. So the sentence “Vedo la ragazza” becomes “La vedo” (I see her).

Sometimes pronouns are put after the verb for emphasis, and then use a different set of pronouns, called tonic pronouns:

1st person singular (me)	me	1st person plural (us)	noi
2nd person singular (you)	te	2nd person plural (you)	voi
3rd person singular (him, her, formal you)	lui, lei, Lei	3rd person plural (them)	loro

Except for “me” and “te,” these are the same forms as the subject pronouns. Going back to “Vedo la ragazza,” we can say “Vedo lei,” if we want to emphasize that it is her (not someone else).

2) Indirect objects

Like direct objects answer the question “What?” indirect objects usually answer the question “To whom?” or “For whom?” For example:

• Scrivo a mia sorella. I write to my sister.

“My sister” answers the question, “To whom do I write?” so “mia sorella” is the indirect object.

The indirect object pronouns look like the direct object pronouns, except the third person:

1st person singular (to me)	mi	1st person plural (to us)	ci
2nd person singular (to you)	ti	2nd person plural (to you)	vi
3rd person singular (to him, her, formal you)	gli, le, Le	3rd person plural (to them)	gli

Like the direct object pronouns, these typically come before the verb:

• Scrivo a mia sorella. Le scrivo. I write to my sister. I write to her.

You can also use the tonic pronouns (see above) after the verb for emphasis or clarification, but with the indirect object, “a” is required:

• Scrivo a lei.

The only exception is “loro,” which does not require “a”:

• Scrivo ai miei amici. Gli scrivo. / Scrivo loro. I write to my friends. I write to them.

3) Objects of preposition

After a preposition (for example, “con,” “di,” “per”), you should use a tonic pronoun (see above):

• Non so niente di te. I don’t know anything about you.

4) Reflexive pronouns

In Italian, some verbs are reflexive, meaning that the person doing the action does it to him or herself. Examples of this would be “mettersi” (to put a piece of clothing on), “chiamarsi” (literally “to call oneself”), and “sentirsi” (to feel). In the dictionary, you may notice that the infinitive has “si” on the end to show the verb is reflexive.

Reflexive verbs have their own pronouns:

io	mi	noi	ci
tu	ti	voi	vi
lui, lei, Lei	si	loro	si

These pronouns match the verb (“mi” with the “io” form, “ti” with “tu,” etc.) and are usually placed before the verb:

• Mi metto la giacca. I put on my coat.

5) The passive “si” (si passivante)

We use the passive or impersonal “si” when we don't want to state who exactly did the action. This can be translated in different ways in English. For example:

• In Italia si mangia la pizza.

This could be translated as: In Italy, pizza is eaten, In Italy, you (in general) eat pizza, In Italy, one eats pizza, In Italy, they (in general) eat pizza, among other things. The important thing to remember is that this action is not being done by any specific person.

To form this, use “si” and a verb in the third person (the form for lui/lei or loro). If there is an object after the verb, the verb agrees with the object. So we say:

• Si mangia la pizza.

but

• Si mangiano le pizze.

If there is no object, the verb is singular:

• Si mangia.

For reflexive verbs, you add “ci” before “si”:

• Ci si alza presto. One gets up early.

6) Ci and ne

“Ci” and “ne” replace prepositional phrases. “Ci” replaces “in” or “a” and their object:

• Vai a Roma? No, non ci vado. Are you going to Rome? No, I’m not going there.

“Ne” replaces “di” and its object:

• Vuoi una di queste caramelle? Ne vuoi una? Do you want one of these candies? Do you want one of them?

Proposition - By Michael San Filippo 

Italian Verbs That Demand A

The proposition a can link a verb to an object such as a noun or a pronoun, or a verb in the infinitive. For example: to get used to the weather; to get used to doing something.

Connecting to a Noun or Pronoun With A

These verbs connect through a to someone or something.

