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Second conjugation in Italian (verbs ending in -ere)

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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).

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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 model2nd model
Iotemeitemetti
Tutemestitemesti
Egli/Ellatemétemette
Noitememmotememmo
Voitemestetemeste
Essi/Essetemeronotemettero

 

enlightenedBoth 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:

Iomuovo
Tumuovi
Egli/Ellamuove 
Noimuoviamo/moviamo
Voimuovete/movete
Essi/Essemuovono

 

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:

Iopossiedotengo
Tupossieditieni
Egli/Ellapossiedetiene
Noipossediamoteniamo
Voipossedetetenete
Essi/Essepossiedonotengono

 

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.

enlightenedDespite 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

 PresentePassato prossimoImperfettoTrapassato prossimoPassato remotoTrapassato remotoFuturo sempliceFuturo anteriore
Iotemoho temutotemevoavevo temutotemei/temettiebbi temutotemeròavrò temuto
Tutemihai temutotemeviavevi temutotemestiavesti temutotemeraiavrai temuto
Egli/Ellatemeha temutotemevaaveva temutotemé/temetteebbe temutotemeràavrà temuto
Noitemiamoabbiamo temutotemevamoavevamo temutotememmoavemmo temutotemeremoavremo temuto
Voitemeteavete temutotemevateavevate temutotemesteaveste temutotemereteavrete temuto
Essi/Essetemonohanno temutotemevanoavevano temutotemerono/temetteroebbero temutotemerannoavranno temuto

 

Congiuntivo

 PresentePassatoImperfettoTrapassato
(Che) iotemaabbia temutotemessiavessi temuto
(Che) tutemaabbia temutotemessiavessi temuto
(Che) egli/ellatemaabbia temutotemesseavesse temuto
(Che) noitemiamoabbiamo temutotemessimoavessimo temuto
(Che) voitemiateabbiate temutotemesteaveste temuto
(Che) essi/essetemanoabbiano temutotemesseroavessero temuto

 

Condizionale

 PresentePassato
Iotemereiavrei temuto
Tutemerestiavresti temuto
Egli/Ellatemerebbeavrebbe temuto
Noitemeremmoavremmo temuto
Voitemeresteavreste temuto
Essi/Essetemerebberoavrebbero temuto

 

Imperativo

 Presente
Io/
Tutemi
Egli/Ellatema
Noitemiamo
Voitemete
Essi/Essetemano

 

Infinito

PresentePassato
TemereAvere temuto

 

Participio

PresentePassato
TementeTemuto

 

Gerundio

PresentePassato
TemendoAvendo temuto

 

Exercises

  1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs of to the second conjugation
  2. Drag the correct -ere verb to complete the sentences

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

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