Verbs are words involving doing or being, easy to recognise in English because you can put "to" in front of them - "to live, to be, to speak, to pay, to have".
In Italian, verb endings are very important, as generally they show who is doing something and when it is done. Since the endings contain this information, the words for I, you, we, etc. are used sparingly, usually only for emphasis or contrast.
In a dictionary, verbs end in -are, -ere or -ire; this form is called the infinitive. When -are, -ere or -ire are removed, you are left with a stem to which other endings can be added.
mangiare
Cosa mangia?
|
to eat
What are you eating?
|
giocare
Perché giocate al golf?
|
to play
Why do you play golf? more than one person
|
preferire
Preferisco mangiare il gelato
|
to prefer
I prefer eating ice-cream
|
Most verbs follow regular patterns, according to their infinitive ending.
ascoltare
|
prendere
|
partire
|
preferire
|
to...
|
listen
|
take
|
leave
|
prefer
|
|
ascolto
|
prendo
|
parto
|
preferisco
|
I...
|
ascolti
|
prendi
|
parti
|
preferisci
|
you... informal
|
ascolta
|
prende
|
parte
|
preferisce
|
you... formal, he..., she...
|
ascoltiamo
|
prendiamo
|
partiamo
|
preferiamo
|
we...
|
ascoltate
|
prendete
|
partite
|
preferite
|
you... more than one person
|
ascoltano
|
prendono
|
partono
|
preferiscono
|
they...
|
Not all verbs follow the regular -are, -ere, -ire patterns. Some, change more radically and have to be learnt separately.
Other verbs change their form instead of following this regular pattern. They are known as irregular verbs. |
posted on 2008-05-06 11:16
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