Abituarsi a	to get used to	Ci si abitua a tutto.	One gets used to anything.
Assistere a	to sit in/watch	Ho assistito alla sua prova.	I sat in on his exam.
Assomigliare a	to resemble	Assomiglia a sua sorella.	He resembles his sister.
Credere a	to believe	Non credo alle tue bugie.	I don't believe your lies.
Dare fastidio a	to bother	Non dare fastidio al cane.	Don't bother the dog.
Fare un regalo a	to give a gift to	Ho fatto un regalo alla maestra.	I gave a gift to the teacher.
Fermarsi a	to stop at	Luca non si ferma a nulla.	Luca will stop at nothing.
Giocare a	to play	Giochiamo a tennis.	Let's play tennis.
Insegnare a	to teach	Lucia ha insegnato a mia figlia.	Lucia taught my daughter.
Interessarsi a	to take an interest in	Mi sono interessato alla tua famiglia.	I took an interest in your family.
Partecipare a	to participate in	Orazio non partecipa alla gara.	Orazio is not participating in the race.
Pensare a	to think about	Franco non pensa mai a nessuno.	Franco never thinks about anyone.
Ricordare a	to remind	Ti ricordo che domani andiamo al mare.	I remind you that tomorrow we are going to the sea.
Rinunciare a	to renounce/give up	Devo rinunciare a questa casa.	I must give up this house.
Servire a	to serve a purpose	Non serve a nulla piangere.	It serves no purpose to cry.
Spedire a	to send to	Spedisco il pacco a Carola domani.	I will send the package to Carola tomorrow.
Tenere a	to care about	Tengo molto alle mie fotografie.	I care very much about my pictures.

Connecting to an Infinitive With A

These are verbs that use a to connect to another verb: to begin to do something.

Abituarsi a	to get used to	Mi sono abituata a fare da sola.	I have gotten used to doing things on my own.
Affrettarsi a	to hurry to	Affrettati a portare il cane fuori.	Hurry to take the dog out.
Aiutare a	to help to	Ti aiuto a portare la torta alla nonna.	I'll help you take the cake to Grandma's.
Cominciare a	to begin to	Oggi comincio a leggere il libro.	Today I'll begin reading the book.
Continuare a	to continue to	Marco continua a fare errori nei compiti.	Marco continues to make mistakes in his homework.
Convincersi a	to convince oneself to	Mi sono convinta ad andare.	I have convinced myself to go.
Costringere a	to force someone to	Non puoi costringermi a stare in casa.	You cannot force me to stay home.
Decidersi a	to make up one's mind to	Luca si è deciso a studiare di più.	Luca has made up his mind to study more.
Divertirsi a	to have fun doing sth	I bambini si divertono a tirare la coda al gatto.	The children have fun pulling the cat's tail.
Fermarsi a	to stop to	Mi sono fermata a fare benzina.	I stopped to get gas.
Insegnare a	to teach to	La nonna ci ha insegnato a fare i biscotti.	Grandma taught us to make cookies.
Invitare a	to invite to	Ti voglio invitare a leggere un brano del tuo libro.	I want to invite you to read an excerpt of your book.
Mandare a	to send to	Ho mandato Paolo a prendere il pane.	I sent Paolo to get the bread.
Mettersi a	to set out/begin to	Ci siamo messi a guardare un film.	We began watching a film.
Passare a	to stop by to	Passo a prendere i bambini tra un ora.	I'll stop by to get the children in an hour.
Pensare a	to take care of	Ci penso io ad aggiustare tutto.	I'll take care of fixing everything.
Prepararsi a	to prepare to	Ci prepariamo a partire.	We are preparing to leave.
Provare a	to try to	Proviamo a parlare con la mamma.	Let's try to talk to mom.
Rimanere a	to remain/ stay to	Rimani a mangiare?	Are you staying to eat?
Rinunciare a	to give up	Dopo la guerra tutti i bambini dovettero rinunciare ad andare a scuola.	After the war all the children had to give up going to school.
Riprendere a	to get back to	Luca vuole riprendere a studiare il francese.	Luca wants to get back to studying French.
Riuscire a	to succeed at	Voglio riuscire a fare questa torta complicata.	I want to succeed at making this complicated cake.
Sbrigarsi a	to hurry to	Sbrigati a lavare i piatti.	Hurry up to wash the dishes.
Servire a	to serve to	Questo carrello serve a portare i libri di sotto.	This cart serves to take the books downstairs.
Tenere a	to care to/about	Tengo a precisare che la mia posizione non è cambiata.	I care to point out that my position has not changed.

