“Adjectives are the sugar of literature and adverbs the salt,” said the great American writer Henry James. So, let’s add some salt to your Italian with this amazing list of the 100+ most common Italian adverbs by ItalianPod101!

Table of Contents

1. What is an Adverb?
2. List of the Most Common Italian Adverbs
3. Improve Your Italian While Having Fun with ItalianPod101

1. What is an Adverb?

An adverb is an element in a sentence that can’t be inflected and which modifies the meaning of another element. As in Henry James’ quote, it adds something to a sentence, a nuance that makes it more meaningful and rich.

Let’s see an example:

• Angela was walking back home.
• Angela was tiredly walking back home. 

The adverb “tiredly” adds a new layer of meaning to the sentence and clarifies the image we may create of Angela while she was walking back to her house.

Well, now that we’ve convinced you of the importance of Italian adverbs, let’s see our amazing Italian adverbs list.

2. List of the Most Common Italian Adverbs

1 – Italian Adverbs of Time

We start our list with the Italian time adverbs:

• Oggi (“Today”)
  • Oggi Marta e Lorenzo si sposano.
    “Today, Marta and Lorenzo are getting married.”

• Ieri (“Yesterday”)
  • Sono tornato ieri dall’Italia.
    “I came back from Italy yesterday.”

• Domani (“Tomorrow”)
  • Domani andremo a Roma.
    “Tomorrow, we’ll go to Rome.”

• Presto (“Soon”)
  • Spero di vederti presto.
    “I hope to see you soon.”

• Tardi (“Late”)
  • Elena arriva sempre tardi.
    “Elena always arrives late.”

• Prima (“Before”)
  • Prima di tornare a casa, sono andato al supermercato.
    “Before coming home, I went to the supermarket.”

• Dopo (“After”)
  • Dopo aver cambiato lavoro, la mia vita è migliorata.
    “After I changed my job, my life got better.”

• Ora (“Now”)
  • Ora sono troppo stanca per uscire.
    “Now I’m too tired to go out.”

• Stamattina (“This morning”)
  • Stamattina Maria si è svegliata molto presto.
    “Maria woke up very early this morning.”

• Stasera (“Tonight”)
  • Ti va di andare al cinema stasera?
    “Would you like to go to the cinema tonight?”

• Subito (“Immediately”)
  • Giovanni, vieni subito qui!
    “Giovanni, come here immediately!”

• Già (“Already”)
  • Ho già visto questo film.
    “I’ve already seen this movie.”

• Ancora (“Again,” “Yet”)
  • Non ho ancora incontrato la ragazza di mio fratello.
    “I haven’t met my brother’s girlfriend yet.”

• Ormai (“By now,” “Already”)
  • Ormai devono essere arrivati a Milano.
    “They must have arrived in Milan by now.”

• Poi (“Then”)
  • Siamo andati a fare shopping e poi a cena.
    “We went shopping and then to dinner.”

2 – Italian Adverbs of Frequency

Here’s a list of the most common Italian frequency adverbs:

• Mai (“Never”)
  • Non sono mai stato in Cina.
    “I’ve never been to China.”

• Sempre (“Always”)
  • Quando viaggio, porto sempre con me un buon libro.
    “When I travel, I always bring a good book with me.”

• Spesso (“Often”)
  • I miei genitori sono spesso fuori città.
    “My parents are often out of town.”

• Raramente (“Rarely”)
  • Mangio carne raramente.
    “I rarely eat meat.”

• Di solito (“Usually”)
  • Di solito il sabato esco con i miei amici.
    “I usually go out with my friends on Saturday.”

• A volte (“Sometimes”)
  • A volte mia sorella si alza all’alba e va a correre.
    “Sometimes my sister gets up at dawn and goes jogging.”

• Costantemente (“Constantly”)
  • Luigi controlla costantemente il cellulare.
    “Luigi constantly checks his mobile phone.”

3 – Italian Adverbs of Place

• Qui (“Here”)
  • Potremmo fermarci qui e fare un pic nic.
    “We could stop here and have a picnic.”

• Là (“There”)
  • Non andare là!
    “Don’t go there!”

• Lì (“There”)
  • Vorrei andare lì domani.
    “Tomorrow, I’d like to go there.”

• Ovunque (“Wherever”)
  • Il mio cane mi segue ovunque io vada.
    “My dog ​​follows me wherever I go.”

• Dappertutto (“Everywhere”)
  • Ho cercato le chiavi dappertutto, ma non le trovo.
    “I looked for the keys everywhere, but I can’t find them.”

• Dentro (“Inside”) 
  • Il sale è dentro la dispensa.
    “Salt is inside the pantry.”

• Fuori (“Outside”) 
  • Per favore, vai a fumare fuori.
    “Please, go smoke outside.”

• Giù (“Down,” “Below”)
  • Maria è scesa giù al primo piano.
    “Maria went down to the first floor.”

• Su (“Up”)
  • Guarda su, il cielo è bellissimo.
    “Look up, the sky is beautiful.”

• Lassù (“Up there”)
  • Lassù c’è un bellissimo castello.
    “There’s a beautiful castle up there.”

• Laggiù (“Down there”)
  • Laggiù c’è un ottimo ristorante.
    “There’s a great restaurant down there.”

• Sopra (“Above”)
  • Sopra il tavolo c’è un vaso.
    “Above the table, there’s a vase.”

• Sotto (“Below”) 
  • Sotto il tavolo c’è il gatto.
    “Below the table, there’s the cat.”

• Vicino (“Nearby”)
  • Ho parcheggiato vicino.
    “I’ve parked nearby.”

• Lontano (“Far away”)
  • Matteo si è trasferito lontano, in un’altra città.
    “Matteo has moved far away, in another city.”

• Intorno (“Around”)
  • C’è un bel giardino intorno alla casa.
    “There’s a nice garden around the house.”

• Altrove (“Somewhere else”)
  • In questo momento vorrei tanto essere altrove.
    “At this moment, I’d really like to be somewhere else.”

• Davanti (“In front of”)
  • Di fronte alla chiesa c’è un bel caffè.
    “There’s a nice café in front of the church.”

• Dietro (“Behind,” “Back”)
  • Si è nascosto dietro la tenda.
    “He hid behind the curtain.”

• Ci (“There”) [also used as a desinence]
  • Mi farebbe molto piacere esserci.
    “I’d really like to be there.”

• Vi (“There”) [also used as a desinence]
  • Vi si trova un grande anfiteatro romano.
    “There is a great Roman amphitheater.”

• Ne (“[Away] from there/here”)
  • Se ne sono andati da due ore.
    “They went away two hours ago.”

• Via (“Away”)
  • È tardi, andiamo via.
    “It’s late, let’s go away.”

4 – Italian Adverbs of Manner

A tip: You can turn many Italian adjectives into adverbs of manner by adding –mente to feminine adjectives, which is a pattern you’ll notice often in this section. But it doesn’t always work. For example, you can’t turn cattivo into an adverb by simply adding –mente. 

The most important Italian adverbs of manner are:

• Lentamente (“Slowly”)
  • Il latte caldo va bevuto lentamente.
    “Hot milk must be drunk slowly.”

• Velocemente (“Quickly”)
  • Ho mangiato velocemente e sono tornato al lavoro.
    “I ate quickly and got back to work.”

• Attentamente (“Carefully”)
  • Ascolta attentamente quello che dico.
    “Listen carefully to what I say.”

• Facilmente (“Easily”)
  • Lucia ha passato l’esame facilmente.
    “Lucia easily passed the exam.”

• Semplicemente (“Simply”)
  • Ho semplicemente detto di sì alla sua offerta.
    “I simply said yes to his offer.”

• Dolcemente (“Sweetly”)
  • La baciò dolcemente sulle labbra.
    “He sweetly kissed her on her lips.”

• Tranquillamente (“Calmly”)
  • Un uomo cammina tranquillamente sulla spiaggia.
    “A man calmly walks on the beach.”

• Perfettamente (“Perfectly”)
  • Questo vestito ti sta perfettamente.
    “This dress fits you perfectly.”

• Bene (“Well”)
  • La presentazione è andata molto bene.
    “The presentation went very well.”

• Male (“Badly,” “Rudely”)
  • Monica ha risposto male a sua madre.
    “Monica responded rudely to her mother.”

• Chiaramente (“Clearly”)
  • Il professore ha spiegato tutto molto chiaramente.
    “The professor explained everything very clearly.”

• Letteralmente (“Literally”)
  • Sono letteralmente senza parole.
    “I’m literally out of words.”

• Onestamente (“Honestly”)
  • Onestamente, non so di cosa stai parlando.
    “Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

• Gentilmente (“Gently”)
  • La neve cominciò gentilmente a cadere.
    “Snow started gently to fall.”

• Bruscamente (“Abruptly”)
  • L’auto frenò bruscamente.
    “The car broke abruptly.”

• Improvvisamente (“Suddenly”)
  • Improvvisamente è spuntato il sole.
    “Suddenly, the sun came out.”

• Freddamente (“Coldly”)
  • Ci accolsero freddamente.
    “They received us coldly.”

• Calorosamente (“Warmly”)
  • Ci siamo salutati calorosamente e siamo partiti.
    “We said goodbye warmly and left.”

• Correttamente (“Correctly,” “Properly”)
  • Sul lavoro si è sempre comportato correttamente.
    “At work, he’s always behaved properly.”

• Duramente (“Hardly,” “Hard”)
  • Ho lavorato duramente per la mia carriera.
    “I worked hard for my career.”

• Volentieri (“Gladly”)
  • Sarei venuto con voi volentieri, ma non potevo.
    “I would have come with you gladly, but I couldn’t.”

• Forte (“Strongly,” “Quickly”)
  • Federica correva forte incontro a suo padre.
    “Federica was running quickly toward her father.”

5 – Italian Adverbs of Degree or Addition

• Molto (“Much”)
  • Il film non mi è piaciuto molto.
    “I didn’t like the film much.”

• Poco (“Little”)
  • A cena ho mangiato poco.
    “At dinner, I ate little.”

• Troppo (“Too much”)
  • Stamattina ho dormito troppo.
    “I slept too much this morning.”

• Piuttosto (“Quite,” “Rather”)
  • I mobili sono piuttosto belli, ma vecchi.
    “The furniture is quite nice, but old.”

