The present simple is used to talk about habits and recurrent actions, and yet in Italian, there are also many other uses of the present tense that you don’t find in English. For instance, did you know we can use the present simple to talk about the near future? Mind-blowing, right? Well then, wait until you see that the present simple is also used to talk about past, historical events. The present simple is truly versatile!
In this post, we’ll first review the uses of the simple present and then we’ll show you how to form it. Shall we dive in? Let’s go!
When to use the present simple in Italian?
Like the English simple present tense (e.g. “he runs”), the Italian present simple tense is used to talk about habits and things we do often. Yet, you are soon to find out about some very important differences!
So, when my students ask me, “How do we use the present simple in conversations?,” I usually draw a timeline on the whiteboard that looks like this:
Past
"Historical Present"
Past actions still happening today
Present
Actions in progress
Habitual actions
Unchanging facts
Mottos, proverbs, etc.
Future
Plans for the near future in speaking
Offers, predictions, suggestions
Let’s go through all those different situations. We’ll start with the uses of the present simple in the present (since those will be the most familiar), then we’ll look at how it’s used to talk about the past and the future.
To express different shades of the present
The present can also be used to express different shades of the present.
In Italian, we use the present simple to describe an action occurring as you speak.
Suona il campanello.Translation: The bell is ringing.Yes! Unlike in English, you can use the present simple to describe actions and events happening right now or those in progress.
Just like in English, the Italian present simple expresses habitual actions. Often, in this use, the verb is accompanied by an adverb of frequency, like “often,” “sometimes,” etc.
verbadverb of frequencyVediamo spesso i nostri amici del liceo.Translation: We see our high school friends often.Check out this list of common Italian adverbs of frequency to see more words you can use to accompany habitual actions!
As in English, the Italian present simple can express a permanent present, that of unchanging actions or facts, such as scientific ones.
L’acqua bolle a cento gradi.Translation: Water boils at one hundred degrees celsius.La terra gira intorno al sole.Translation: The earth rotates around the sun.As in English, the Italian present simple is also used in mottos, proverbs, and figures of speech.
Una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno.Translation: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
To make the past feel alive
The present simple can be used to make the past feel alive. This applies to two main situations:
We use the present simple to talk about facts that happened in the past and make them feel closer to us in time, by using the so-called historic present or narrative present.
Leonardo da Vinci nasce nel 1452.Translation: Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452.You can also resort to the present simple to talk about something that started in the past and is still happening.
Martina suona il piano da tre anni.Translation: Martina has been playing the piano for three years.Sono tre giorni che il portiere non risponde al telefono.Translation: The doorman hasn't answered the phone for three days.
To talk about the immediate future
Finally, the present simple can be used to talk about the immediate future.
Especially in colloquial settings, we use the present simple (instead of the future simple) to talk about plans in the short term.
- Torniamo all’università ad agosto.Translation: We are going back to college in August.
- Non preoccuparti. Prendo un taxi.Translation: Don’t worry. I will take a cab.
- Il treno parte fra un’ora.Translation: The train is leaving in one hour.
- Arrivo presto!Translation: I’m coming soon!
Or to make an offer, a prediction, a suggestion.
- Lo mangio io!Translation: I’ll eat it!
- Se piove, non andiamo al mare.Translation: If it rains, we won’t go to the sea.
- Prendiamo un caffè insieme oggi pomeriggio?Translation: Shall we have coffee together in the afternoon today?
How to form the Italian present simple?
To form the Italian present simple, remove the infinitive ending of the verb and add a new present simple ending based on the person of the subject.
So let’s go though those steps a bit more slowly. Imagine you want to say “I speak” in Italian:
Start with the infinitive form of the verb:
parlare meaning to talk, to speak
Remove the characteristic ending of the infinitive form
parlare → parl-
Finally add the characteristic ending of the present simple for the first person lo meaning I, which is -o.
parl- + -o = parlo meaning I speak
Ready to see how it all works? Let’s start from the present simple of regular verbs (those that follow the typical pattern), and then we’ll look at what to do about the irregular verbs!
How do you form the present simple of regular verbs in Italian?
To form the present simple of regular verbs in Italian you’ll add the following endings to the stem:
Subject Pronoun | Infinitive in –are parlare meaning to speak | Infinitive in –ere scrivere meaning to write | Infinitive in –ire aprire meaning to open |
io meaning I | parl-o | scriv-o | apr-o |
tu meaning you | parl-i | scriv-i | apr-i |
lui/lei meaning he/sheLei meaning you, polite | parl-a | scriv-e | apr-e |
noi meaning we | parl-iamo | scriv-iamo | apr-iamo |
voi meaning you, pl. | parl-ate | scriv-ete | apr-ite |
loro meaning they | parl-ano | scriv-ono | apr-ono |
To see some more examples, check out this list of common Italian regular verbs divided by group!