Verbs of Movement That Want by ABeforeObject or Infinitive

Verbs of movement use a to connect with a noun or a verb, except for a few that want da: partire da (to leave from), venire/provenire da (to come from), allontanarsi da (to distance oneself from).

Andare a	to go to	1. Vado a casa. 2. Vado a visitare il museo.	1. I'm going home. 2. I'm going to visit the museum.
Correre a	to run to	1. Corriamo a cena. 2. Corriamo a vedere il film.	1. We are running to dinner. 2. We are running to see a movie.
Fermarsi a	to stop to	1. Ci fermiamo al mercato. 2. Ci fermiamo a mangiare.	1. We are stopping at the market. 2. We are stopping to eat.
Passare a	to stop by to	Passo a prendere il cane.	I'll stop by to get the dog.
Restare a	to stay to	1. Restiamo a casa. 2. Restiamo a mangiare.	1. We are staying home. 2. We are staying to eat.
Tornare a	to return to	1. Torniamo a scuola. 2. Torniamo a prenderti alle due.	1. We are returning to school. 2. We are returning to get you at two.
Venire a	to come to	1. Venite alla festa? 2. Venite a mangiare all'una.	1. Are you coming to the party? 2. You are coming to eat at one.

Italian Verbs That Demand Di

The preposition di can link a verb to an object such as a noun or a pronoun, or to another verb in the infinitive (or both, depending on the meaning).

Connecting to a Noun or Pronoun With Di

Accontentarsi di	to make do/ be happy with	Mi accontento della mia vita.	I am happy with my life.
Approfittarsi di	to take advantage of	Voglio approfittare dell'occasione.	I want to take advantage of the occasion.
Avere bisogno di	to need	Ho bisogno di acqua.	I need water.
Avere paura di	to be afraid of	Ho paura di te.	I am scared of you.
Dimenticarsi di	to forget	Dimenticati di lui.	Forget him.
Fidarsi di	to trust	Fidati di lui.	Trust him.
Innamorarsi di	to fall in love with	Mi sono innamorata di lui.	I fell in love with him.
Interessarsi di	to take an interest in	Il prof si interessa dei miei studi.	The teacher takes an interest in my studies.
Lamentarsi di	to complain about	Non mi lamento di niente.	I am not complaining about anything.
Meravigliarsi di	to be amazed by	Mi meraviglio della bellezza dei colori.	I am amazed by the beauty of the colors.
Occuparsi di	to take care of	Giulia si occupa della casa.	Giulia takes care of the house.
Ricordarsi di	to remember	Non mi sono ricordata della festa.	I did not remember the party.
Ringraziare di	to thank for	Ti ringrazio del regalo.	I thank you for the gift.
Scusarsi di	to apologize for	Mi scuso del disturbo.	I apologize for my tardiness.
Vivere di	to live of	Vivo di poco.	I live of little.