• Abbastanza (“Quite,” “Sufficiently”) 
  • Maria è abbastanza soddisfatta del nuovo lavoro.
    “Maria is quite satisfied with her new job.”

• Più (“More,” “Most”)
  • Matteo è più bello di Antonio.
    “Matteo is more handsome than Antonio.”

• Meno (“Less”)
  • Camminiamo meno di un tempo.
    “We walk less than (what we used to do) once.”

• Meglio (“Better”)
  • Oggi mia nonna si sente meglio.
    “Today, my grandmother is feeling better.”

• Peggio (“Worse”)
  • L’esame era difficile, ma pensavo peggio.
    “The exam was difficult, but I thought it was worse.”

• Moltissimo (“Very much”)
  • La cena mi è piaciuta moltissimo.
    “I liked the dinner very much.”

• Pochissimo (“Very little”)
  • Mio cugino guadagna pochissimo.
    “My cousin earns very little.”

• Come (“How,” “Like,” “As much as”)
  • Paolo è come un fratello per me.
    “Paolo is like a brother to me.”

• Inoltre (“Moreover”)
  • Volevo dirti, inoltre, che abbiamo finito lo zucchero.
    “I wanted to tell you, moreover, that we’re out of sugar.”

• Pure (“Also,” “Too”)
  • Vorrebbe venire pure Flavia, va bene?
    “Flavia would like to come too, is it okay?”

• Persino (“Even”)
  • Persino mio figlio si è divertito.
    “Even my son had a great time.”

• Addirittura (“Even”)
  • Era così freddo che siamo addirittura partiti prima della fine del concerto.
    “It was so cold that we even left before the end of the concert.”

6 – Italian Question Adverbs

• Dove (“Where”)
  • Dov’è andata Gianna?
    “Where did Gianna go?”

• Quando (“When”)
  • Quando tornerai dagli Stati Uniti?
    “When will you come back from the United States?”

• Come (“How”)
  • Come ti senti oggi?
    “How are you feeling today?”

• Perché (“Why”)
  • Perché non ci raggiungete più tardi?
    “Why don’t you join us later?”

7 – Italian Adverbs of Exclamation

• Come (used to emphasize a sentence)
  • Come sono felice di vederti!
    “I’m so happy to see you!”

• Quanto (used to emphasize a sentence)
  • Quanto mi manchi!
    “I miss you so much!”

8 – Italian Adverbs of Affirmation, Negation, and Doubt 

• Sì (“Yes”)
  • Sì, mi piacerebbe venire a cena con te.
    “Yes, I’d like to go to dinner with you.”

• Certo (“Of course”)
  • Certo, ormai è troppo tardi.
    “Of course, now it’s too late.”

• Davvero (“Really”)
  • Ho davvero voglia di un gelato.
    “I’d really like an icecream.”

• Sicuramente (“For sure”)
  • Io e mio marito ci saremo sicuramente.
    “My husband and I will be there for sure.”

• Proprio (“Really”)
  • Sono proprio contento che siate venuti a trovarmi.
    “I’m really happy that you went to see me.”

• No (“No”)
  • A: Vieni con noi? 
    B: No, sono stanco.
    
    A: “Will you come with us?”
    B: “No, I’m tired.”

• Non (“Not”)
  • Giorgio non è andato a scuola oggi.
    “Giorgio didn’t go to school today.”

• Nemmeno (“Even [negative],” “Neither,” “Not even”)
  • Nemmeno io sopporto quella donna.
    “Even I can’t stand that woman.”

• Affatto (“At all”)
  • Questo vino non mi piace affatto.
    “I don’t like this wine at all.”

• Forse (“Maybe”)
  • Forse stasera sono libera.
    “Maybe tonight I’m free.”

• Probabilmente (“Probably”)
  • Probabilmente alla festa ci sarà anche Mauro.
    “Mauro will probably be at the party, too.”

3. Improve Your Italian While Having Fun with ItalianPod101

We hope you enjoyed learning about Italian adverbs with us, and that you learned some new words for your next conversation! Are there any adverbs we missed that you want to know? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll do our best to help you out! 

ItalianPod101.com is an extensive source for everything Italian, including amazing word lists, comprehensive blog posts (like our articles about Italian adjectives and nouns), apps, video lessons, and everything you need to improve your knowledge of this fascinating language. And learning with us is so fun that you won’t ever feel tired! Check out our courses, find Italian adverbs exercises and in-depth lessons, and start on the road to fluency.

Verbs are everywhere! Whatever you’re trying to say or write in Italian, you’re going to need to use a verb and a subject. And guess what? Right there, you already need to conjugate the verb to use it correctly. 

• Vado al cinema. Vieni con me? Cosa dici? 
  “I go to the movies. Will you come with me? What do you say?”

For example, in this simple sentence, you’ll have to know the conjugations of the verbs andare (“to go”), venire (“to come”), and dire (“to say”).

Italian verb conjugation might seem tough at first, but with a few tips (and ItalianPod101’s resources), you’ll learn how to conjugate Italian verbs and become a real pro!

Table of Contents

1. What Does Conjugation Mean?
2. Verb Groups
3. Conjugation Examples
4. Irregular Verbs and Their Conjugations
5. Quiz
6. Tips to Improve and Practice Your Italian Conjugations

1. What Does Conjugation Mean?

What is a conjugation and what do you need it for? A conjugation is a basic process—common to most languages—by which you change the verb ending in order to indicate who is doing the action (me, you, he/she, we, you, they), with what intention (realistic, wish, opinion, order, etc.), and when (present, past, future, etc.).

Who? When? What intention? Ask questions to start conjugating.

Also, in Italian verb conjugation, you may have to:

• Conjugate auxiliary verbs (avere/essere = “to have”/”to be”) 
• Conjugate modal verbs (verbi servili: potere, dovere, volere, ecc. = “can, must, want, etc.”) 
• Add a participio passato (“past participle”) 
• Watch out for Italian irregular verbs and irregular verb forms (dire, fare, andare, stare, venire, perdere, chiudere, and a few more…)

Let’s look at this in more detail:

1- Who?

1st person singular	Io	“I”
2nd person singular	tu / Lei*	“you” (casual) / “you” (formal)
3rd person singular	lui / lei	“he” / “she”
1st person plural	noi	“we”
2nd person plural	voi	“we”
3rd person plural	loro	“they”

*It’s important to remember that the polite form of address is in the third person singular feminine. So, for example, the phrase “What do you eat?” can be:

• Tu cosa mangi? (informal)
• Lei cosa mangia? (formal)

It can be a little confusing at the beginning, but since the formal way of address is extremely common in Italian, it’s a good idea to practice using it from the very beginning.

Remember that the person who is doing the action is very important because, in Italian verb conjugation, every person of the verb has a different ending. But we’ll see that in a little bit.

2- With what intention?

In every sentence, you can ask “What is the intention of this action?” This intention is called il modo (“the mood”), and it reflects whether the intention is realistic, possible, or uncertain, or if it’s a wish, an opinion, or an order. 

Let’s look at this Italian conjugation table and study the moods to determine what they mean.

Indicativo (“Indicative”)	Mangio una pizza. (“I eat a pizza.”)	Used to express a real and certain fact. This is, by far, the most common mood in Italian.
Conjuntivo (“Subjunctive”)	Credo che sia meglio. (“I think it is better.”)	Used to express an opinion, a possibility, a desire, or something uncertain. It’s usually supported by certain verbs and conjunctions.
Condizionale (“Conditional”)	Vorrei andare. (“I would like to go.”)	Used to express a probability or a hypothesis. Usually, one fact depends on another.
Imperativo (“Imperative”)	Fai i compiti! (“Do your homework!”)	Used to give an order.
The examples above are called modi finiti (“finite moods”) because they define the action in a precise way, and they’re conjugated according to the person and the time. The following ones, on the other hand, are modi indefiniti (“indefinite moods”) as they don’t have a specific subject. They usually depend on other verbs, and—very good news—they don’t change!
Infinito (“Infinitive”)	Mangiare (“To eat”)	It’s an undetermined action, used as the basic form of the verb.
Gerundio (“Gerund”)	Sto dormendo. (“I am sleeping.”)	Often used in combination with stare, it can have many intentions.
Participio (“Participle”)	Serata danzante (“Dancing night”)	A word formed from a verb and used as an adjective.

3- When?

Every action takes place in a specific time, called tempo (literally “time,” or “tense” in the context of a conjugation). The Italian tenses are presente, passato, and futuro, and they can be tempi semplici (“simple tenses”) when they’re made of just one word, or tempi composti (“compound tenses”) when they’re formed by the auxiliary (essere/avere) and the past participle.

Io amo, tu ami… (“I love, you love…”) The best conjugation of all!

Let’s look at the full Italian conjugations chart of all possible moods and tenses with the best Italian verb: amare (“to love”).

MODI		TEMPI SEMPLICI	TEMPI COMPOSTI
Finiti	Indicativo	Presente | Amo	Passato prossimo | Ho amato
		Imperfetto | Amavo	Trapassato prossimo | Avevo amato
		Passato remoto | Amai	Trapassato remoto | Ebbi amato
		Futuro semplice | Amerò	Futuro anteriore | Avrò amato
	Congiuntivo	Presente | Che io ami	Passato | Che io abbia amato
		Imperfetto | Che io amassi	Trapassato | Che io avessi amato
	Condizionale	Presente | Amerei	Passato | Avrei amato
	Imperativo	Presente | Ama!
Indefiniti	Gerundio	Presente | Amando	Passato | Avendo amato
	Participio	Presente | Amante
		Passato | Amato
	Infinito	Presente | Amare

It’s true that there are quite a lot of tenses! But keep in mind that the Italian conjugations you’ll really have to master are the ones that are in bold, as they are by far the most common. They’re also the most practical ones for meaningful communication up to an intermediate Italian level. That sounds better, doesn’t it?

