Verbs—aka "doing words"—are essential for learning Italian. You can’t say a full sentence without one!
Some of the most common verbs in Italian are irregular, which means that, annoyingly, they don’t follow the usual patterns.
But you’ll need them for all kinds of everyday things in Italy, from telling people where you’re from, to catching the train, so they’re worth paying attention to.
Here, you’ll find the most common Italian irregular verbs in quick reference tables, with pronunciation. Practice them little and often, and you’ll soon find yourself dropping some irregular verbs into your Italian conversations.
What are some very common irregular Italian Verbs?
Avere - To Have
| Io* | ho | I have | Oh |
| Tu | hai | You have | Eye |
| Lui / Lei | ha | He / She has | Ah |
| Noi | abbiamo | We have | Ah-byah-moh |
| Voi | avete | You (plural) have | Ah-veh-teh |
| Loro | hanno | They have | Ahn-noh |
You need avere in Italian to show what you have, i.e. what’s in your possession.
For example:
Hai l’indirizzo dell’hotel? - Do you have the address of the hotel?
Abbiamo i biglietti - We have the tickets
*A little reminder: you can leave out pronouns like “I” and “you” in Italian because the verb ending already tells us who we’re talking about.
Essere - To Be
| Io | sono | I am | Soh-noh |
| Tu | sei | You are | Say |
| Lui / Lei | è | He / She is | Eh |
| Noi | siamo | We are | See-ah-moh |
| Voi | siete | You (plural) are | See-eh-teh |
| Loro | sono | They are | Soh-noh |
This verb is perfect for describing things, including nationality, and saying where things are:
For example:
Roma è bella - Rome is beautiful
Sono americano - I’m American
Dov’è il supermercato? - Where is the supermarket?
By the way, “to be” is irregular in English too! Just look at how much the verb changes for each person in the English translation. Irregular verbs aren’t just an Italian thing; they pop up in many languages!
Andare - To Go
| Io | vado | I go | Vah-doh |
| Tu | vai | You go | Vah-ee |
| Lui / Lei | va | He / She goes | Vah |
| Noi | andiamo | We go | Ahn-dee-ah-moh |
| Voi | andate | You (plural) go | Ahn-dah-teh |
| Loro | vanno | They go | Vahn-noh |
What better verb to use when you’re explaining where you’re going on your travel plans?
For example:
Vanno in Toscana - They’re going to Tuscany
Questo treno va a Roma? - Does this train go to Rome?
Vado al museo domani - I’m going to the museum tomorrow
Fare - To Do, To Make
| Io | faccio | I do / make | Fah-choh |
| Tu | fai | You do / make | Fah-ee |
| Lui / Lei | fa | He / She does / makes | Fah |
| Noi | facciamo | We do / make | Fah-chah-moh |
| Voi | fate | You (plural) do / make | Fah-teh |
| Loro | fanno | They do / make | Fah-noh |
The good news with fare is that where in English we have two words (both “to do” and “to make”), in Italian, they just use fare to mean both. So no need to memorize two separate verbs.
For example:
Fanno una visita guidata - They’re doing a guided tour
Faccio una torta - I’m making a cake
Cosa fai? - What are you doing?
Italians use this verb loads. You can see more expressions with fare in this lesson if you want to pick up some extra phrases.
Stare - To be, To stay
| Io | sto | I stay | Stoh |
| Tu | stai | You stay | Stah-ee |
| Lui / Lei | sta | He / She stays | Stah |
| Noi | stiamo | We stay | Stee-ah-moh |
| Voi | state | You (plural) stay | Stah-teh |
| Loro | stanno | They stay | Stah-noh |
Stare literally means “to stay” but Italians use it in many different ways, for example, to talk about how you are, or something you’re doing at the moment:
Stasera stiamo a casa - This evening, we’re staying at home
Come stai? - How are you?
Sto imparando l’italiano - I’m learning Italian
You can learn more in this lesson dedicated to stare (we did say it was an important verb)!
What are some other important Italian irregular verbs?
The verbs above are definitely the most common, but if you’re trying to have a conversation in Italian, you’ll probably need the following verbs at some point.
Bere - to drink
| Io | bevo | I drink | Beh-voh |
| Tu | bevi | You drink | Beh-vee |
| Lui / Lei | beve | He / She drinks | Beh-veh |
| Noi | beviamo | We drink | Beh-vee-ah-moh |
| Voi | bevete | You (plural) drink | Beh-veh-teh |
| Loro | bevono | They drink | Beh-voh-noh |
Uscire - to go out
| Io | esco | I go out | Eh-skoh |
| Tu | esci | You go out | Eh-shee |
| Lui / Lei | esce | He / She goes out | Eh-sheh |
| Noi | usciamo | We go out | Oo-shah-moh |
| Voi | uscite | You (plural) go out | Oo-shee-teh |
| Loro | escono | They go out | Eh-skoh-noh |
With this verb, can you see how the “I” form and the “they” form are very similar? This happens a lot with irregular verbs in Italian.