Connecting toan Infinitive With Di

Accettare di	to accept	Accetto di dover partire.	I accept having to leave.
Accontentarsi di	to make do/be happy with	Ci accontentiamo di avere questa casa.	We make do with this house.
Accorgersi di	to notice	Ci siamo accorti di essere in ritardo.	We noticed we were late.
Ammettere di	to admit to	Il ladro ha ammesso di avere rubato la macchina.	The thief admitted having stolen the car.
Aspettare di	to wait for	Aspetto di vedere cosa succede.	I'll wait to see what happens.
Augurarsi di	to wish for	Ti auguro di guarire presto.	I wish/hope you get better soon.
Avere bisogno di	to need	Ho bisogno di vedere un dottore.	I need to see a doctor.
Cercare di	to try to	Cerco di capirti.	I try to understand you.
Chiedere di	to ask	Ho chiesto di poter uscire.	I asked to be allowed out.
Confessare di	to confess	Il ladro ha confessato di avere rubato la macchina.	The thief confessed to stealing the car.
Consigliare di	to advise	Ti consiglio di aspettare.	I advise you to wait.
Contare di	to count on	Contiamo di poter venire.	We are counting on coming.
Credere di	to believe that	Credo di avere capito.	I think I have understood.
Dispiacere di	to be sorry for	Mi dispiace di averti ferito.	I am sorry to have hurt you.
Dimenticarsi di	to forget to	Vi siete dimenticati di portare il pane.	You forgot to bring the bread.
Decidere di	to decide to	Ho deciso di andare a Berlino.	I decided to go to Berlin.
Dire di	to tell/say	Ho detto a Carlo di venire.	I told Carlo to come.
Evitare di	to avoid	Ho evitato di andare addosso al muro.	I avoided hitting the wall.
Fingere di	to pretend that	Andrea ha finto di sentirsi male.	Andrea pretended to be sick.
Finire di	to finish	Abbiamo finito di studiare.	We finished studying.
Lamentarsi di	to complain about	Non mi lamento di essere qui.	I don't complain for being here.
Occuparsi di	to take care of	Ci siamo occupati di aggiustare tutto.	We took care of fixing everything.
Parere di	to seem to	Mi pare di aver fatto il possibile.	It seems to me to have done what was possible.
Pensare di	to think	Penso di venire oggi.	I think I'll come today.
Pregare di	to pray	Prego di avere la pazienza per aspettare.	I pray to have the patience to wait.
Proibire di	to forbid	Ti proibisco di uscire!	I forbid you to go out!
Promettere di	to promise	Ti prometto di aspettare.	I promise to wait.
Ricordarsi di	to remember	Ti ricordi di prendere il vino?	Will you remember to get the wine?
Ringraziare di	to thank for	Ti ringrazio di averci aiutati.	I thank you for having helped us.
Scusarsi di	to apologize for	Mi scuso di averti offeso.	I apologize for having offended you.
Sembrare di	to seem to	Il cane sembra voler uscire.	The dog seems to want to go out.
Smettere di	to quit	Ho smesso di fumare.	I quit smoking.
Sperare di	to hope	Spero di vederti.	I hope to see you.
Suggerire di	to suggest	Ti suggerisco di aspettare.	I advise you to wait.
Tentare di	to attempt to	Tentiamo di parlare con Vanessa.	We'll attempt to speak to Vanessa.

Italian Verbs That Demand Su

These verbs use su to connect to a noun or pronoun:

Contare su	to count on	Conto su di te.	I am counting on you.
Giurare su	to swear on	Giuro sulla mia vita.	I swear on my life.
Leggere su	to read in	L'ho letto sul giornale.	I read it in the paper.
Riflettere su	to reflect on	Ho riflettutto sul problema.	I have reflected upon the problem.
Soffermarsi su	to linger on	Il professore si è soffermato sulla sua teoria.	The teacher lingered on his theory.

Italian Verbs That Want Per

These verbs use per to connect to a noun or pronoun or another verb.

Dispiacere per	to be sorry for	1. Mi dispiace per la tua sofferenza. 2. Mi dispiace per averti ferito.	1. I am sorry for your suffering. 2. I am sorry for having hurt you.
Finire per	to end up	Luca è finito per andare a scuola.	Luca ended up going to school.
Prepararsi per	to prepare for	Mi sono preparato per il tuo arrivo.	I prepared for your arrival.
Ringraziare per	to thank for	1. Ti ringrazio per la tua comprensione. 2. Ti ringrazio per avermi capita.	1. I thank you for your understanding. 2. I thank you for having understood me.
Scusarsi per	to apologize for	1. Mi scuso per il disturbo. 2. Mi scuso per averti disturbato.	1. I am sorry for the bother. 2. I am sorry for having bothered you.
Servire per	to need for	Non mi serve il tavolo per insegnare.	I don't need the table to teach.

Verbs Without Preposition Before Another Verb

Of course, you know that helping verbs dovere, potere, and volere do not need any preposition to connect to another verb: Devo andare (I must go); non posso parlare (I cannot speak). There are others:

amare	to love	Amo parlare di te.	I love to talk about you.
desiderare	to desire	Desidero vedere Roma.	I desire to see Rome.
fare (fare)	to make someone do sth	Oggi ti faccio lavorare.	Today I am going to make you work.
lasciare	to work	Domani ti lascio dormire.	Tomorrow I will let you sleep.
odiare	to hate	Odio lasciarti.	I hate to leave you.
piacere	to like	Mi piace guardare il paesaggio.	I like to look at the countryside.
preferire	to prefer	Preferisco ballare che studiare.	I prefer to dance than to study.
sapere	to know	Maria sa parlare il francese.	Maria knows how to speak French.

Have you ever studied the “Si spersonalizzante“?

The so called “Si spersonalizzante” is used in Italian to make the verb impersonal.

When there is not a specific subject, we use the particle “si” as an indefinite subject which refers to people in general.

We have to distinguish a number of different situations though.

Let’s go through some examples to better understand it!

	Italian	English
1	Ad agosto in Italia si va al mare.	In August in Italy people go to the seaside.
2	Si sente un buon profumo di fiori.	You can smell a nice scent of flowers.
3	Dalle montagne si vedono panorami meravigliosi.	From the mountains it is possible to see marvelous landscapes.
4	Alle terme ci si rilassa molto.	At the thermal baths you can relax a lot.
5	Quando finiscono le vacanze si è sempre tristi.	When holidays finish people are always sad.

 

In example n.1, we have an impersonal construction with an intransitive verb: in this case we use si + third person singular of the verb.

In n.2 we have an impersonal construction with a transitive verb agreed with a singular object (un buon profumo): so we use si + third person singular of the verb + singular object.

Example n.3 is an impersonal construction with a transitive verb agreed with a plural object (panorami meravigliosi): in this case we use si + third person plural of the verb + plural object.

N.4 refers to Reflexive Verbs: if we want to make them impersonal, we use ci + si + third person singular of the verb.

The last example shows the impersonal construction si + è + adjective: careful, in this case the adjective is always masculine plural!

Try to make some sentences using the “si spersonalizzante” now!

It will be easier than you thought!

You will see several different types of object pronouns:

1. ) direct objects
2. ) indirect objects,
3. ) objects of preposition,
4. ) reflexive pronouns,
5. ) the passive “si,” 
6. )and  ci and ne.

1) Direct objects

A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers the question, “What?” For example:

• Vedo la ragazza. I see the girl.

We can ask, “What do I see?” and answer “The girl.” So “la ragazza” is our direct object.

Just like how in English we can replace “the girl” with the pronoun “her,” in Italian we can replace direct objects with pronouns. The direct object pronouns are the following:

1st person singular (me)	mi	1st person plural (us)	ci
2nd person singular (you)	ti	2nd person plural (you)	vi
3rd person singular (him, her, formal you)	lo, la, La	3rd person plural (them)	li, le

 

Usually these pronouns come before your verb. So the sentence “Vedo la ragazza” becomes “La vedo” (I see her).

Sometimes pronouns are put after the verb for emphasis, and then use a different set of pronouns, called tonic pronouns:

1st person singular (me)	me	1st person plural (us)	noi
2nd person singular (you)	te	2nd person plural (you)	voi
3rd person singular (him, her, formal you)	lui, lei, Lei	3rd person plural (them)	loro

 

Except for “me” and “te,” these are the same forms as the subject pronouns. Going back to “Vedo la ragazza,” we can say “Vedo lei,” if we want to emphasize that it is her (not someone else).

2) Indirect objects

Like direct objects answer the question “What?” indirect objects usually answer the question “To whom?” or “For whom?” For example:

• Scrivo a mia sorella. I write to my sister.

“My sister” answers the question, “To whom do I write?” so “mia sorella” is the indirect object.

The indirect object pronouns look like the direct object pronouns, except the third person:

1st person singular (to me)	mi	1st person plural (to us)	ci
2nd person singular (to you)	ti	2nd person plural (to you)	vi
3rd person singular (to him, her, formal you)	gli, le, Le	3rd person plural (to them)	gli

 

Like the direct object pronouns, these typically come before the verb:

• Scrivo a mia sorella. Le scrivo. I write to my sister. I write to her.

You can also use the tonic pronouns (see above) after the verb for emphasis or clarification, but with the indirect object, “a” is required:

• Scrivo a lei.

The only exception is “loro,” which does not require “a”:

• Scrivo ai miei amici. Gli scrivo. / Scrivo loro. I write to my friends. I write to them.

3) Objects of preposition

After a preposition (for example, “con,” “di,” “per”), you should use a tonic pronoun (see above):

• Non so niente di te. I don’t know anything about you.

4) Reflexive pronouns

In Italian, some verbs are reflexive, meaning that the person doing the action does it to him or herself. Examples of this would be “mettersi” (to put a piece of clothing on), “chiamarsi” (literally “to call oneself”), and “sentirsi” (to feel). In the dictionary, you may notice that the infinitive has “si” on the end to show the verb is reflexive.

Reflexive verbs have their own pronouns:

io	mi	noi	ci
tu	ti	voi	vi
lui, lei, Lei	si	loro	si

 

These pronouns match the verb (“mi” with the “io” form, “ti” with “tu,” etc.) and are usually placed before the verb:

• Mi metto la giacca. I put on my coat.

5) The passive “si” (si passivante)

We use the passive or impersonal “si” when we don't want to state who exactly did the action. This can be translated in different ways in English. For example:

• In Italia si mangia la pizza.

This could be translated as: In Italy, pizza is eaten, In Italy, you (in general) eat pizza, In Italy, one eats pizza, In Italy, they (in general) eat pizza, among other things. The important thing to remember is that this action is not being done by any specific person.

To form this, use “si” and a verb in the third person (the form for lui/lei or loro). If there is an object after the verb, the verb agrees with the object. So we say:

• Si mangia la pizza.

but

• Si mangiano le pizze.

If there is no object, the verb is singular:

• Si mangia.

For reflexive verbs, you add “ci” before “si”:

• Ci si alza presto. One gets up early.

6) Ci and ne

“Ci” and “ne” replace prepositional phrases. “Ci” replaces “in” or “a” and their object:

• Vai a Roma? No, non ci vado. Are you going to Rome? No, I’m not going there.

“Ne” replaces “di” and its object:

• Vuoi una di queste caramelle? Ne vuoi una? Do you want one of these candies? Do you want one of them?

More Clitics - Explaining Non se ne va mai.

Andarsene is a pronomial verb. This means it is a mixture of a verb and pronouns. In this case it is the verb andare (to go) and two pronouns si and ne. If you remember when si precedes another clitic it changes to se. Ne in this case is known as a pronomial particle and means somewhere and Si is the reflexive pronoun. Andarsene is the verb to go away somewhere. It is conjugated by putting the reflexive pronoun first then the pronomial particle next and then the conjugated verb. Me ne vado (Me in place of Mi), Te ne vai, Se ne va, Ce ne andiamo, Ve ne andate, Se ne vanno. Pronomial verbs are easy to spot because of the pronouns attached at the end of the verb. Guardarsene (to avoid something) Pentirsene (to regret) Volerci (to take, as in time or effort), Avercela (to be angry) Dormirsela ( to sleep soundly). The pattern of conjugation remains the same. Using the verb avercela above...Ce l'ho con lei. I am angry with her.

Stare Conjugation in the Indicative Present Tense

Stare is an intransitive verb, meaning that it does not take a direct object. It’s also an irregular verb and it does not follow the pattern of the verbs ending in “-are”. Here is how to form the present tense of stare.

Presente	Present tense
io sto	I stay
tu stai	you stay
lui/lei sta	he/she stay
noi stiamo	we stay
voi state	you stay
loro stanno	they stay

• Come stai?
  How are you?

• In questi giorni sto a Roma.
  These days I’m staying in Rome.

• Sto per uscire.
  I’m about to leave.

Stare is often used to form the Present Progressive tense, in order to talk about an action that is happening at the same time we are speaking. This construction is formed by stare + the gerund of the verb.

• Sto mangiando.
  I’m eating.

• Sto andando a lavoro.
  I’m going to work.

Stare Conjugation in the Indicative Past Tense

The indicative mood has two simple past tenses: imperfetto and passato remoto.

Imperfetto	Imperfect
io stavo	I stayed
tu stavi	you stayed
lui/lei stava	he/she stayed
noi stavamo	we stayed
voi stavate	you stayed
loro stavano	they stayed

• Stavo per uscire quando il telefono ha squillato.
  I was about to leave, when the phone rang.
  
• Quando ho visto Paola, non stava facendo niente.
  When I saw Paola, she wasn’t doing anything.
  

While the imperfetto is used for recurring actions in the past or for events that happened not too long ago, the passato remoto is used to talk about something that took place months, or years ago. However, it’s rarely used in real life (with the exception of some regional uses, especially in Southern Italy).

Passato remoto	Remote Past tense
io stetti	I stayed
tu stesti	you stayed
lui/lei stette	he/she stayed
noi stemmo	we stayed
voi steste	you stayed
loro stettero	they stayed

• Ero così arrabbiato che non stetti nemmeno a sentirlo.
  I was so angry that I didn’t even stay to listen to him.

Stare Conjugation to Talk about the Future

There are two tenses to express the future in Italian. We’ll see first the Future Simple of stare.

Futuro Semplice	Future Simple
io starò	I will stay
tu starai	you will stay
lui/lei starà	he/she will stay
noi staremo	we will stay
voi starete	you will stay
loro staranno	they will stay

• Ho sbagliato, ma in futuro starò più attento.
  I made a mistake; in the future, I’ll be more careful.
  
• Starò a Parigi per due settimane.
  I’ll stay in Paris for two weeks.

Compound Tenses of Stare Conjugation

The indicative mood also has a few compound tenses. Since stare is an intransitive verb, its compound tenses are formed by adding the auxiliary essere (to be).

Stare Conjugation: Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect is the most used tense to talk about past actions. Here is how you form it.

Passato prossimo	Present Perfect tense
io sono stato/a	I have stayed
tu sei stato/a	you have stayed
lui/lei è stato/a	he/she has stayed
noi siamo stati/e	we have stayed
voi siete stati/e	you have stayed
loro sono stati/e	they have stayed

• Sono stato a Milano per una settimana.
  I’ve stayed in Milan for a week.

• La spiegazione non è stata molto chiara.
  The explanation wasn’t very clear.

Remember that when essere is used as an auxiliary, you need to modify the acting verb according to the gender and number of the subject.

Stare Conjugation: Pluperfect and Preterite Perfect tense

The trapassato prossimo is normally used to talk about an action that happened in the past, before another action.

Trapassato prossimo	Pluperfect
io ero stato/a	I had stayed
tu eri stato/a	you had stayed
lui/lei era stato/a	he/she had stayed
noi eravamo stati/e	we had stayed
voi eravate stati/e	you had stayed
loro erano stati/e	they had stayed

• A quanto pare non ero stato chiaro, così gliel’ho rispiegato.
  Apparently, it wasn’t clear enough, so I explained it again.

The Trapassato remoto is formed with the Remote Past tense of essere + the past participle of stare.

Trapassato remoto	Preterite Perfect tense
io fui stato/a	I had stayed
tu fosti stato/a	you had stayed
lui/lei fu stato/a	he/she had stayed
noi fummo stati/e	we had stayed
voi foste stati/e	you had stayed
loro furono stati/e	they had stayed

You will hardly encounter the trapassato remoto of stare, so don’t worry too much: it’s only used in complex structures in literature, hence, it’ll be quite weird to use it in spoken language.

Stare Conjugation: Future Perfect Tense

The futuro anteriore has no equivalent in English, and is mostly used for two purposes:

• To indicate an action that will be finished before another one will take place.
• To express an hypothesis or uncertainty, or when you’re not sure about whether something will take place.

Futuro anteriore	Future Perfect tense
io sarò stato/a	I will have stayed
tu sarai stato/a	you will have stayed
lui/lei sarà stato/a	he/she will have stayed
noi saremo stati/e	we will have stayed
voi sarete stati/e	you will have stayed
loro saranno stati/e	they will have stayed

• Se sarai stato promosso con buoni voti, ti farò un bel regalo.
  If you’ll pass this year with good marks, I’ll give you a nice present.

• Perchè Marco non c’è? Sarà stato trattenuto a lavoro.
  Why is Marco not here? He must be stuck at work.

Subjunctive Tense of Stare

The subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty and is often introduced in Italian by the conjunction “che” (that). It is often used to express opinions, hope, wishes, assumptions, feelings, doubts or hypotheses.

Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive of stare conjugation has the same three endings for all singular persons. Therefore, it’s advisable to add a pronoun before the verb, to help distinguish among them.

Congiuntivo presente

(che) io stia

(che) tu stia

(che) lui/lei stia

(che) noi stiamo

(che) voi stiate

(che) loro stiano

• Non credo che tu mi stia ascoltando.
  I believe you’re not listening to me.

