LinguaPrendere and dormire: two more endings
Besides -are, Italian verbs end in -ere – prendere (to take; to have, at a bar), leggere (to read), scrivere (to write) – or in -ire – dormire (to sleep), partire (to leave), aprire (to open). Their present has almost the same endings: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete / -ite, -ono. Only the voi form keeps the vowel of the infinitive: prendete, but dormite. Compared with -are verbs, lui and lei end in -e (prende, dorme, not -a) and loro in -ono (prendono, dormono).
| Pronoun | prendere (to take) | dormire (to sleep) |
|---|---|---|
| io | prendo | dormo |
| tu | prendi | dormi |
| lui, lei, Lei | prende | dorme |
| noi | prendiamo | dormiamo |
| voi | prendete | dormite |
| loro | prendono | dormono |
– Prendete un caffè? – Sì, grazie, e Sara prende un tè.– Will you have a coffee? – Yes, thanks, and Sara’s having a tea.
The stress works as with -are verbs: the loro form is stressed where the io form is – prendo, prendono (PREN-do-no); dormo, dormono (DOR-mo-no); scrivo, scrivono (SCRI-vo-no). A handy word in a bar: prendere is what you order – Prendo un caffè – and offrire (to offer) is what you say when you pay for the others: Offro io! – “It’s on me!”
Leggo, leggi: one spelling, two sounds
In -ere verbs whose stem ends in c or g, the spelling never changes, but the sound does. Before o the sound is hard: leggo (“g” as in go), conosco (“sk”). Before i and e it is soft: leggi, legge (“dj” as in jet), conosci, conosce (“sh”). So leggere (to read) and conoscere (to know a person or a place) sound hard in the io and loro forms – leggo, leggono, conosco, conoscono – and soft everywhere else. No h is added here: the soft sound is the right one.
| Pronoun | leggere (to read) | conoscere (to know) | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | leggo | conosco | hard |
| tu | leggi | conosci | soft |
| lui, lei, Lei | legge | conosce | soft |
| loro | leggono | conoscono | hard |
– Leggi il giornale? – No, leggo un libro.– Are you reading the newspaper? – No, I’m reading a book.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| prendere | to take; to have (food, a drink) | Prendiamo il treno per Firenze. We’re taking the train to Florence. |
| leggere | to read | Leggo un libro in italiano. I’m reading a book in Italian. |
| scrivere | to write | Scrivo una mail a Giulia. I’m writing an email to Giulia. |
| vivere | to live | Vivete in Italia? Do you (all) live in Italy? |
| vedere | to see | Vedi Marco oggi? Are you seeing Marco today? |
| chiudere | to close | Chiudo la porta, va bene? I’ll close the door, all right? |
| conoscere | to know (a person, a place) | Conosco bene Napoli. I know Naples well. |
| dormire | to sleep | Dormo poco e lavoro molto. I sleep little and work a lot. |
| partire | to leave (on a trip) | Parto domani per Londra. I’m leaving for London tomorrow. |
| sentire | to hear; to feel | Sento la radio di Marco. I can hear Marco’s radio. |
| aprire | to open | Apri la finestra, per favore? Will you open the window, please? |
| offrire | to offer; to treat (someone) | Oggi offro io: un caffè per tutti! Today it’s on me: a coffee for everyone! |
| il giornale | newspaper | Leggete il giornale ogni giorno? Do you (all) read the newspaper every day? |
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
Two friends are staying at your place. Which question about their night is correct?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.