2. Verb Groups

In the Italian conjugation of verbs, there are three basic groups, divided according to the verb ending in the infinitive:

• 1st with the infinitive in -ARE
• 2nd with the infinitive in -ERE (verbs ending in -arre, -orre, and -urre belong to this group)
• 3rd with the infinitive in -IRE (verbs that add a -isc suffix belong to this group)

Regular Italian verbs are simple to conjugate because they all follow the same pattern, as you can see in the following chart:

	Io (“I”)	tu (“you”)	lui/lei (“s/he”)	noi  (“we”)	voi (“you”)	loro (“they”)
AMARE (“to love”)	Amo	Ami	Ama	Amiàmo	Amàte	Àmano
CREDERE (“to believe”)	Credo	Credi	Crede	Crediàmo	Credète	Crèdono
DORMIRE (“to sleep”)	Dormo	Dormi	Dorme	Dormiàmo	Dormìte	Dòrmono*

*Notice how the position of the stress changes syllable. Try and read the three basic present conjugations, just to familiarize yourself with the rhythm of it.

As you can see, there are no major changes from one group to the other. But things do get a bit more complicated with Italian irregular verb conjugations, which involve some of the most common verbs.

3. Conjugation Examples

Now that you know that Italian conjugations are divided into three groups, let’s see in greater detail how each group behaves according to the person (who), the tense (when), and the mood (with what intention).

1- Verbs in -ARE

AMARE (“To love”) 

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past*	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	amo	amai	amavo	amerò	ami	amerei	–
tu	ami	amasti	amavi	amerai	ami	ameresti	ama
lui/lei	ama	amò	amava	amerà	ami	amerebbe	–
noi	amiamo	amammo	amavamo	ameremo	amiamo	ameremmo	amiamo
voi	amate	amaste	amavate	amerete	amiate	amereste	amate
loro	amano	amarono	amavano	ameranno	amino	amerebbero	–

PARLARE (“To talk”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past*	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	parlo	parlai	parlavo	parlerò	parli	parlerei	–
tu	parli	parlasti	parlavi	parlerai	parli	parleresti	parla
lui/lei	parla	parlò	parlava	parlerà	parli	parlerebbe	–
noi	parliamo	parlammo	parlavamo	parleremo	parliamo	parleremmo	parliamo
voi	parlate	parlaste	parlavate	parlerete	parliate	parlereste	parlate
loro	parlate	parlarono	parlavano	parleranno	parlino	parlerebbero	–

GIOCARE (“To play”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past*	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	gioco	giocai	giocavo	giocherò*	giochi*	giocherei*	–
tu	giochi*	giocasti	giocavi	giocherai*	giochi*	giocheresti*	gioca
lui/lei	gioca	giocò	giocava	giocherà*	giochi*	giocherebbe*	–
noi	giochiamo*	giocammo	giocavamo	giocheremo*	giochiamo*	giocheremmo*	giochiamo*
voi	giocate	giocaste	giocavate	giocherete*	giochiate*	giochereste*	giocate
loro	giocano	giocarono	giocavano	giochino*	giochino*	giocherebbero*	–

*Notice how, whenever the ending of the conjugation starts with i or e, the root adds an h in order to maintain the hard K sound of giocare. This will happen for all the verbs of the first group that end in -care or –gare. So, for verbs in -care or –gare:

C + I, E = CHI, CHE (in order to keep the hard K sound) G + I, E = GHI, GHE (in order to keep the hard G sound)

Let’s see some examples:

• Pagare (“to pay”)
  Paghi tu? (“Will you pay?”)

• Cercare (“to look for”)
  Cerchiamo un bar. (“We look for a bar.”)

• Giocare (“to play”)
  Giocheresti con me? (“Would you play with me?”)

• Litigare (“to fight”)
  Non litighiamo! (“Let’s not fight!”)

• Mancare (“to miss”)
  Mi manchi tanto! (“I miss you so much!”)

• Sporcare (“to get dirty”)
  Ti sporchi sempre… (“You always get dirty…”)

• Sprecare (“to waste”)
  Perché sprechi la carta? (“Why do you waste paper?”)

• Navigare (“to sail”)
  Navigheremo per tre notti. (“We will sail for three nights.”)

Wait… Didn’t we tell you earlier that the only verbs you really needed to master were presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, futuro, condizionale, and imperativo (“present, present perfect, imperfect, future, conditional, and imperative”)? 

You’re absolutely right! As a matter of fact, the absolute past (passato remoto) is mostly used in literary writing and very formal speech about things that happened a very long time ago. So you definitely don’t have to worry about it too much. Just be aware of it, just in case you encounter it while reading a story.

Do you know where you might actually hear passato remoto a lot? In the south of Italy, in Sicily for example, because southern dialects have no passato prossimo in their grammar. For this reason, people have historically tended to use this tense more often than other Italians. 

Andai in Sicilia. (“I went to Sicily.”) Sicilians use passato remoto a lot!

On the other hand, the one that you’ll really be using all the time (in combination with the imperfect) is the present perfect (passato prossimo), which is formed by the auxiliary essere or avere (“to be” or “to have”) and the past participle. But we’ll see more about that in a little bit. For now, just take a look at what it’s like.

Passato Prossimo – AMARE
io	ho amato
tu	hai amato
lui/ lei	ha amato
noi	abbiamo amato
voi	avete amato
loro	hanno amato

2- Verbs in -ERE

CREDERE (“To believe”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Subjunctive	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past*	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	credo	credetti	credevi	crederò	creda	crederei	–
tu	credi	credesti	credevi	crederai	creda	crederesti	credi
lui/lei	crede	credette	credeva	crederà	creda	crederebbe	–
noi	crediamo	credemmo	credevamo	crederemo	crediamo	crederemmo	crediamo
voi	credete	credeste	credevate	crederete	crediate	credereste	credete
loro	credono	crederono	credevano	crederanno	credano	crederebbero	–

PRENDERE (“To take”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	prendo	presi*	prendevo	prenderò	prenda	prenderei	–
tu	prendi	prendesti	prendevi	prenderai	prenda	prenderesti	prendi
lui/lei	prende	prese*	prendeva	prenderà	prenda	prenderebbe	–
noi	prendiamo	prendemmo	prendevamo	prenderemo	prendiamo	prenderemmo	prendiamo
voi	prendete	prendeste	prendevate	prenderete	prendiate	prendereste	prendete
loro	prendono	presero*	prendevano	prenderanno	prendano	prenderebbero	–

*Just to complicate things a bit further, most verbs of the second group in -ERE have an irregular passato remoto (“absolute past”), in which the io, lui/lei, loro (“I,” “s/he,” “they”) forms can change considerably from the root. But again, this tense is rarely used in spoken Italian, so you’ll just need to recognize them in case you encounter them while reading. 

LEGGERE (“To read”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	leggo**	lessi*	leggevo	leggerò	legga	leggerei	–
tu	leggi	leggesti	leggevi	leggerai	legga	leggeresti	leggi
lui/lei	legge	lesse*	leggeva	leggerà	legga	leggerebbe	–
noi	leggiamo	leggemmo	leggevamo	leggeremo	leggiamo	leggeremmo	leggiamo
voi	leggete	leggeste	leggevate	leggerete	leggiate	leggereste	leggete
loro	leggono**	lessero*	leggevano	leggeranno	leggano	leggerebbero	–

*See the note above.

**Contrary to what happens to the -care / -gare verbs in the first group (they add an h to keep the hard sound in front of e or i), in the second conjugation, verbs in -cere and -gere change sound from soft to hard in front of the ending -o (io and loro – “I” and “them”). 

Che piacere leggere! (“What a pleasure to read!”)

IO LEGGO [leggo – hard G] as in “gospel” TU LEGGI [ledʒi – soft g] as in “giant”

Other common verbs that have the same behavior are:

• Vincere (“to win”)
  Vinco sempre! (“I always win!”)

• Conoscere (“to know”)
  Non ti conosco. (“I don’t know you.”)

• Crescere (“to grow”)
  Come crescono questi bambini…! (“How do these kids grow…!”)

• Nascere (“to be born”)
  In Italia nascono 50 bambini all’ora. (“In Italy, 50 babies are born every hour.”)

• Correggere (“to correct”)
  Correggo i tuoi errori. (“I correct your mistakes.”)

• Friggere (“to fry”)
  Friggo le patate. (“I fry potatoes.”)

• Leggere (“to read”)
  I ragazzi leggono Pinocchio. (“Kids read Pinocchio.”)

• Aggiungere (“to add”)
  Aggiungono sempre troppo sale! (“They always add too much salt!”)

• Piangere (“to cry”)
  Quando sono triste piango. (“When I’m sad, I cry.”)

3- Verbs in -IRE

DORMIRE (“To sleep”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	dormo	dormii	dormivo	dormirò	dorma	dormirei	–
tu	dormi	dormisti	dormivi	dormirai	dorma	dormiresti	dormi
lui/lei	dorme	dormì	dormiva	dormirà	dorma	dormirebbe	–
noi	dormiamo	dormimmo	dormivamo	dormiremo	dormiamo	dormiremmo	dormiamo
voi	dormite	dormiste	dormivate	dormirete	dormiate	dormireste	dormite
loro	dormono	dormirono	dormivano	dormiranno	dormano	dormirebbero	–

SENTIRE (“To hear” / “To feel”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	sento	sentii	sentivo	sentirò	senta	sentirei	–
tu	senti	sentisti	sentivi	sentirai	senta	sentiresti	senti
lui/lei	sente	sentì	sentiva	sentirà	senta	sentirebbe	–
noi	sentiamo	sentimmo	sentivamo	sentiremo	sentiamo	sentiremmo	sentiamo
voi	sentite	sentiste	sentivate	sentirete	sentiate	sentireste	sentireste
loro	sentono	sentirono	sentivano	sentiranno	sentano	sentirebbero	–

CAPIRE (“To understand”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	capisco*	capii	capivo	capirò	capisca	capirei	–
tu	capisci**	capisti	capivi	capirai	capisca	capiresti	capisci
lui/lei	capisce	capì	capiva	capirà	capisca	capirebbe	–
noi	capiamo	capimmo	capivamo	capiremo	capiamo	capiremmo	capiamo
voi	capite	capiste	capivate	capirete	capiate	capireste	capireste
loro	capiscono	capirono	capivano	capiranno	capscano	capirebbero	–

*Did you notice something different about this conjugation? You’re absolutely right! Quite a few Italian verbs of the third group add an -isc suffix to the conjugation in the present, subjunctive, and imperative in the first singular (io, “I”),  second singular (tu, “you”), third singular (lui/lei, “s/he”), and third plural (loro, “they”).  

