Second conjugation in Italian (verbs ending in -ere)
Online language lessons with native teachers
Skype teachers
Free trial lesson
Flexible appointments
Second conjugation in Italian (verbs ending in -ere)
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.What is the second conjugation of regular verbs (-ere verbs)?
- 1.1.Characteristics of the second conjugation
- 1.1.1.Verbs that have two conjugations in the passato remoto
- 1.1.2.Verbs in -cere and -gere
- 1.1.3.Verbs that add the diphthong "uo"
- 1.1.4.Verbs that add the diphthong "ie"
- 1.1.5.Verbs that end in -gnere
- 2.How to conjugate regular -ere verbs in Italian?
- 2.1.Indicativo
- 2.2.Congiuntivo
- 2.3.Condizionale
- 2.4.Imperativo
- 2.5.Infinito
- 2.6.Participio
- 2.7.Gerundio
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs of to the second conjugation
- 3.2.Drag the correct -ere verb to complete the sentences
What is the second conjugation of regular verbs (-ere verbs)?
In Italian all verbs that belong to the second conjugation end in -ere.
Some regular verbs in Italian that belong to this conjugation are credere (to believe), ricevere (to receive), vendere (to sell), temere (to fear), battere (to beat).
Characteristics of the second conjugation
Despite being regular verbs, of the second conjugation have peculiarities.
Here are the main characteristics:
Verbs that have two conjugations in the passato remoto
Some verbs of the second conjugation have two conjugations for the 1st and 3rd person singular and the 3rd person plural of the indicativo passato remoto:
| 1st model | 2nd model | |
|---|---|---|
| Io | temei | temetti |
| Tu | temesti | temesti |
| Egli/Ella | temé | temette |
| Noi | tememmo | tememmo |
| Voi | temeste | temeste |
| Essi/Esse | temerono | temettero |
Both these conjugations are correct and can be used regardless of the verb. Despite this, keep in mind that with verbs whose root ends with -t, it is better to use the first model of conjugation.
Example: It is better to say io battei than io battetti.
Verbs in -cere and -gere
- Verbs that end in -cere and -gere are pronounced with a hard sound when the "c" or "g" are followed by endings starting with -a or -o.
Example: io vinco (I win)
io pungo (I sting) - Other verbs such as cuocere (to cook), add an "i" between the root and the endings starting with -a or -o.
Example: io cuocio (I cook)
che essi cuociano (they cook in the subjunctive mood) - Verbs that end in -cere add and "i" in the past participle.
Example: piaciuto (liked)
cresciuto (grown up)
Verbs that add the diphthong "uo"
Some verbs add the diphthong "uo" to their conjugation when the syllable is tonic (the accent falls on the syllable), while when the syllable is not tonic we can have both the form with "ou" or "o".
Example:
| Io | muovo |
|---|---|
| Tu | muovi |
| Egli/Ella | muove |
| Noi | muoviamo/moviamo |
| Voi | muovete/movete |
| Essi/Esse | muovono |
Verbs that add the diphthong "ie"
Some verbs such as possedere (to own) or tenere (to keep) add the diphthong "ie" to their conjugation when the syllable is tonic and when it ends with a vowel.
Example:
| Io | possiedo | tengo |
|---|---|---|
| Tu | possiedi | tieni |
| Egli/Ella | possiede | tiene |
| Noi | possediamo | teniamo |
| Voi | possedete | tenete |
| Essi/Esse | possiedono | tengono |
Verbs that end in -gnere
Verbs that end in -gnere can either maintain the "i" of the endings -iamo and -iate of the indicativo and congiuntivo presente or they can be written without the "i".
Example: noi spegniamo and noi spegnamo are both correct.
che voi spegniate or che voi spegnate are both correct.
Despite both forms being correct, it is probably better to use the one that maintains the "i" because in so doing the ending is not altered.
How to conjugate regular -ere verbs in Italian?
Here is the conjugation for regular verbs of the second conjugation.
