LinguaParlare, lavorare: the six forms of the present
Most Italian verbs end in -are in the dictionary: parlare (to speak), lavorare (to work), abitare (to live). The present tense (presente) covers “I speak”, “I am speaking” and “I do speak” at once. To build it, take off -are and add one ending for each person: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano. Besides io, tu, lui and lei, you now need the plural pronouns: noi (we), voi (you, more than one person) and loro (they). As with sono and mi chiamo, the ending already says who, so the pronoun is usually left out: Lavoriamo a Milano – “we work in Milan”.
| Pronoun | parlare (to speak) | lavorare (to work) |
|---|---|---|
| io | parlo | lavoro |
| tu | parli | lavori |
| lui, lei, Lei | parla | lavora |
| noi | parliamo | lavoriamo |
| voi | parlate | lavorate |
| loro | parlano | lavorano |
Two things to hear. In the noi form the stress falls on -ia-: parliamo, lavoriamo. In the loro form the stress stays on the same syllable as in the io form, so the ending -ano is never stressed: parlo – parlano (PAR-la-no), abito – abitano (A-bi-ta-no), lavoro – lavorano (la-VO-ra-no). The polite Lei takes the same form as lui and lei: Lei dove lavora?
– Dove lavorate? – Lavoriamo a Milano, ma abitiamo a Bergamo.– Where do you work? – We work in Milan, but we live in Bergamo.
Cerchi, paghiamo, studi: spelling to keep the sound
In cercare (to look for) and pagare (to pay) the c and g sound hard, as in cerco and pago. Before i they would turn soft, so Italian writes an h to keep them hard: cerchi, cerchiamo, paghi, paghiamo. Verbs in -iare do the opposite: their i is only a spelling mark, so they never write two: studiare → studi, studiamo; mangiare (to eat) → mangi, mangiamo; cominciare (to begin) → cominci, cominciamo. All the other forms are regular: studio, mangia, cominciano.
| Pronoun | cercare (to look for) | pagare (to pay) | mangiare (to eat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | cerco | pago | mangio |
| tu | cerchi | paghi | mangi |
| noi | cerchiamo | paghiamo | mangiamo |
| loro | cercano | pagano | mangiano |
– Paghi tu? – No, oggi pago io!– Are you paying? – No, today I’m paying!
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| parlare | to speak | Parliamo italiano in classe. We speak Italian in class. |
| abitare | to live (somewhere) | Marta e Pietro abitano a Genova. Marta and Pietro live in Genoa. |
| lavorare | to work | Elena lavora molto. Elena works a lot. |
| studiare | to study | Studi inglese o tedesco? Do you study English or German? |
| ascoltare | to listen (to) | Ascolto la radio in macchina. I listen to the radio in the car. |
| guardare | to look (at), to watch | Guardiamo un film a casa. We’re watching a film at home. |
| aspettare | to wait (for) | Aspetti il treno? Are you waiting for the train? |
| cercare | to look for | Cerco una casa a Roma. I’m looking for a flat in Rome. |
| pagare | to pay | Paghiamo il caffè e andiamo. We pay for the coffee and go. |
| mangiare | to eat | Mangi una pizza con noi? Will you eat a pizza with us? |
| cominciare | to begin, to start | Il corso comincia domani. The course starts tomorrow. |
| imparare | to learn | Imparo l'italiano con Laura. I’m learning Italian with Laura. |
| la musica | music | Ascoltate la musica classica? Do you (all) listen to classical music? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You and Marta work in Rome. Which sentence is correct?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.