Present tense in Italian (presente indicativo)
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The present tense in Italian belongs to the indicative mood and it is called presente indicativo.
The presente indicativo refers to an action that takes place in the present.
In English you have to use personal pronouns to express the subject. In Italian, the subject of a sentence is often indicated by the ending of the verb so there is no need to use personal pronouns.
e.g. (Io) vado a Bologna (I go to Bologna)
(Gianni) suona il pianoforte (Gianni plays the piano)
In Italian the presente indicativo is also used to indicate the present progressive tense (present continuous).
e.g. Giulia canta una canzone (Giulia is singing a song)
Riccardo manda un messaggio ad un amico (Riccardo is texting a friend)
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There are other situations in which it is possible to use the presente indicativo:
Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|
Presente abituale |
|
|
Presente atemporale |
|
|
Presente pro futuro |
|
|
Presente storico |
|
|
*In Italian the verb "to be born" can be used in the present tense because of the historical present, but in English it is impossible to express the same concept using the present tense. In this case it is necessary to say Giotto was born in 1267.
There are some words that can help you to indicate that you have to use the presente indicativo.
Example:
The most common marker words are:
Example | Translation |
---|---|
Sempre | Always |
Spesso | Often |
Ogni giorno/mese/anno | Every day/month/year |
Due volte alla settimana | Twice a week |
Tra tre ore/giorni | In three hours/days |
Adesso/Ora | Now |
In questo momento | In this moment/Right now |
Di solito | Usually |
Qualche volta | Sometimes |
The presente indicativo is formed as follows:
Regular verbs form the presente indicativo by adding the following endings to the root of the verb.
Verbs of the first conjugation add the following endings: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano.
Example amare (to love):
Root | Ending | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | am | o | Io amo il calcio | I love football |
Tu | am | i | Tu ami il calcio | You love football |
Egli/Ella | am | a | Egli ama il calcio | He loves football |
Noi | am | iamo | Noi amiamo il calcio | We love football |
Voi | am | ate | Voi amate il calcio | You love football |
Essi/Esse | am | ano | Essi amano il calcio | They love fotball |
Verbs of the second conjugation add the following endings: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono.
Example correre (to run):
Root | Ending | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | corr | o | Io corro intorno al parco | I run around the park |
Tu | corr | i | Tu corri intono al parco | You run around the park |
Egli/Ella | corr | e | Egli corre intorno al parco | He runs around the park |
Noi | corr | iamo | Noi corriamo intorno al parco | We run around the park |
Voi | corr | ete | Voi correte intorno al parco | You run around the park |
Essi/Esse | corr | ono | Essi corrono intorno al parco | They run around the park |
Verbs of the third conjugation add the following endings: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono.
Example partire (to leave):
Root | Ending | Example | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | part | o | Io parto per la Grecia | I leave to (go to) Greece |
Tu | part | i | Tu parti per la Grecia | You leave to (go to) Greece |
Egli/Ella | part | e | Egli parte per la Grecia | He leaves to (go to) Greece |
Noi | part | iamo | Noi partiamo per la Grecia | We leave to (go to) Greece |
Voi | part | ite | Voi partite per la Grecia | You leave to (go to) Greece |
Essi/Esse | part | ono | Essi partono per la Grecia | They leave to (go to) Greece |
The majority of Italian verbs are irregular.
There are no grammatical rules to follow in order to conjugate such verbs.
Irregular verbs have to be studied by heart.
Here you can find a list of the main irregular verbs based on the conjugation they belong to.
The main irregular verbs in the presente indicativo are:
Here is the conjugation for the irregular verbs andare, fare and dare:
Andare (To go) | Fare (To do/make) | Dare (To give) | |
---|---|---|---|
Io | vado | faccio | do |
Tu | vai | fai | dai |
Egli/Ella | va | fa | dà |
Noi | andiamo | facciamo | diamo |
Voi | andate | fate | date |
Essi/Esse | vanno | fanno | danno |
Here is the conjugation for the irregular verbs bere, dovere, potere, sapere, vedere, volere:
Bere (To drink) | Dovere (Must/have to) | Potere (Can) | Sapere (To know) | Vedere (To see) | Volere (To want) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Io | bevo | devo | posso | so | vedo | voglio |
Tu | bevi | devi | puoi | sai | vedi | vuoi |
Egli/Ella | beve | deve | può | sa | vede | vuole |
Noi | beviamo | dobbiamo | possiamo | sappiamo | vediamo | vogliamo |
Voi | bevete | dovete | potete | sapete | vedete | volete |
Essi/Esse | bevono | devono | possono | sanno | vedono | vogliono |
Here is the conjugation for the irregular verbs finire, venire, uscire, dire:
Finire (To finish) | Venire (To come) | Uscire (To exit) | Dire (To say) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Io | finisco | vengo | esco | dico |
Tu | finisci | vieni | esci | dici |
Egli/Ella | finisce | viene | esce | dice |
Noi | finiamo | veniamo | usciamo | diciamo |
Voi | finite | venite | uscite | dite |
Essi/Esse | finiscono | vengono | escono | dicono |
Please, keep in mind that the auxiliary verbs (essere and avere) are irregular verbs!