Example temere (to fear)
Indicativo
| Presente | Passato prossimo | Imperfetto | Trapassato prossimo | Passato remoto | Trapassato remoto | Futuro semplice | Futuro anteriore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | temo | ho temuto | temevo | avevo temuto | temei/temetti | ebbi temuto | temerò | avrò temuto |
| Tu | temi | hai temuto | temevi | avevi temuto | temesti | avesti temuto | temerai | avrai temuto |
| Egli/Ella | teme | ha temuto | temeva | aveva temuto | temé/temette | ebbe temuto | temerà | avrà temuto |
| Noi | temiamo | abbiamo temuto | temevamo | avevamo temuto | tememmo | avemmo temuto | temeremo | avremo temuto |
| Voi | temete | avete temuto | temevate | avevate temuto | temeste | aveste temuto | temerete | avrete temuto |
| Essi/Esse | temono | hanno temuto | temevano | avevano temuto | temerono/temettero | ebbero temuto | temeranno | avranno temuto |
Congiuntivo
| Presente | Passato | Imperfetto | Trapassato | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Che) io | tema | abbia temuto | temessi | avessi temuto |
| (Che) tu | tema | abbia temuto | temessi | avessi temuto |
| (Che) egli/ella | tema | abbia temuto | temesse | avesse temuto |
| (Che) noi | temiamo | abbiamo temuto | temessimo | avessimo temuto |
| (Che) voi | temiate | abbiate temuto | temeste | aveste temuto |
| (Che) essi/esse | temano | abbiano temuto | temessero | avessero temuto |
Condizionale
| Presente | Passato | |
|---|---|---|
| Io | temerei | avrei temuto |
| Tu | temeresti | avresti temuto |
| Egli/Ella | temerebbe | avrebbe temuto |
| Noi | temeremmo | avremmo temuto |
| Voi | temereste | avreste temuto |
| Essi/Esse | temerebbero | avrebbero temuto |
Imperativo
| Presente | |
|---|---|
| Io | / |
| Tu | temi |
| Egli/Ella | tema |
| Noi | temiamo |
| Voi | temete |
| Essi/Esse | temano |
Infinito
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| Temere | Avere temuto |
Participio
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| Temente | Temuto |
Gerundio
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| Temendo | Avendo temuto |
Exercises
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs of to the second conjugation
Drag the correct -ere verb to complete the sentences
Next lessons
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
4.5/5 from 8 reviews
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
I speak: Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish I teach: Italian
I'm a certified Italian teacher based in my hometown Florence. I spent my childhood in a small village in the Chianti countryside and I always... loved to explore curious aspects of different languages. I studied Arabic, English, French and Spanish and I like to help students with practical insights into Italian language to better fix the structures and improve pronunciation, grammar and conversation. After my studies (master degree in teaching Italian as a second language + CEDILS certificate - teaching Italian to foreign students), I taught in different contexts and countries (IIC of Beirut, private schools in Prague, companies in Malta and Florence and to many many private students!). I try each time to adapt to every student's needs, with mainly one goal: making every student enthusiastic about the learning process and more and more confident. I use a communicative approach and I can offer classes of Italian languages, cinema, culture, gestures, focuses on grammar, conversation, etc. A presto! Olivia Read more
Availability: Monday (11-12h), Monday (16-19h), Tuesday (10-19h), Wednesday (10-18h), Thursday (10-15h), Friday (10-18h), Saturday (10-11h), Saturday (14-14h), Saturday (16-18h).
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
15.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours
I speak: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Italian, Portuguese, International, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish I teach: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Italian, Portuguese, International, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish
Me as a Teacher I am a Serbian native speaker and a language teacher. I have been teaching online for 5 years. I live in Belgrade. I've been... teaching online for 5 years (officially). I love teaching because it's a dynamic and an interesting job. You can teach your students and you can learn from them as well. The happiness and joy of the student + their progresses with their target language = my biggest prize (so my students are the ones who motivate me to work better)and I try to combine: a bit of reading, a bit of writing, a bit of conversation, a bit of grammar and a bit of listening by using different resources. About Me My favorite topics are: 1. Travelling , 2. Foreign languages, 3. TV programs, 4. Films and TV series, 5. Culture, 6. sport, 7. IT, 8. Science My hobbies are: learning foreign languages, horse- riding, reading, travelling, ... I am open-minded, flexible and very positive. If you come up with something interesting to talk about, please, don't hesitate to suggest me and I'll gladly discuss with you about that. I visited: Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia. My Lessons & Teaching Style Firstly, I test the level of the target language... I have two parts: 1) Conversational part (here I check their vocabulary and their fluency + I find out their language goals and their needs) 2) Writing part (with that I focus much more on grammar and spelling) For each part, I take notes (I have my notebook for that). Secondly, I personalize my lessons to their goals and needs. I can cover a lot of topics: business, travelling, culture, etc. My Teaching Material Text Documents Audio Recordings Images and Visuals Video News Articles and Magazines Quizzes Example Test Templates Graphs and Charts Homework Assignments PowerPoint Presentations Read more
Availability: Monday (7-23h), Tuesday (7-23h), Wednesday (7-23h), Thursday (7-23h), Friday (7-23h), Saturday (7-23h), Sunday (7-23h).
Timezone: Europe/Belgrade (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
12.00€ / h
Response time: less than 2 hours
I speak: Bulgarian, English, Italian I teach: Bulgarian, English, Italian
Hello! My name is Deborah! I am a language instructor. I teach Italian, English and Bulgarian. I have more than 10 years teaching... experience, both face-to-face and online to individual as well as to small and large groups. At the moment I am teaching Italian in a private school in Sofia, Bulgaria- where I lived for more than 10 years. I teach English to students ready to move to English speaking countries for work, and to students who need Еnglish for their career. I also prepare students for exams (KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE), and I offer language courses for communication and travelling purposes. I attended the College (tourism) in Lucca-Italy. I have a diploma in Secretarial and Business Administration from the South Kensington and Chelsea Collage in London- (I lived in London few years ago). I have a TEFL certificate -grade A. and an ECL certificate in Bulgarian C1 with 96/100. Therefore, I have a good knowledge of how languages work and I can provide my students with helpful insight. Teaching is my passion, and I am constantly in search for new methods to help my students to get through the challenges and the difficults when learning a new language. I am an enthusiastic, dedicated and adaptable teacher. I always use the communicative method in my teaching and I try to make my students feel comfortable by creating a funny and relaxed environment. I hope to see you soon in one of my classes! Read more
Availability: Monday (12-15h), Wednesday (14-15h), Friday (7-8h), Friday (13-16h), Sunday (19-20h).
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
15.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours