First conjugation in Italian (verbs ending in -are)
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Lesson outline
Hide- 1.What is the first conjugation of regular verbs in Italian?
- 1.1.Characteristics of the first conjugation
- 1.1.1.Verbs ending in -care and -gare
- 1.1.2.Verbs in -gnare
- 1.1.3.Verbs in -iare
- 1.1.4.Verbs in -ciare, -giare, -sciare
- 1.1.5.Verbs with an -e in the root
- 2.How to conjugate regular verbs ending in -are? (example: cantare)
- 2.1.Indicative
- 2.2.Subjunctive
- 2.3.Conditional
- 2.4.Imperative
- 2.5.Infinitive
- 2.6.Participle
- 2.7.Gerund
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the first conjugation
What is the first conjugation of regular verbs in Italian?
The first conjugation of Italian verbs includes every verb that ends with -are in their infinitive form.
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Characteristics of the first conjugation
As we saw in the general page about regular verbs, the first conjugation presents several distinctive traits.
Here we will talk about some specific peculiarities of the -are conjugation.
Verbs ending in -care and -gare
The verbs that end in -care and -gare add a h before the -e and -i endings:
- Legare > Io legherò (I will tie [sth]);
- Staccare > Io staccherò (I will detach [sth]); Tu stacchi (You detach [sth]).
Verbs in -gnare
These verbs can save the i for the first and the second plural persons of the present indicative and of the present subjunctive:
- Segnare > Noi segniamo (we sign [sth]);
- Sognare > Che voi sogniate (that you dream about [sth]).
Verbs in -iare
We can have two types of verbs in -iare:
1. the ones with a stressed i on the first singular person of the present indicative, which save the i before the stem vowel:
- Inviare > Io invìo (I send); Tu invìi (You send); Noi invìamo (We send);
- Spiare > Io spìo (I spy); Tu spìi (You spy);
Careful! When the i is not stressed, you will find just one i in the verb form:
e.g. Noi inviàmo (We send [sth]);
Voi spiàte (You spy).
2. the ones without a stressed i on the first singular person of the present indicative, which loose the i before the stem vowel:
- Studiare > Noi studiamo (We study);
- Insidiare > Voi insidiate (You threaten).
Verbs in -ciare, -giare, -sciare
These verbs can save the i before -a or -o, but they loose it before -e and -i:
- Mangiare > Io mangio (I eat); Loro mangeranno (They will eat).
Verbs with an -e in the root
These verbs can save the vowel when the ending begins with -e-:
- Creare > Noi creeremo (We will create);
- Delineare > Tu delineeresti (You would sketch).
How to conjugate regular verbs ending in -are? (example: cantare)
The first conjugation is probably the simplest and the most regular one to conjugate.
Indicative
| Present | Present Perfect | Imperfect | Past Perfect | Absolute Past | Preterite Perfect | Future Simple | Future Perfect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | cant-o | ho cantato | cant-avo | avevo cantato | cant-ai | ebbi cantato | cant-erò | avrò cantato |
| Tu | cant-i | hai cantato | cant-avi | avevi cantato | cant-asti | avesti cantato | cant-erai | avrai cantato |
| Egli / ella | cant-a | ha cantato | cant-ava | aveva cantato | cant-ò | ebbe cantato | cant-erà | avrà cantato |
| Noi | cant-iamo | abbiamo cantato | cant-avamo | avevamo cantato | cant-ammo | avemmo cantato | cant-eremo | avremo cantato |
| Voi | cant-ate | avete cantato | cant-avate | avete cantato | cant-aste | aveste cantato | cant-erete | avrete cantato |
| Essi / esse | cant-ano | hanno cantato | cant-avano | avevano cantato | cant-arono | ebbero cantato | cant-eranno | avranno cantato |
Subjunctive
| Present | Past | Imperfect | Past perfect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Che) io | cant-i | abbia cantato | cant-assi | avessi cantato |
| (Che) tu | cant-i | abbia cantato | cant-assi | avessi cantato |
| (Che) egli / ella | cant-i | abbia cantato | cant-asse | avesse cantato |
| (Che) noi | cant-iamo | abbiamo cantato | cant-assimo | avessimo cantato |
| (Che) voi | cant-iate | abbiate cantato | cant-aste | aveste cantato |
| (Che) essi / esse | cant-ano | abbiano cantato | cant-assero | avessero cantato |
Conditional
| Present | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Io | cant-erei | avrei cantato |
| Tu | cant-eresti | avresti cantato |
| Egli / ella | cant-erebbe | avrebbe cantato |
| Noi | cant-eremmo | avrebbero cantato |
| Voi | cant-ereste | avreste cantato |
| Essi / esse | cant-erebbero | avrebbero cantato |
Imperative
| Present | |
|---|---|
| Io | - |
| Tu | cant-a |
| Egli / ella | cant-i |
| Noi | cant-iamo |
| Voi | cant-ate |
| Essi / esse | cant-ino |
Infinitive
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| cant-are | avere cantato |
Participle
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| cant-ante | cant-ato |
Gerund
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| am-ando | avendo amato |
Exercises
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the first conjugation
Exercises
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the first conjugation
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
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Hello my name is Lucia and I am a native Italian speaker.
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My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
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