**Similarly to what happens to the verbs in the -cere and -gere that we just saw above, verbs that add the -isc suffix change sound from soft to hard in front of the endings -o and -a (io and loro – “I” and “them”).

IO CAPISCO [kapisko – hard K] as in “color” TU CAPISCI [kapishi – soft sh] as in “sheep”

Other common verbs that have the same behavior are:

• Capire (“to understand”)
  Capisco [capisko] / Capisci [capishi] tutto. (“I/you understand everything.”)

• Costruire (“to build”)
  Costruisco [kostruisko] / Costruisci [costruishi] una casa. (“I/you build a house.”)

• Finire (“to finish”)
    Finisco [finisko] / Finisci [finishi] subito! (“I/you finish right away!”)
  

• Preferire (“to prefer”)
  Preferisco [preferisko] / Preferisci [preferishi] l’acqua. (“I/you prefer water.”)
  
  Now it’s your turn to try! Change the subject from io (“I”) to tu or lui/lei (“you” or “s/he”) and practice with the hard/soft pronunciation.

• Proibire (“to forbid”)
  Io ti proibisco di andare! (“I forbid you to go!”) >> Lei ti ……………… di andare! (“He forbids you to go!”)

• Pulire (“to clean”)
  Io pulisco la mia stanza. (“I clean my room.”) >> Tu …………….. la mia stanza. (“He cleans my room.”)

• Punire (“to punish”)
  Non punisco gli sbagli. (“I don’t punish mistakes.”) >> Lui non ………… gli sbagli. (“He doesn’t punish mistakes.”)

• Restiture (“to give back”)
  Io restituisco il libro. (“I give back the book.”)  >> Tu …………….. il libro. (“You give back the book.”)

• Trasferire (“to transfer” / “to move”)
  Io mi trasferisco a Roma. (“I move to Rome.”) >> Tu ti …………….. a Roma. (“You move to Rome.”)

4. Irregular Verbs and Their Conjugations

As it often happens, some of the most common verbs are irregular and, although they continue to follow a pattern to a certain point, they can differ quite a lot from what you expect. 

Let’s start with the most important Italian irregular conjugations: essere (“to be”) and avere (“to have”). 

ESSERE (“To be”) 

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	sono	fui	ero	sarò	sia	sarei	–
tu	sei	foste	eri	sarai	sia	saresti	sii
lui/lei	è*	fu	era	sarà	sia	sarebbe	–
noi	siamo	fummo	eravamo	saremo	siamo	saremmo	siamo
voi	siete	foste	eravate	sarete	siate	sareste	siate
loro	sono	furono	erano	saranno	siano	sarebbero	–

*The third person singular lui/lei è (“s/he is”) requires the grave accent to distinguish it from the conjunction e (“and”). Even if it might seem like a small detail, it’s considered a big mistake, so double your attention!

AVERE  (“To have”)

	Indicative				Subjunctive	Conditional	Imperative
	Present	Absolute Past	Imperfect	Future	Present	Present	Present
io	ho*	ebbi	avevo	avrò	abbia	avrei	–
tu	hai*	aveste	avevi	avrai	abbia	avresti	abbi
lui/lei	ha*	ebbe	aveva	avrà	abbia	avrebbe	–
noi	abbiamo	avemmo	avevamo	avremo	abbiamo	avremmo	abbiamo
voi	avete	aveste	avevate	avrete	abbiate	avreste	abbiate
loro	hanno*	ebbero	avevano	avranno	abbiano	avrebbero	–

*In Italian, you’ll never find the H at the beginning of a word, except for in foreign words such as “hotel” and the avere conjugation. For some reason, only the first singular (io, “I”), second singular (tu, “you”), third singular (lui/lei, “s/he”), and third plural (loro, “they”) in the present keep the H from the Latin conjugation habere. However, nothing changes in the pronunciation.

1- AVERE & ESSERE as auxiliaries with passato prossimo (“present perfect”)

Remember how we told you that the absolute past isn’t really used in colloquial Italian, and you would more often use the passato prossimo? Passato prossimo is formed with an auxiliary avere/essere and the past participle, which is formed as follows:

• Verbs in -are >> -ato
  Ex: Parlare >> ho parlato  / Andare >> sono andato

• Verbs in -ere >> -uto
  Ex: conoscere >> conosciuto

• Verbs in -ire >> -ito
  Ex: dormire >> dormito

• Essere >> stato 
• Avere >> avuto

But how do you know which auxiliary to use? Here’s how it works. 

Transitive verbs (verbs that can have a direct object) form the passato prossimo with the auxiliary AVERE:

• Amare Ho amato mio marito. (“I loved my husband.”)
• Vendere Ho venduto la mia macchina. (“I sold my car.”)
• Capire Ho capito quello che hai detto. (“I understood what you said.”)

Intransitive verbs (verbs that can’t have a direct object, and that usually indicate state, movement, change, etc.) form the passato prossimo with the auxiliary ESSERE:

• Andare Sono andato al cinema. (“I went to the movies.”)
• Venire Sono venuto con te. (“I came with you.”)
• Uscire Sono uscito. (“I went out.”)

Other intransitive verbs that need the essere auxiliary are: salire, restare, tornare, ritornare, scendere, arrivare, cadere, entrare, and more.

Irregular verbs in Italian are quite frequent and common. Here’s a basic list with their conjugations in the present indicative, from which you can deduct the rest of the patterns.

	DIRE	DARE	FARE	ANDARE	VENIRE	VOLERE	SAPERE	POTERE	USCIRE
io	dico	do	faccio	vado	vengo	voglio	so	posso	esco
tu	dici	dai	fai	vai	vieni	vuoi	sai	puoi	esci
lui/lei	dice	da	fa	va	viene	vuole	sa	può	esce
noi	diciamo	diamo	facciamo	andiamo	veniamo	vogliamo	sappiamo	possiamo	usciamo
voi	dite	date	fate	andate	venite	volete	sapete	potete	uscite
loro	dicono	danno	fanno	vanno	vanno	vogliono	sanno	possono	escono

Do you think that these are enough? No way! There are many more irregular verbs in Italian you can have fun with.

5. Quiz

Do you think that you know enough about Italian conjugations? Let’s do a quick test.

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb, paying attention to the subject and the tense:

Quiz time!

1. Gli Italiani (amare) _______________ il caffè molto forte.
   (“Italians love very strong coffee.”)
   
2. Domani tu (andare) ______________ al cinema con i tuoi amici?
   (“Tomorrow, will you go to the movies with your friends?”)
   
3. Quando noi (essere) __________ piccoli, (credere) ___________ a Babbo Natale!
   (“When we were kids, we believed in Santa Claus!”)
   
4. Io (volere) _____________ un gelato al limone, per favore.
   (“I would like a lemon ice cream, please.”)
   
5. Un anno fa Laura (finire)  ______________ la scuola.
   (“A year ago, Laura finished school.”)

Let’s check the answers together:

1) Amano: This is the third person plural of the present.

2) Andrai: This is the second person singular of the future, since domani tells us that the action takes place in the future.

3) Eravamo, Credevamo: These are both first person plural of the imperfect, which is the tense we use for describing a generic time, not a specific moment.

4) Vorrei: Here, we use the first person singular of the conditional, since we’re expressing a wish or a polite request.

5) Ha finito: In this case, the past tense that we need is the passato prossimo, since it’s an action that occurred at a specific time.

Did you get them all correct?

6. Tips to Improve and Practice Your Italian Conjugations

Italian conjugations can seem like a lot to take in, but there are tricks and strategies that you can use to help you learn and remember them.

For example, you can try to memorize each verb as a chant (amo, ami, ama, amiamo, amate, amano…). This way, you’ll memorize the patterns and they’ll stick forever. Repetition always helps, so do as many exercises as you can. Reading, listening to music, and watching videos is also extremely useful in getting familiar with different kinds of verbs in context. 

And the final tip: Make sure that you take advantage of all the free resources available on ItalianPod101.com! You’ll even find mobile apps, lessons, and a guided learning system with your own teacher!

Verbs are concepts in motion and are a fundamental part of every language. But how many Italian language verbs should you learn to speak the language properly? Here at ItalianPod101, we believe that with the following 100+ Italian verbs, you’ll be able to face most circumstances with ease. And don’t be scared—with our examples and definitions, you’ll be able to master this Italian verbs list quickly. It’s Italian verbs made easy with ItalianPod101! 

But first, let’s take a look at Italian verb conjugation.

Table of Contents

1. Italian Regular Verbs
2. Italian Irregular Verbs
3. Reflexive Verbs in Italian
4. Italian Verb Types & Their Meanings
5. Italian Verb Placement in a Sentence
6. ItalianPod101: A Great Source for Your Italian Learning!

1. Italian Regular Verbs

There are three groups of Italian regular verbs, and their conjugation makes students happy. Indeed, they’re easy to learn and always the same. 

The three regular verb groups are: 

• Verbs in -are
• Verbs in -ere
• Verbs in -ire

1- Verbs in -are

Here’s a chart with the -are Italian verb conjugation, and an example of how it works with the verb portare, meaning “to bring.”

1st sg (I)	2nd sg (you)	3rd sg (she)	1st pl (we)	2nd pl (you)	3rd pl (they)
Stem + o	Stem + i	Stem + a	Stem + iamo	Stem + ate	Stem + ano
Io porto	Tu porti	Egli porta	Noi portiamo	Voi portate	Essi portano

Some examples of Italian verbs in -are are: 

1.

Amare “to love”

Amo moltissimo viaggiare. “I love traveling very much.”

2.

Pensare “to think”

Io lavoro e penso a te. “I work and I think about you.”

3.

Cominciare “to start”

Oggi cominciamo un corso di italiano. “Today, we start an Italian course.”

4.

Incontrare “to meet”

Il Presidente incontra il suo staff nello Studio Ovale. “The President meets his staff in the Oval Office.”

2- Verbs in -ere

And now let’s see the conjugation of -ere verbs. We’ll use temere, meaning “to fear,” as an example.

1st sg (I)	2nd sg (you)	3rd sg (she)	1st pl (we)	2nd pl (you)	3rd pl (they)
Stem + o	Stem + i	Stem + e	Stem + iamo	Stem + ete	Stem + ono
Io temo	Tu temi	Egli teme	Noi temiamo	Voi temete	Essi temono

Some examples are: 

5.