Auxiliary verbs are irregular verbs so their conjugation has to be studied by heart.
Here is the conjugation for essere and avere
Essere (to be) | Avere (to have) | |
---|---|---|
Io | sono | ho |
Tu | sei | hai |
Egli/Ella | è | ha |
Noi | siamo | abbiamo |
Voi | siete | avete |
Essi/Esse | sono | hanno |
Example:
Now it is time you try to do our exercises on the presente indicativo!
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It's very useful to go through writing I have done and discuss other ways of expressing the same idea.
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With books, articles, songs, and other interesting and stimulating material I will encourage conversation, develop grammar in a simpler way, and improve pronunciation.
Learning a foreign language is not a matter of doing much effort, but rather of being consistent, enjoying the lessons and allowing your intuition to work with you. You will book immediate results while having fun!
I've been teaching Dutch, Spanish and Italian for many years, in The Netherlands, for private institutes, for the integration of foreigners into society (Inburgering), and online from Italy, where I currently live.
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Wonderful teacher with a broad knowledge of the structures of various languages, which I think helps to better understand students’ needs depending on their native language. Lucia uses a sophisticated platform where a student can easily find all the materials, test, or ask questions in the preparation for the next class. The class is structured in a very entertaining way, and she also has an examination focused approach if needed. Great experience, totally recommend.
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Thank you for putting up with all my mistakes today! We had plenty of conversation practice although the listening we did was quite tough but very useful .
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
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My name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students
Since 1994, I have dedicated myself to translating and teaching thanks to my travels, abroad studies, foreign reading and writing. I provide fun and customized lessons based on the student's goals. I also triy to minimize English speaking during the lessons. I give homework exercises, and my lessons are intermixed with grammar, conversation, customs and traditions. My goal is to make certain that each student finds learning Italian exciting.
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I got a Master Degree in 2010. Since then I have worked with languages, as a student support, tour guide and event coordinator between Spain and Ireland.
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I have been teaching Italian and Spanish for more than 10 years so far, and I have always used no traditional teaching method.
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Furthermore, I will guide you in all the learning process steps and you will learn the grammar in a funny way. ;)
In the conversation class we spend the full hour talking in Italian/spanish about topics of your interest (sports, arts, traveling, culture, food, relations..);and I will make you speak as much as you can.
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Perfect the class with Ermanno. Punctual, professional, educational and very friendly. He prepared the class in advance and adjusted to what I asked. Also send me a pdf with the class information so you can review it at home !! We were able to take full advantage of it. As soon as I have a little more time I will sign up for more classes with Ermanno without hesitation. Recommended 100%
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Why should you choose me? Take a look at what people say who have taken online classes with me.
Book lessons with me and
- prepare Dutch exams "Basisinburgering A1" and "Inburgeringsexamen A2". Your full commitment and my energetic, professional approach are the winning combination to help you succeed at once!
- learn Dutch because you live in the Netherlands (or are planning to move there) and still don’t speak the language properly or haven’t started yet. You’ll enjoy your environment more!
- learn Italian for work or because you will move to this beautiful country or simply because you just love it. Let me help you experience the language!
- study Spanish for pleasure, work or because you have to prepare an exam for school and you need to get confident to perform optimally
- get confident in useful daily conversations, meetings at work, exams, and presentations
- overcome the fear of failure; if you have learning problems, feel shy or need a boost of energy you’ll get confident enough to achieve your goals
My lessons are based on conversations. My method is to help you practice the language from the very beginning in spontaneous and direct conversations, using often role plays.
