Most Common Italian Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense

What makes a verb irregular in Italian?

An irregular verb does not follow its infinitive group’s standard pattern in every form. Some change the stem, some have unusual endings and some do both. Learn the high-frequency verbs as complete phrases.

• andare → vado, not ando
• fare → faccio, not fo in ordinary modern use

How do you use andare?

Andare means “to go.” Its present forms are vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate and vanno. Combine it with a or in according to the destination.

• Vado a Roma. = I am going to Rome.
• Andiamo in Italia. = We are going to Italy.

How do you use fare?

Fare means “to do” or “to make” and appears in many everyday expressions. The present forms are faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate and fanno.

• Faccio colazione alle otto. = I have breakfast at eight.
• Che cosa fate stasera? = What are you doing tonight?

How do you use dire?

Dire means “to say” or “to tell.” Its forms are dico, dici, dice, diciamo, dite and dicono. It often introduces quoted words or information said to someone.

• Dico la verità. = I tell the truth.
• Che cosa dicono? = What are they saying?

How do you use dare?

Dare means “to give.” Its present forms are do, dai, dà, diamo, date and danno. Note the written accent in dà, which distinguishes it from the preposition da.

• Ti do il numero. = I give you the number.
• Mi dà un consiglio? = Will you give me some advice?

How do you use stare?

Stare means “to stay” and appears in expressions of how someone feels or is doing. Forms include sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state and stanno.

• Come stai? Sto bene. = How are you? I am well.
• Stiamo a casa oggi. = We are staying home today.

How do you use venire?

Venire means “to come.” Its forms are vengo, vieni, viene, veniamo, venite and vengono. The first and third persons show different stem changes.

• Vieni con noi? = Are you coming with us?
• I miei amici vengono domani. = My friends are coming tomorrow.

How do you use uscire?

Uscire means “to go out” or “to leave.” It has esco, esci, esce, usciamo, uscite and escono. The noi and voi forms keep the infinitive’s us- stem.

• Esco alle sei. = I go out at six.
• Usciamo dopo cena. = We are going out after dinner.

What do potere, volere and dovere mean?

These modal verbs express ability, desire and obligation. They usually precede an infinitive. Learning them gives you useful sentences before you know many other tenses.

• Posso parlare? = May I speak?
• Voglio partire; devo studiare. = I want to leave; I must study.

Which modal forms should you learn first?

Begin with io and tu forms for requests and conversation, then add third-person forms. Potere gives posso, puoi, può; volere gives voglio, vuoi, vuole; dovere gives devo, devi, deve.

• Puoi aiutarmi? = Can you help me?
• Deve aspettare. = He or she must wait.

What mistakes do regular patterns cause?

A regular ending may be familiar but still wrong for these verbs. If a form looks plausible, verify it with a real sentence instead of assuming the infinitive predicts everything.

• vado, not ando; vengono, not venono
• faccio, not faco; escono, not uscono

How can you memorise irregular verbs?

Group verbs by daily situation: movement, routine and requests. For each, say one question and one answer. Retrieve the form from the meaning rather than rereading a chart.

• Vai al lavoro? Sì, vado alle nove.
• Puoi venire? No, devo studiare.

Irregular present tense: useful contrasts and practice

Irregular does not mean unpredictable in every person. Compare a few high-frequency forms in complete sentences, then retrieve them by meaning. Andare switches between vad-/va- and and- forms; uscire has esc- in several forms but usc- in noi and voi. A modal verb such as potere is conjugated, while the next verb remains an infinitive: posso uscire, “I can go out.”

1. Complete and translate: Noi ___ in Italia. (andare; We are going to Italy.)
2. Complete and translate: Io ___ venire. (potere; I can come.)

Review regular present-tense endings to see exactly where these verbs depart from the pattern.

The Italian imperative shows how several of these verbs change again in requests and commands.