Leggere “to read”

Al mattino leggo il giornale. “In the morning, I read the newspaper.”

6.

Mettere “to put,” “to wear”

Marco mette sempre lo stesso cappello. “Marco always wears the same hat.”

7.

Ridere “to laugh”

Valeria ride sempre, è una ragazza davvero allegra. “Valeria always laughs; she really is a joyful girl.”

8.

Prendere “to take,” “to get”

Di solito prendono il caffè in questo bar. “They usually get their coffee in this cafe.”

3- Verbs in -ire

The -ire verbs in Italian have two conjugations:

• Verbs in -ire (simple)

This is the simplest conjugation. Here, we use the verb partire, meaning “to leave,” as an example.

1st sg (I)	1st sg (I)	3rd sg (she)	1st pl (we)	1st pl (we)	3rd pl (they)
Stem + o	Stem + i	Stem + e	Stem + iamo	Stem + ite	Stem + ono
Io parto	Tu parti	Egli parte	Noi partiamo	Voi partite	Essi partono

Other examples are:

9.

Aprire “to open”

Il negozio apre dalle ore 10 alle ore 18. “The shop is open from 10 to 18.”

10.

Sentire “to hear,” “to feel”

Sento freddo, puoi chiudere la finestra per favore? “I feel cold, can you please close the window?”

• Verbs in -ire (with -isc-)

This is a slightly more complex conjugation. We’ll use the verb colpire, meaning “to hit,” as an example.

1st sg (I)	2nd sg (you)	3rd sg (she)	1st pl (we)	2nd pl (you)	3rd pl (they)
Stem + isco	Stem + isci	Stem + isce	Stem + iamo	Stem + ite	Stem + iscono
Io colpisco	Tu colpisci	Egli colpisce	Noi colpiamo	Voi colpite	Essi colpiscono

Examples: 

11.

Capire “to understand”

Kate capisce benissimo l’italiano. “Kate understands Italian very well.”

12. 

Pulire “to clean”

Mia zia pulisce la casa ogni giorno. “My aunt cleans the house every day.”

2. Italian Irregular Verbs

Unfortunately, many very important Italian verbs are irregular, and this means that you have to learn their conjugation one by one. But don’t worry, with our help you’ll master them like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

By far, the most important Italian irregular verbs are essere (“to be”) and avere (“to have”), which also work as Italian auxiliary verbs. 

13. 

Essere “to be”

Lorenzo è un bravissimo cuoco. “Lorenzo is a great chef.”

14. 

Avere “to have”

Luca e Antonia hanno una casa stupenda in Toscana. “Luca and Antonia have a wonderful house in Tuscany.”

Other important examples of irregular verbs are: 

15. 

Andare “to go”

In Italia i bambini vanno a scuola dalle 8 alle 13. “In Italy, children go to school from 8 to 13.”

16. 

Venire “to come”

Se non è un problema, vengo con voi. “If it’s not a problem, I’ll come with you.”

17.

Potere “can,” “may”

Posso raggiungervi più tardi? “May I join you later?”

18.

Dovere “to have to”

Devi parlare con tua madre. “You have to talk to your mother.”

3. Reflexive Verbs in Italian

Reflexive verbs in Italian are very common and can sometimes be hard to understand for students. This is because some of them don’t actually have a real reflexive meaning. In sentences, even those verbs that have an identical subject and object are more like expressions in Italian than actual reflexive verbs as they’re thought of in English.

An example is the verb svegliarsi, which literally means “to wake yourself up.” But it really just means “to wake up.”

Some of the most important reflexive verbs are:

19.

Divertirsi “to have fun”

Mi sono divertito molto questa sera. “I really had fun tonight.”

20.

Lavarsi “to wash up”

Ti sei lavato i denti? “Did you brush your teeth?” (literally, “Did you wash your teeth?”)

21.

Alzarsi “to stand up”

Quando l’insegnante entra in classe, dovete alzarvi. “When the teacher comes in the classroom, you have to stand up.”

22.

Addormentarsi “to fall asleep”

Ieri mi sono addormentata sul divano. “Yesterday, I fell asleep on the couch.”

4. Italian Verb Types & Their Meanings

Following are a few lists of the best Italian verbs to know as a beginner in the language. Beginning with Italian action verbs, we’ll go through a variety of verb types that we’ve categorized for your convenience. Let’s get started! 

Italian Action Verbs

23.

Arrivare “to arrive”

I miei cugini sono arrivati ieri sera. “My cousins arrived yesterday evening.”

24.

Stare “to stay”

A Parigi starò a casa di un’amica. “In Paris, I’ll stay at a friend’s house.”

25.

Fermarsi “to stop”

Fermati qui, c’è un buon ristorante. “Stop here, there’s a good restaurant.”

26.

Camminare “to walk”

Amo camminare sulla spiaggia. “I love walking on the beach.”

27.

Cercare “to search,” “to look for”

Scusi, cerco un bancomat. Sa dove posso trovarlo? “Excuse me, I’m looking for an ATM. Do you know where I can find it?”

28.

Trovare “to find”

Ho trovato un buon amico. “I’ve found a good friend.”

29.

Spostare “to move”

Per favore, aiutami a spostare il tavolo. “Please, help me to move the table.”

30.

Tirare “to pull”

Tira per aprire. “Pull to open.”

31.

Spingere “to push”

Sto scendendo, non serve spingere! “I’m getting off, there’s no need to push!”

32.

Correre “to run”

Mia sorella corre ogni mattina per 10 chilometri. “My sister runs for ten kilometers every morning.”

33.

Viaggiare “to travel”

Viaggio almeno due volte all’anno. “I travel at least twice a year.”

34.

Rimanere “to remain,” “to stay”

Vorrei rimanere di più, ma non posso. “I’d like to stay longer, but I can’t.”

35.

Tenere “to keep,” “to hold”

Tienimi la mano. “Hold my hand.”

36.

Trasportare “to transport,” “to carry”

Questo camion trasporta frutta. “This truck transports fruit.”

Mental Verbs

37.

Volere “to want”

Sono stanca, voglio andare a dormire. “I’m tired, I want to go to bed.”

38.

Sapere “to know”

So chi è stato. “I know who did it.”

39.

Credere “to believe”

Credo che tu abbia ragione. “I believe you’re right.”

40.

Sperare “to hope”

Spero che l’esame vada bene. “I hope the test will go well.”

41.

Piacere “to like”

Il caffè italiano mi piace molto. “I like Italian coffee very much.”

42.

Dispiacere “to be sorry”

Mi dispiace che tu non ti sia divertito. “I’m sorry that you didn’t have fun.”

43.

Ricordare “to remember,” “to remind”

Questa canzone mi ricorda la mia infanzia. “This song reminds me of my childhood.”

44.

Dimenticare “to forget”

Ho dimenticato le chiavi. “I forgot the keys.”

45.

Imparare “to learn”

Sto imparando l’italiano. “I’m learning Italian.”

46.

Sognare “to dream”

Sogno di visitare Venezia. “I dream of visiting Venice.”

47.

Desiderare “to wish”

Desidero rivederti. “I wish to see you again.”

48.

Odiare “to hate”

Mia figlia odia il cavolfiore. “My daughter hates cauliflower.”

Verbs of Change

The world is full of change and nothing is to be taken for granted. Here are some useful Italian verbs to learn to talk about change!

49.

Cambiare “to change”

Il paesaggio è davvero cambiato. “The landscape has really changed.”

50.

Diventare “to become”

Crescendo, sono diventata più indipendente. “Growing up, I’ve become more independent.”

51.

Migliorare “to improve”

Il mio italiano è migliorato nell’ultimo anno. “My Italian has improved over the last year.”

52.

Peggiorare “to worsen”

Il tempo è peggiorato rapidamente. “The weather has quickly worsened.”

53.

Aumentare “to increase”

Il mio stipendio è aumentato di 100 euro. “My salary has increased by 100 euro.”

54.

Diminuire “to decrease,” “to reduce”

Bisogna diminuire le spese. “We have to reduce our expenses.”

Verbs for the Workplace

Here are some Italian verbs you must know to talk about work and different types of jobs.

55.

Lavorare “to work”

Matteo lavora 10 ore al giorno. “Matteo works ten hours a day.”

56.

Fare “to make,” “to do”

Faccio spesso degli errori di ortografia. “I often make spelling mistakes.”

57.

Finire “to end,” “to finish”

Ho finito il nuovo libro di Elena Ferrante. “I’ve finished Elena Ferrante’s new novel.”

58.

Iniziare “to start,” “to begin”

Hai iniziato a fare i compiti? “Did you start doing your homework?”

59.

Costruire “to build”

Mio nonno ha costruito questa casa. “My grandfather built this house.”

60.

Creare “to create”

Leonardo ha creato un capolavoro. “Leonardo created a masterpiece.”

61.

Cucinare “to cook”

Mio padre ha cucinato la pasta. “My father cooked pasta.”

62.

Mescolare “to mix”

Mescola il latte con le uova. “Mix the milk with the eggs.”

63.

Tagliare “to cut”

Per favore, taglia il pane. “Please, cut the bread.”

64.

Servire “to serve”

Servire a temperatura ambiente. “Serve at room temperature.”

65.

Guidare “to drive”

Non mi piace guidare molte ore. “I don’t like to drive for many hours.”

66.

Usare “to use”

Posso usare la tua auto? “Could I use your car?”

67.

Scrivere “to write”

Gli scriverò una lettera. “I’ll write him a letter.”

68.

Telefonare “to phone”

Domani telefonerò all’ufficio. “Tomorrow, I’ll phone the office.”

69.

Chiamare “to call”

Andrea ti chiamerà più tardi. “Andrea will call you later.”

70.

Chiedere “to ask,” “to request”

Marco ha chiesto a Valentina di sposarlo. “Marco asked Valentina to marry him.”

71.

Rispondere “to answer”

Ti prego di rispondere al più presto. “Please, answer as soon as possible.”

72.

Firmare “to sign”

Ho appena firmato il contratto. “I’ve just signed the contract.”

Sensory Verbs

73.