With books, articles, songs, and other interesting and stimulating material I will encourage conversation, develop grammar in a simpler way, and improve pronunciation.
Learning a foreign language is not a matter of doing much effort, but rather of being consistent, enjoying the lessons and allowing your intuition to work with you. You will book immediate results while having fun!
I've been teaching Dutch, Spanish and Italian for many years, in The Netherlands, for private institutes, for the integration of foreigners into society (Inburgering), and online from Italy, where I currently live.
Contact me for a free trial and let me know how I can help you.
CANCELATION POLICY
If you cancel a reservation please do it at least 24 hours before the session
(otherwise I would have to charge you for the lesson).
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Elena is an excellent Italian native teacher. She is very punctual, professional and friendly. My daughter and I love the lessons given by her. During the lesson she easily adapts to the difference in level between my daughter and me. In the lesson she takes the time to have a conversation in which we practice the learned material. We highly recommend Elena!!
Elena P.Thank you, Angalinna. I'm happy to know that you are both satisfied with the lessons. Keep on learning and you'll continue to improve!
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I am Tina, am Italian, from the south part of Italy. Am 35, I graduated in languages and International communication in Rome. I studied English, Spanish and French at university and Bulgarian on my own. I have a specialist title for teaching Italian as a foreign language. I personally prepare the teaching material, I studied how to project material. My method is communicative and situational, respectful of cultural aspects and interculture. My teaching method permits a multisensorial learning, I use you- tube videos and pictures, arts pictures, songs and other authentic material of everyday Life (informal and public enviroment) . My lessons and my teaching material are Dynamic and interactive. I want students to have a nice and funny learning experience, I try to have impact on the emotions of the students, so that he can learn better as there Is a link between Memory and emotions.
Am prepared and skilled as a languages teacher. My unit includes phonetic, orthography, lexis, comunicative functions, cultural themes. Culturali elements are the focus of my teaching, bit grammar Is not missing, you learn It by funny way with me. Am very nice, polite and witty. I put the student in a confortable zone, I want him/her feel too feel at ease. I don't ask the student to memorize list of words or verbs, I let him or her know them by learning them in use , have experience of language system and culture. I teach you how to speak, how to do practical things with language according the pragmatic approach. We use the language for many purposes and to comunicate with other people.
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Concetta is an amazing teacher with an unique intuitive teaching method and individual approach to each student. She is passionated and prepares materials and exercises especially to cover respective needs and goals of a student. The way Concetta leads the lessons gives deep understanding of language and culture. She speaks many languages and has knowledges in different aspects that’s why communication with her is smooth and pleasant. Thank you Tina, for being so incredible teacher! .
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Hi there, my name is Roberta. I am an Italian native speaker, and a professional language teacher with a DITALS II certification from Siena University. I live in Italy in a lovely little town called Monate near a small lake of the same name, just 40 minutes by car from Milan.
The aim of the lessons will not be learning generic Italian but to learn Italian according to the needs of every student. Each lesson will be personalized and designed to match students’ interests, linguistic level and learning style.
Every lesson will be planned around a text, which could either be a written piece, an audio segment or a video that will be used as a focal point for both communication and grammatical study. I will provide students with all of the teaching materials used in class that can later be used for homework and self – study, especially for developing writing skills.
I have been working as an Italian teacher since 2016, offering both traditional and e-learning/online classes. I am specialized at teaching young people and adults who want to study Italian for a variety of different reasons: work, education, residency or simply for a love of Italy and its culture.
Finally, as a result of my volunteer position as a documents advisor for immigrants, I can help students to prepare for the B1 level Italian language exam, which is necessary to apply for Italian citizenship.
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Roberta, is a fantastic teacher! She really helped to improve my confidence in using the formal Italian and in preparing for interviews in Italy. She tailored all our lessons to exactly my needs, and we also had a laugh in the process. Thanks again for all your help Roberta!
Roberta L.Thank you very much Emma, they are very happy to have helped you!
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Hello, my name is Francesca.
I am qualified Italian teacher.
I love teaching and my lessons are always tailored on your goals. During the first lesson, we will identify what you want to learn or to improve and I will design your lessons.
My approach is largely conversational: that is role-plays, informal conversation or other activites to help you. I welcome beginners right up to proficient speakers.
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Like the times before, it was perfect and a lot of fun. I am interested in the subject and I like to tell a lot and show Italian videos that are new to Francesca :-)
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