• Penso che Luca stia dicendo una bugia.
  I think that Luca is telling a lie.

Perfect Subjunctive

The Past Subjunctive is formed with the Present Subjunctive of essere + the Past Participle of stare.

Congiuntivo passato (essere auxiliary)

(che) io sia stato/a

(che) tu sia stato/a

(che) lui/lei sia stato/a

(che) noi siamo stati/e

(che) voi siate stati/e

(che) loro siano stati/e

It is used to express past actions and express hypothesis or doubts, as well as to formulate rhetorical questions.

• Che sia stato lui a scrivere quella lettera?
  Perhaps it was him who wrote that letter?

Subjunctive Imperfect

The subjunctive imperfect of stare is another irregular tense and is formed by removing the verb ending -are and by adding the following endings: -essi, -essi, -esse, -essimo, -este, -essero.

Congiuntivo imperfetto

(che) io stessi

(che) tu stessi

(che) lui/lei stesse

(che) noi stessimo

(che) voi steste

(che) loro stessero

• Non sapevo che Lucia stesse per partire, altrimenti l’avrei salutata.
  I didn’t know that Lucia was about to leave, otherwise I would say goodbye to her.
• Se tu non stessi a casa così spesso, conosceresti più persone.
  If you didn’t stay home so often, you’ll get to know more people.

Pluperfect Subjunctive

The Pluperfect Subjunctive of stare is formed by the Present Subjunctive of essere + the past participle of stare. It is mostly used in hypothetical clauses, often introduced by “se” (if).

Congiuntivo trapassato	Pluperfect Subjunctive (essere auxiliary)
io fossi stato/a	I would have stayed
tu fossi stato/a	you would have stayed
lui/lei fosse stato/a	he/she would have stayed
noi fossimo stati/e	we would have stayed
voi foste stati/e	you would have stayed
loro fossero stati/e	they would have stayed

• Se fossi stato onesto, non avremmo litigato.
  If you were sincere, we wouldn’t have fought.

• E se fosse stato lui a tradire la tua fiducia, che farai?
  What if it was him who betrayed you, what would you do?

Conditional Mood of Stare

The Conditional mood only has two tenses: present and past. This verbal mode is used to talk about actions or situations that are conditioned by other actions, or to express impossible situations, or an information that the speaker is unsure about. It is the equivalent of the English would + verb.

Condizionale presente	Conditional present
io starei	I would stay
tu staresti	you would stay
lui/lei starebbe	he/she would stay
noi staremmo	we would stay
voi stareste	you would stay
loro starebbero	they would stay

• Non starei mai con uno come te.
  I would never stay with someone like you.

• Se foste arrivati prima ad aiutarci, non staremmo in questa situazione.
  If you came earlier to help us, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

The conditional past is used for the same purpose, but of course it is used to talk about past actions/information. It is formed by using the Conditional Present of essere + the past participle of stare.

Condizionale passato	Conditional past
io sarei stato/a	I would have stayed
tu saresti stato/a	you would have stayed
lui/lei sarebbe stato/a	he/she would have stayed
noi saremmo stati/e	we would have stayed
voi sareste stati/e	you would have stayed
loro sarebbero stati/e	they would have stayed

• Non sarei mai stato in grado di superare l’esame, senza il tuo aiuto.
  I would never be able to pass the exam without your help.

• Non sarei stato così tanto a Roma, se non avessi amato la città.
  I would never have stayed so long in Rome if I hadn’t loved the city.

Imperative Mood and Indefinite Moods of Stare

Finally, let’s end this overview of the stare conjugation by looking at the imperative mood (used to express orders or requests) and the indefinite moods.

Imperative Present

tu sta’/stai

lui/lei stia

noi stiamo

voi stiate

loro stiano

• Sta’ zitto!
  Shut up!

• Stai qui, mentre vado a fare la spesa.
  Stay here, while I go shopping.

Lastly, the indefinite moods of stare:

Infinito – Infinitive
Present tense	Past tense
Stare (to stay)	Esser stato (to have stayed)

Participio – Participle
Present tense	Past tense
stante	stato (stayed)

Gerundio – Gerundive
Present tense	Past tense
Stando (Staying)	Essendo stato (having stayed)