What to keep in mind
When forming the present simple, there are a couple tips you should keep in mind.
Verbs ending in -care and -gare:
Verbs such as cercare meaning to look for, to search and pagare meaning to pay, to pay for add an h with tu meaning you and noi meaning we to keep the original pronunciation.
Cerchi nel posto sbagliato.Translation: You are looking in the wrong place.Adding the h makes sure it’s pronounced transcribed cherki like transcribed cherkare rather than transcribed cherchiNoi paghiamo il caffè oggi.Translation: We are paying for coffee today.Adding the h makes sure it’s pronounced transcribed pagyamo like transcribed pagare rather than transcribed pajiamoVerbs ending in -iare:
Verbs such as cominciare meaning to begin, mangiare meaning to eat, and studiare meaning to study drop the i from the base with tu meaning you and noi meaning we. It is ✅ cominci and ✅ cominciamo, and not ❌ comincii or ❌ cominciiamo.
Tu cominci domani, mentre noi cominciamo sabato.Translation: You start tomorrow, while we start Saturday.
How to form the present simple of irregular verbs in Italian?
To form the present simple of irregular verbs in Italian, you’ll usually not only change the endings when you conjugate, but also make some changes to the stem of the verb (the first part of the verb). Though some irregular verbs just take slightly irregular endings, most are irregular because the stem changes through its conjugation.
Check out these examples of three common irregular verbs in Italian, from the -are, -ere, and -ire groups:
Subject Pronoun | Infinitive in –are andare meaning to go | Infinitive in –ere volere meaning to want | Infinitive in –ire venire meaning to come |
io meaning I | vad-o | vogli-o | veng-o |
tu meaning you | va-i | vuo-i | vien-i |
lui/lei meaning he/shelei meaning you, polite | v-a | vuoi-e | vien-i |
noi meaning we | and-iamo | vogli-amo | ven-iamo |
voi meaning you, pl. | and-ate | vol-ete | ven-ite |
loro meaning they | v-anno | vogli-ano | veng-ono |
For many irregular verbs, you will just need to memorize the stem changes in each case. Have a look at our chart of common Italian irregular verbs to start learning.
But there are a few patterns that can help you learn to conjugate Italian irregular verbs. Have a look!
Conjugating irregular verbs ending in ‘-ire’ with ‘-isc-’
Some verbs ending in -ire like finire meaning to finish, capire meaning to understand, and spedire meaning to send take -isc with io, tu, lui/lei meaning I, you, he/she and loro meaning they.
So, the verb finire looks like this:
Subject Pronoun | finire meaning to end |
io meaning I | finisc-o |
tu meaning you | finisc-i |
lui/lei meaning he/shelei meaning you, polite | finisc-e |
noi meaning we | fin-iamo |
voi meaning you, pl. | fin-ite |
loro meaning they | finisc-ono |
Conjugating irregular verbs ending in ‘-rre’
Some verbs ending in -rre also need some attention. These are verbs like porre meaning to place, trarre meaning to draw, to pull, and all their compound forms, as well as all the compound forms ending in . Have a look at this list of the most common Italian verbs ending in -rre for more examples.
Subject Pronoun | porre meaning to place | trarre meaning to draw | tradurre meaning to translate |
io meaning I | pong-o | tragg-o | traduc-o |
tu meaning you | pon-i | tra-i | traduc-i |
lui/lei meaning he/shelei meaning you, polite | pon-e | tra-e | traduc-e |
noi meaning we | pon-iamo | tra-iamo | traduc-iamo |
voi meaning you, pl. | pon-ete | tra-ete | traduc-ete |
loro meaning they | pong-ono | tragg-ono | traduc-ono |
To recap
The Italian present simple tense is quite versatile! It’s not only used to talk about present actions, but also past actions that are still happening and actions in the so-called “historical present,” as well as actions in the immediate future.
We also went over how to form regular and irregular verbs in the present tense. Here is some advice to recap:
If you get the endings for the three groups (-are, -ere, -ire) of regular verbs down, and focus on the common irregulars, you are on the right path!
Beware of the tricky conjugations for -ire that change some of the persons to -isc.
Look out for the spelling of some verbs that end in -rre.
Now, follow the link to practice the Italian present tense!
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