Italian All-in-One For Dummies (134 page)

noi
(
we, you
[plural, informal])

loro
(
they
[plural, masculine/feminine])

Loro
(
you
[plural, formal])

The following sections explain how to conjugate each verb type according to the subject pronoun that accompanies it.

Conjugating -are verbs

This largest category of Italian verbs is wonderfully dependable — and mostly regular in conjugation. A few
-are
verbs have pronunciations that are a bit different; they have the so-called
accento sdrucciolo
(
slippery accent
), explained later in this section.

To conjugate or use an
-are
verb, first you remove the letters
-are
from the infinitive, which leaves you with the stem:

infinitive:
parlare

stem:
parl-

To the stem, you add the ending (
-o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate,
or
-ano
) that reflects the subject (
io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro,
and
Loro
). The following table shows a sample conjugation.

All regular
-are
verbs (in other words, the vast majority of them) follow this pattern of conjugation in the present tense. The subject pronouns and corresponding endings, then, are as follows:
io = -o; tu = -i; lui/lei/Lei = -a; noi = -iamo; voi = -ate; loro/Loro = -ano.

Here are some of the more commonly used
-are
verbs, which you'll see throughout this book. Each of these verbs follows the conjugation pattern for regular
-are
verbs.

abbracciare
(
to hug
)

abitare
(
to live
)

ascoltare
(
to listen
)

aspettare
(
to wait for
)

baciare
(
to kiss
)

ballare
(
to dance
)

cercare
(
to look for
)

cominciare
(
to begin; to start
)