Guardare “to watch”

Sto guardando la tv. “I’m watching TV.”

74.

Vedere “to see”

È così buio che non vedo nulla. “It’s so dark that I can’t see anything.”

75.

Ascoltare “to listen”

Roberto ascolta solo la musica metal. “Roberto only listens to metal music.”

76.

Assaggiare “to taste”

Voglio assaggiare questo vino. “I want to taste this wine.”

77.

Profumare “to smell”

La tua macchina profuma di sapone. “Your car smells like soap.”

78.

Toccare “to touch”

Tocca questo tessuto: è morbidissimo. “Touch this fabric; it’s really soft.”

9- Other Italian Verbs for Beginners

79.

Parlare “to talk,” “to speak”

Io e mia sorella parliamo ogni giorno al telefono. “My sister and I talk everyday on the phone.”

80.

Dipingere “to paint”

Michelangelo ha dipinto la Cappella Sistina. “Michelangelo painted the Cappella Sistina.”

81.

Suonare “to play (an instrument)”

Maria sa suonare il piano. “Maria can play the piano.”

82.

Recitare “to play (like an actor)”

Al Pacino ha recitato ne Il Padrino. “Al Pacino played in The Godfather.”

83.

Mangiare “to eat”

Di solito a pranzo mangio un panino. “I usually eat a sandwich for lunch.”

84.

Bere “to drink”

Ti andrebbe di bere qualcosa con me? “Would you like to drink something with me?”

85.

Dormire “to sleep”

La domenica dormo sempre fino a tardi. “On Sundays, I always sleep until late.”

86.

Riposare “to rest”

In vacanza non ho riposato per niente. “On holiday, I couldn’t rest for a moment.”

87.

Vestirsi “to get dressed”

Vestiti, dobbiamo uscire. “Get dressed, we have to go out.”

88.

Nuotare “to swim”

Non so nuotare. “I can’t swim.”

89.

Sdraiarsi “to lie”

Mi sono sdraiato per terra. “I lay down on the ground.”

90.

Salire “to get on,” “to get up”

Sono salito sull’ultimo autobus. “I got on the last bus.”

91.

Scendere “to get off”

Scusi, devo scendere alla prossima fermata. “Excuse me, I have to get off at the next stop.”

92.

Sollevare “to lift”

Questa macchina solleva fino a una tonnellata di peso. “This machine lifts up to one ton of weight.”

93.

Passare “to pass”

Passami il sale, per favore. “Pass me the salt, please.”

94.

Inventare “to invent”

Marconi ha inventato la radio. “Marconi invented the radio.”

95.

Comprare “To buy”

Hai comprato il latte? “Did you buy the milk?”

96.

Vendere “to sell”

Il negozio all’angolo vende borse e scarpe. “The shop at the corner sells bags and shoes.”

97.

Pagare “to pay”

Ho pagato 10 € per una pizza a una birra. “I paid 10 € for a pizza and a beer.”

98.

Vincere “to win”

La Ferrari ha vinto l’ultimo Gran Premio. “The Ferrari won the latest Grand Prix.”

99.

Perdere “to lose”

Ho perso il cellulare. “I’ve lost my mobile phone.”

100.

Nascere “to be born”

Sono nato in Francia, ma sono cresciuto in Belgio. “I was born in France, but I grew up in Belgium.”

101.

Morire “to die”

Nell’incidente per fortuna non è morto nessuno. “Luckily, nobody died in the accident.”

5. Italian Verb Placement in a Sentence

As you can see from the many sentences above, in Italian, a verb usually goes after the subject and before the object (or any other complement). 

Example: 

Subject + Verb + Object

Il topo mangia il formaggio.

“The mouse eats the cheese.”

6. ItalianPod101: A Great Source for Your Italian Learning!

We hope you enjoyed learning about Italian verbs with us, and that you picked up a few new vocabulary words you can start using today! It will take lots of studying and practice, but you can memorize every word on this list over time. And once you do, why not start on another Italian basic verbs list on ItalianPod101? 

Have you already checked out our majestic 100 adjectives article, our amazing 100 nouns list, or our guide on Italian pronouns? If not, it’s time to do it! Improve your Italian with our wonderful guides and lessons, whenever and wherever you want. Download our mobile apps or follow our courses on your PC, and you’ll live the Dolce vita! 

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any Italian verbs you still want to know! We look forward to hearing from you, and will do our best to help! 

Pronouns are one of the fundamental bricks in the majestic building of grammar. Basically, what they do is replace another word, allowing us to avoid repetition and making every language more agile, pleasant, and poetic. Italian pronouns are no exception. 

A pronoun in Italian can replace: 

• A noun
• A predicative verb
• An adjective

There are many kinds of Italian pronouns, categorized by their function in a sentence. In this Italian pronouns lesson here on ItalianPod101.com, we’ll show you a list of all the most important ones, with their definitions and examples of Italian pronoun usage. It’s Italian pronouns, made easy!

Table of Contents

1. Italian personal pronouns
2. Italian possessive pronouns
3. Italian reflexive pronouns
4. Italian demonstrative pronouns
5. Italian interrogative and exclamatory pronouns
6. Italian indefinite pronouns
7. Italian relative pronouns
8. ItalianPod101: Fast & Fun Italian for All

1- Italian personal pronouns

A personal pronoun is a word that indicates who or what is involved in a sentence, without having to repeat it in full. Let’s clarify with an example in English: “My daughter is on holiday. She’s very happy.” Without pronouns, we would say: “My daughter is on holiday. My daughter is very happy.” A bit annoying, isn’t it?

Now, there are two categories of Italian personal pronouns:

• Subject pronouns: When the replaced element is the subject of the sentence.
• Object pronouns: When the replaced element is the object of the sentence. 

Further, there are two kinds of object pronouns.

• Direct object pronouns: When the pronoun replaces a direct object, answering the question “Who?” or “What?”
• Indirect object pronouns: When the pronoun replaces an indirect object, answering the question “To whom?” or “To what?”

Now, let’s see them in action in this nice and neat Italian pronouns table. 

	Italian subject pronouns	Italian direct object pronouns	Italian indirect object pronouns
1st person singular	Io (“I”)	Mi (“Me”)	Mi (“To me”)
2nd person singular	Tu (“You”)	Ti (“You”)	Ti (“To you”)
3rd person singular	Informal: Lui, Lei (“He, She”). Formal: Egli, Ella, Esso, Essa (“He, She, It male, It female”) *	Lo (“Him, It male”), La (“Her, It female”), L’ (“Him, Her, It” whenever the following word begins with a vowel)	Gli (“To him, her, it”)
1st person plural	Noi (“We”)	Ci (“Us”)	Ci (“To us”)
2nd person plural	Voi (“You”)	Vi (“You”)	Vi (“To you”)
3rd person plural	Informal: Loro (“They”). Formal: Essi, Esse (“They,” male and female) *	Li, Le (“Them,” male and female)	Gli, Loro (“To them”)
*Used in written, formal language, like in literature or official documents.

And now, let’s dive into these Italian pronouns with examples!

Italian subject pronouns:

• Io
  • Io vado al cinema, vuoi venire?

“I’m going to the cinema, do you want to come?”

• Tu
  • Tu puoi andare ora.

“You can go now.”

• Lui 
  • Lui aveva fame ed è tornato a casa.

“He was hungry and has gone home.”

• Lei
  • Lei, Marta, è davvero una persona interessante.

“She, Marta, really is an interesting person.”

• Noi
  • Noi andremo in vacanza fra una settimana.

“We’ll go on holiday in one week.”

• Voi
  • Voi avete guardato la partita ieri?

“Did you watch the match yesterday?”

• Loro
  • Loro non sono qui perché non sono stati invitati.

“They are not here because they were not invited.”

Direct object pronouns:

• Mi
  • Ieri Marco mi ha visto ma non mi ha salutato.

“Yesterday, Marco saw me but he didn’t say hello to me.”

• Ti
  • Ti chiamerò domani per confermare l’accordo.

“I’ll call you tomorrow to confirm the deal.”

• Lo
  • Cerco Giuliano, lo hai visto?
  • “I’m looking for Giuliano, have you seen him?”
• La
  • Ti piace la pasta? Io la adoro.

“Do you like pasta? I love it.”

• L’
  • Il Barolo è buonissimo, l’ho assaggiato in Piemonte. 

“Barolo is very good, I’ve tasted it in Piedmont.”

• Ci
  • Lorenzo ci ha invitati al suo matrimonio.

“Lorenzo has invited us to his wedding.”

• Vi
  • Martedì vi porto a cena in un ristorante buonissimo.

“Tuesday, I’ll bring you to dinner in a very good restaurant.”

• Li
  • Li ho incontrati stamattina al supermercato.

“I bumped into them this morning at the supermarket.”

• Le
  • A: Hai tu le mie scarpe bianche? 

B: No, non le ho io.

A: “Do you have my white shoes?” 

B: “No, I don’t have them.”

Indirect object pronouns:

• Mi
  • Ieri Andrea mi ha dato una bellissima lettera.

“Yesterday, Andrea gave me a beautiful letter.”

• Ti
  • Ho bisogno di parlarti.

“I need to talk to you.”

• Gli 
  • Gli ho consigliato di accettare il lavoro.

“I’ve suggested to him to accept the job.”

• Ci
  • Roma ci piace così tanto che abbiamo deciso di vivere lì.

“We like Rome so much that we’ve decided to live there.”

• Vi
  • Più tardi vi mando un’e-mail con i dettagli. 

“Later, I’ll send you an email with the details.”

• Gli / Loro
  • Gli ho detto che devono partire entro domani. / Ho detto loro che devono partire entro domani.

“I’ve told them that they must leave by tomorrow.”

Two important notes: 

• Unlike in other languages, in Italian, the use of the subject pronoun in a sentence isn’t mandatory. In fact, the subject pronoun is usually omitted, except when it’s needed to avoid ambiguity. 

• Sono andato a letto presto, perché ero stanco.

“(I) went to bed early, because (I) was tired.”

• In some cases, when you use an infinitive verb, you can add the object pronouns at the end of the sentence, attaching it to the infinitive verb.

• Vieni a trovarci questa estate?

“Are you coming to visit us this summer?”

2- Italian possessive pronouns

Italian possessive pronouns are identical to possessive adjectives. They replace the possessed object and must always be preceded by a definite article or a preposition + definite article. They’re conjugated according to gender and number. 

They are:

• Mio / mia / miei / mie
  • Adoro il tuo stereo. Il mio è vecchio. 

“I love your stereo. Mine is old.”

• Tuo / tua / tuoi / tue
  • Le mie nuove scarpe da trekking sono perfette. Come vanno le tue?

“My new trekking shoes are perfect. How are yours going?”

• Suo / sua / suoi / sue
  • La mia valigia è stata finalmente trovata, ma della sua ancora non si sa nulla. 

“My luggage was finally found, but we still don’t know anything about his.”

• Nostro / nostra / nostri / nostre
  • Tuo figlio adora il basket, mentre i nostri preferiscono il calcio.

“Your son loves basketball, while ours prefers football.”

• Vostro / vostra / vostri / vostre
  • Il mio cane è un pastore tedesco, e il vostro?

“My dog is a German shepherd, and yours?”

• Loro 
  • Il mio lavoro mi lascia molto tempo libero, mentre il loro no.

“My job gives me a lot of free time, while theirs does not.”

3- Italian reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject of a sentence is also the object. There are a lot of very common reflexive verbs in Italian, and they can be a bit confusing. Anyway, the Italian reflexive pronouns are:

• Mi (“Myself”)
  • Mi sto facendo la doccia.

“I’m taking a shower.”

• Ti (“Yourself”)
  • Ti sei lavato le mani?

“Did you wash your hands?”

• Si (“Himself, Herself, Themselves”)
  • Si è vestito in fretta ed è uscito.

“He dressed up quickly and got out.”

• Ci (“Ourself”)
  • Io e Antonio ci amiamo molto.

“Antonio and I love each other very much.”

• Vi (“Yourself”, plural)
  • Oggi vi siete svegliate molto presto, come mai?

“Today you got up very early, why?”

4- Italian demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used instead of a noun to point out a specific person or thing. The most common Italian demonstrative pronouns are:

• Questo / questa / questi / queste (“This, these”)
  • Questo è Luca, mio marito.

“This is Luca, my husband.”

• Quello / quella / quelli / quelle (“That, those”)
  • Quelli che vedete sono i resti di un grande tempio romano.

“Those you see are the remains of a big Roman temple.”

5- Italian interrogative and exclamatory pronouns

Interrogative and exclamatory pronouns are used to form questions or exclamations. In Italian, they are:

• Chi (“Who”)
  • Chi è l’uomo con cui parla Simone?

“Who is the man Simone is talking to?”

• Che cosa / Cosa / Che (“What”). All of these options are synonyms.
  • Cos’è successo?

“What happened?”

• Quanto / quanta / quanti / quante (“How much” but also “So much” in exclamations)
  • Quanto mi manchi!

“I miss you so much!”

• Quale / quali (“Which one”)
  • Tra pizza e pasta, quale preferisci?

“Between pizza and pasta, which one do you prefer?”

6- Italian indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used to indicate something or someone in general. The most common Italian indefinite pronouns are:

• Alcuno / alcuna / alcuni / alcune (“Some”)
  • A: Ti sono piaciute le opere in mostra? 

B: Alcune mi sono piaciute, ma non tutte.

A: “Did you like the artworks on display?” 

B: “Some I liked, but not all of them.”

• Molto / molta / molti / molte (“Many, a lot”)
  • A: Hai fame? 

B: Molta!

A: “Are you hungry?” 

B: “A lot!”

• Poco / poca / pochi / poche (“Few”)
  • A: C’era molta gente al concerto? 

B: No, poca.

A: “Were there many people at the concert?” 

B: “No, not much.”

• Tanto / tanta / tanti / tante (“Many”)
  • Tanti sono venuti alla manifestazione, nonostante il freddo.

“Many went to the demonstration, despite the cold.”

• Troppo / troppa / troppi / troppe (“Too much, too many”)
  • Troppi non sono tornati dalla guerra.

“Too many didn’t come back from the war.”

• Tutto / tutta / tutti / tutte (“All, everyone”)
  • Siamo arrivati tutti in ritardo.

“We’ve all arrived late.”

• Uno / una (“One”)
  • A: Hai un cellulare? 

B: Ne ho uno, ma è vecchio.

A: “Do you have a mobile phone?” 

B: “I have one, but it’s old.”

• Qualcuno / qualcuna (“Someone, anyone”)
  • Qualcuno sa dirmi dov’è Dario?

“Could anyone tell me where Dario is?”

• Ciascuno / ciascuna (“Everyone, each one”)
  • Ciascuno di noi ha un compito.

“Each one of us has a task.”

• Ognuno / ognuna (“Everyone, each one”)
  • Ognuno deve fare la sua parte.

“Everyone has to do their part.”

• Nessuno / nessuna (“No one, any”)
  • Nessuno sa perché è successo. 

“No one knows why it happened.”

• Sono andata a cercare funghi nel bosco, ma non ne ho trovato nessuno. 

“I went looking for mushrooms in the forest, but I didn’t find any.”

7- Italian relative pronouns

Relative pronouns connect a sentence with a subordinate clause. The Italian relative pronouns are:

• Che (replaces a subject or direct object)
  • La donna che sta parlando con Leo è il mio capo. 

“The woman who is talking with Leo is my boss.”

• Chi (“The person who, the people who, whoever”)
  • Chi è stato?

“Who did it?”

• Cui (replaces an indirect object)
  • La ragazza di cui ti ho parlato sta entrando nella stanza proprio adesso.

“The girl I told you about is entering the room right now.”

• Il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali (same as Cui)
  • La persona per la quale lavoro si chiama Mario Rossi.

“The person I work for is called Mario Rossi.”

8. ItalianPod101: Fast & Fun Italian for All

Mastering Italian pronouns is no easy feat, but with enough practice, you’ll get there! We hope you enjoyed this article and that you’re well on your way to really understanding Italian pronouns.

If there’s anything you didn’t quite understand, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments. We’ll do our best to help you out! 

Grammar is a complicated universe, but we at ItalianPod101 are here to help! Check out our lesson library and enjoy hours of videos, tons of useful articles, and practical mobile tools to learn and study whenever and wherever you want. 

Happy Italian learning! 

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When speaking a new language, you’ll find that many things about it are different compared to the language you’re used to. Sounds, words, grammar, everything is…foreign? Well, yes, of course. 

But maybe you haven’t yet thought about whether or not the sentence structure and word order are different, too. 

First of all, what do we mean by that? We’re talking about the basic word order, the correct sequence of all the elements that form the basic structure of a sentence.

If you compare the English and Italian sentence structure, you’ll definitely find differences that might create some confusion, especially when you get to negative sentences, questions, and complex phrases. But don’t worry about it; we’re here to help you with this simple guide. We’ll help you understand the basics of Italian word order rules, and then we’ll guide you until you’re able to perform well when creating more advanced sentences.

So, are you ready to learn about word order in Italian?

Table of Contents

1. The Basics of Italian Word Order with Subject, Verb, and Object
2. Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo: Italian Word Order with Modifiers
3. The Importance of Exercising
4. The Famous Last Words

1. The Basics of Italian Word Order with Subject, Verb, and Object

The basic Italian sentence structure, as with all Neo-Latin languages, follows the Subject – Verb – Object (SVO) pattern.

(And by the way, since we’ll be talking a lot about apples…what about checking out how to say the names of all kinds of fruit?)

First of all, let’s see what the single elements of this sentence mean:

• {Eva mangia una mela.} (“Eva eats an apple.”)

Subject = It’s who/what is doing the action >> Eva mangia una mela.

Verb = It’s the action >> Eva mangia una mela.

Object = It’s the destination of the action >> Eva mangia una mela.

The sentence structure doesn’t change, even if you want to make the same sentence interrogative. In fact, in Italian, there is no S-V inversion as there is in other European languages (French and German, for example), and you don’t need to add anything to the sentence as you would do in English. 

In the case of Italian question word order, the basic sentence structure remains the same; you just need to add the interrogative tone and the question mark.

Eva, are you really going to eat that…???

See the examples:

• {Eva mangia una mela.} (“Eva eats an apple.”)
• {Eva mangia una mela?} (“Does Eva eat an apple?”)
  



• {Studi l’italiano.} (“You study Italian.”)
• {Studi l’italiano?} (“Do you study Italian?”)

Notice how in Italian, we generally omit the personal pronoun as a subject (io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro – “I, you, he/she, we, you, they”) unless there’s an ambiguity in the sentence, or you want to give particular emphasis to the person doing the action.

But what happens when you want to make a negative sentence? Very simple. You add the negative adverb non in front of the verb:

• {Eva non mangia una mela.} (“Eva does not eat an apple.”)
• {Eva non mangia una mela?} (“Doesn’t Eva eat an apple?”)
  



• {Non studi l’italiano.} (“You don’t study Italian.”)
• {Non studi l’italiano?} (“Don’t you study Italian?”)

As you can see, whether it’s affirmative or interrogative doesn’t change the structure of the sentence.

This is always the basic structure, even when the sentence becomes more complicated. For example, you could have a whole clause as a subject:

La prima donna che abita sulla terra mangia la mela. (“The first woman living on earth eats the apple.”)

Similarly, you could have a whole clause as an object:

Eva mangia quel frutto rosso o giallo o verde che chiamiamo mela. (“Eva eats that red or yellow or green fruit that we call apple.”)

2. Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo: Italian Word Order with Modifiers

Let’s look at the word order in Italian sentences when things get more complex. What happens to the sentence when you add, for example, an adjective that modifies the nouns (like bravo or “good”), or an adverb that modifies the verb (like sempre or “always”). These are called modifiers, as they’re used to add meaning—and therefore modify—the element they go with. 

1. Adjectives 

• {Lo studente studia l’italiano.} (“The student studies Italian.”)

What if I want to add that we’re talking about an “American” student  (americano) studying Italian? 

• {Lo studente americano studia l’italiano.} (“The American student studies Italian.”)

Did you see what happened? The adjective went after the noun. And this is the general rule: Italian adjectives follow the noun:

L’italiano non è una lingua (noun) difficile (adjective). (“Italian is not a difficult language.”)

Ho comprato un vestito rosso. (“I bought a red dress.”)

Sei un ragazzo simpatico! (“You are a nice boy!”)
But all rules have an exception, right? So, keep in mind that some of the most common Italian adjectives are placed before the noun. And here’s the list:

bello	“beautiful”	Un bel* ragazzo	“A beautiful boy”
bravo	“good”	Una brava ragazza	“A good girl”
brutto	“ugly,” “bad”	È un brutto giorno	“It’s a bad day”
buono	“good”	Hai fatto un buon* lavoro.	“You did a good job.”
caro	“dear”	Sono dei cari amici.	“They are dear friends.”
cattivo	“bad”	Non dare il cattivo esempio.	“Don’t set a bad example.”
giovane	“young”	Conosco un giovane attore.	“I know a young actor.”
grande	“big”	Abbiamo una grande opportunità.	“We have a great opportunity.”
lungo	“long”	Facciamo una lunga passeggiata.	“Let’s take a long walk.”
nuovo	“new”	Il nuovo libro è rosso.	“The new book is red.”
piccolo	“small,” “little”	Ho un piccolo problema.	“I have a small problem.”
stesso	“same”	La stessa ragione	“The same reason”
vecchio	“old”	Un vecchio albero	“An old tree”
vero	“true”	È una vera avventura!	“It’s a real adventure!”

*Bello/a and buono/a (“beautiful” and “good”), when they come before a noun, change their endings following the same rules of the definite article (bello >> il) and the indefinite article (buono >> un). Check the following examples. Do you want to know more and practice? 

Un bel bambino/Un bambino bello! (“A cute baby!”)

• Il ragazzo >> il bel ragazzo 
• Lo studente >> il bello studente
• Un giorno >> un buon giorno
• Uno studente >> un buono studente

But watch out! If they’re used together with an adverb, they must follow the noun, as in the general rule:

• È un vecchio albero. (“It is an old tree.”) | È un albero molto vecchio. (“It is a very old tree.”)
• È un brutto giorno. (“It’s a bad day.”) |  È un giorno veramente brutto . (“It’s a really bad day.”)

The same thing happens if you want to convey emphasis or express a contrast. In the following sentence, for example, the stress of the sentence is on the age of the tree, and not the tree itself:

• Questo non è un albero vecchio, è un albero giovane! (“This is not an old tree, it is a new tree!”)

2. Adverbs

Just like adjectives, adverbs are modifiers and they appear in a sentence to slightly modify the meaning of the verb or adjective they go with. In Italian, they’re usually placed after the verb:

• Leggo sempre il giornale. (“I always read the newspaper.”)
• John parla bene l’italiano. (“John speaks Italian well.”)

Naturally, there are some exceptions to this rule in case of:

• Modifying an adjective
  • È un albero molto vecchio. (“It is a very old tree.”)
    
• Modifying another adverb
  •  John parla molto bene l’italiano. (“John speaks Italian very well.“)
    
• The negative non, which we’ve already seen
  • Non leggo il giornale. (“I don’t read the newspaper.”)

But notice what happens if you add another negative adverb. Let’s compare English to Italian: Double negatives are grammatically incorrect in English, but in the Italian language, they’re perfectly acceptable:

• Non leggo mai il giornale. (“I never read the newspaper.”)
• Non leggo più il giornale. (“I no longer read the newspaper.”)
• Non leggo quasi mai il giornale. (“I almost never read the newspaper.”)

Do you think we can add some more elements to complicate the structure a bit? Certamente! (“Of course!”) Which brings us to the other exception, when an adverb is formed with the -mente suffix (usually equivalent to the English “-ly” suffix).

I always read the newspaper. Do you?

See, for example, the case of normalmente (“generally, normally”):

• A) Normalmente non leggo il giornale.
• B) Non leggo normalmente il giornale.
• C) Non leggo il giornale normalmente.

All these sentences have the same meaning (“I don’t normally read the newspaper”), although we can argue that by moving around the adverb, we end up stressing different parts of the sentence. In A), the stress is on the frequency; in B), it’s on the act of reading; in C), it’s on the newspaper. It’s a small nuance, but nevertheless is there.

3. Adverbs & Auxiliary or Modal Verbs

So far, we’ve looked at simple verbs. But what happens if a verb is composed of an auxiliary, as in the case of the passato prossimo, or with modal verbs (potere, volere, sapere, dovere – “can, will, know, must”)?

With these verbs, you normally follow the general rule. But in the presence of the following adverbs expressing time, assessment, certainty, or doubt, they can be placed in the middle, between the auxiliary and the past participle (or between the modal verb and the infinitive).

Ancora (“Yet”)	Proprio  (“Really”)
Appena  (“Just”)	Subito  (“Immediately”)
Finalmente  (“Finally”)	Certamente  (“Surely”)
Già  (“Already”)	Forse  (“Maybe”)
Mai  (“Never”)	Nemmeno  (“Not even”)
Sempre  (“Always”)	Probabilmente (“Probably”)
Spesso  (“Often”)	Sicuramente  (“Definitely”)

• Eva ha appena mangiato la mela… (“Eva just ate the apple…”)
• Non ho ancora letto il giornale. (“I haven’t read the newspaper yet.”)
• Voglio sicuramente studiare l’italiano con ItalianPod101. (“I definitely want to study Italian with ItalianPod101.”)
• Devo proprio chiedere scusa…? (“Do I really have to apologize…?”)

4. Prepositional Phrases

In most sentences, we end up referring to “when,” “where,” and “how” the action is taking (or took) place. These sentences are the ones that explain the when, where, and how, and they’re called prepositional phrases since they’re often introduced by a preposition.

• Studio l’italiano di sera. [when?] (“I study Italian in the evening.”)
• Studio l’italiano a Firenze. [where?] (“I study Italian in Florence.”)
• Studio l’italiano con ItalianPod101. [how?] (“I study Italian with ItalianPod101.”)

As you can see in the examples above, these phrases normally go at the end of the sentence, although with most of the phrases indicating the time aspect of the action (when?), you can safely move the elements around, just as you would in English:

• Studio l’italiano di sera. [when?] (“I study Italian in the evening.”)
• Di sera studio l’italiano. [when?] (“In the evening, I study Italian.”)
• A pranzo non bevo mai il caffè.  [when?] (“For lunch, I never have coffee.”)
• Non bevo mai il caffè a pranzo. [when?] (“I never have coffee for lunch.”)

But, if you’re not sure, always place them at the end of the sentence, and you’ll definitely be correct.

If you want more information on Italian prepositions, be sure to take a couple of minutes to watch the video below:

5. Personal Pronouns

Remember the first sentences we looked at?

• {Eva mangia una mela.} (“Eva eats an apple.”)
• {Studi l’italiano.} (“You study Italian.”)

Subject, verb, object. In that order. Well…not always. If you substitute the object with a personal pronoun, that pronoun would still be the object of the action, but it goes BEFORE the verb. Take a look:

• {Eva la mangia in fretta.} (“Eva eats it in a hurry.”)
• {Lo studi con ItalianPod101.} (“You study it with ItalianPod101.”)

Help! I need a Personal [pronoun] Trainer!!!

The same rules apply to indirect personal pronouns, as in:

• Gli chiedo un favore. (“I ask a favor of him.”)
• Mi piace la pizza. (“Pizza pleases me.“= “I like pizza.”)

This is also true for the little pronouns ci (“in it,” “there”) and ne (“of it”).

• A Roma? Ci andiamo domani. (“To Rome? We go there tomorrow.”)
• Ha del prosciutto? Ne vorrei 100 grammi. (“Do you have ham? I would like 100 grams of it.”)

Things, however, change a little when we have these same pronouns, but the verb is an infinitive, a gerund, or an imperative. (Maybe you need a little more practice with those tenses or how they’re conjugated?

Because with these tenses, the pronoun can be placed either before or after. And in case it’s after, you need to attach it to the verb. Let’s see how:

• {Eva mangia una mela.} (“Eva eats an apple.”)
• {Eva la mangia in fretta.} (“Eva eats it in a hurry.”)
• {“Eva, mangiala!} (“Eva, eat it!”)
• {Studi l’italiano.} (“You study Italian.”)
• {Lo studi con ItalianPod101.} (“You study it with ItalianPod101.”)
• {Puoi studiarlo con ItalianPod101.} (“You can study it with ItalianPod101.”)

A little patience and lots of exercise: the perfect strategy for learning a language!

3. The Importance of Exercising

Time to put everything into practice with these step-by-step exercises on Italian word order. Let’s start with a very basic sentence, and we’ll add up elements of complexity. Check the sections above in case you’re uncertain of something.

How would you translate these sentences?

1. “Mary studies Italian.” – ________________________________________________________

2. “She studies it with ItalianPod101.” – _____________________________________________

3. “She studies Italian with ItalianPod101 everyday.” – __________________________________

4. “Her friends don’t study Italian with ItalianPod101 yet.” – ______________________________

5. “She studies Italian with ItalianPod101 everyday comfortably at home.” – _________________

6. “Maria never forgets her Italian lessons.” – _________________________________________

7. “Maria has probably studied Italian today.” – _____________________________________

8. “This summer, Maria can study it in Florence.” – ______________________________________

Check your answers here:

1. Maria studia l’italiano.

2. Lo studia con ItalianPod101.com.

3. Studia l’italiano con ItalianPod101 ogni giorno.

4. I suoi amici non studiano ancora l’italiano con ItalianPod101.

5. Studia l’italiano con ItalianPod101 ogni giorno comodamente a casa.

6. Maria non dimentica mai le sue lezioni di italiano.

7. Maria ha probabilmente studiato l’Italiano oggi.

8. Quest’estate Maria può studiarlo a Firenze. 

4. The Famous Last Words

Now you’ve learned how to structure a sentence in Italian. Soon, with a little practice, you’ll be able to build more and more complex sentences, putting every word in the correct order. Hopefully, this guide has helped you with this mission. 

Practice is always the best strategy for improving Italian grammar, vocabulary, and communication skills. So make sure you visit ItalianPod101.com. Here you’ll find a great number of free resources, podcasts, lessons, and even mobile apps and a free PDF with practical and efficient lessons. Keep up with your good work on your Italian learning! 

In the meantime, if there’s anything in this lesson you didn’t quite understand, feel free to leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to help you out!