Dire - to say, to tell
| Io | dico | I say | Dee-koh |
| Tu | dici | You say | Dee-chee |
| Lui / Lei | dice | He / She says | Dee-cheh |
| Noi | diciamo | We say | Dee-chah-moh |
| Voi | dite | You (plural) say | Dee-teh |
| Loro | dicono | They say | Dee-koh-noh |
Powerful Irregular Italian Verbs: Potere, Volere and Dovere
What do potere, volere and dovere have in common? They work really well together with other verbs, which means you can use them to build sentences and speak in a more nuanced way.
Potere - to be able to
| Io | posso | I can | Pohs-soh |
| Tu | puoi | You can | Pwo-ee |
| Lui / Lei | può | He / She can | Pwo |
| Noi | possiamo | We can | Pohs-see-ah-moh |
| Voi | potete | You (plural) can | Poh-teh-teh |
| Loro | possono | They can | Pohs-soh-noh |
Posso pagare con la carta? - Can I pay by card?
Possiamo prenotare ora? - Can we book now?
Volere - to want
| Io | voglio | I want | Voh-lyoh |
| Tu | vuoi | You want | Vwoy |
| Lui / Lei | vuole | He / She wants | Vwoh-leh |
| Noi | vogliamo | We want | Voh-lyah-moh |
| Voi | volete | You (plural) want | Voh-leh-teh |
| Loro | vogliono | They want | Voh-lyoh-noh |
Voglio visitare il Vaticano - I want to visit the Vatican
Vogliono mangiare la pizza stasera - They want to eat pizza this evening
Dovere - to have to
| Io | devo | I must / have to | Deh-voh |
| Tu | devi | You must / have to | Deh-vee |
| Lui / Lei | deve | He / She must / has to | Deh-veh |
| Noi | dobbiamo | We must / have to | Doh-byah-moh |
| Voi | dovete | You (plural) must / have to | Doh-veh-teh |
| Loro | devono | They must / have to | Deh-voh-noh |
For example:
Dovete andare a piedi - You have to go on foot
Devi scaricare l’app - You have to download the app
Essential –ISCo Verbs
A lot of Italian verbs ending in - ire follow this strange pattern, with - isc in the middle. The good news is once you’ve learnt one, you’ll automatically know the endings for many others in the group.
Capire - To understand
| Io | capisco | I understand | Kah-pees-koh |
| Tu | capisci | You understand | Kah-pee-shee |
| Lui / Lei | capisce | He / she understands | Kah-pee-sheh |
| Noi | capiamo | We understand | Kah-pee-ah-moh |
| Voi | capite | You understand | Kah-pee-teh |
| Loro | capiscono | They understand | Kah-pee-sko-noh |
Preferire - To prefer
| Io | preferisco | I prefer | Preh-feh-rees-koh |
| Tu | preferisci | You prefer | Preh-feh-rees-shee |
| Lui / Lei | preferisce | He / she prefers | Preh-feh-rees-sheh |
| Noi | preferiamo | We prefer | Preh-feh-ree-ah-moh |
| Voi | preferite | You (plural) prefer | Preh-feh-ree-teh |
| Loro | preferiscono | They prefer | Preh-feh-rees-koh-noh |
Finire - To finish
| Io | finisco | I finish | Fee-nees-koh |
| Tu | finisci | You finish | Fee-nees-shee |
| Lui / Lei | finisce | He / she finishes | Fee-nees-sheh |
| Noi | finiamo | We finish | Fee-nee-ah-moh |
| Voi | finite | You (plural) finish | Fee-nee-teh |
| Loro | finiscono | They finish | Fee-nees-koh-noh |
For example:
Quando finisce il tour della città? - When does the tour of the city end?
Preferiamo mangiare in un ristorante tipico - We prefer to eat in a typical restaurant
Capisco un po’ di italiano - I understand a bit of Italian
Irregular Verbs like Venire – to come
| Io | vengo | I come | Ven-goh |
| Tu | vieni | You come | Vyeh-nee |
| Lui / Lei | viene | He / she comes | Vyeh-neh |
| Noi | veniamo | We come | Veh-nyah-moh |
| Voi | venite | You (plural) come | Veh-nee-teh |
| Loro | vengono | They come | Ven-goh-noh |
For example:
Vengo in Italia per la pizza – I come to Italy for the pizza!
Il taxi viene tra 5 minuti – The taxi is coming in 5 minutes
Venire is an irregular verb, but once you’ve learnt this one, you’ll see that there are other verbs a lot like it. So you can easily learn other verbs that follow the same pattern, like tenere and rimanere.
| Tenere - to hold | Rimanere - to remain | |
| Io | tengo | rimango |
| Tu | tieni | rimani |
| Lui / Lei | tiene | rimane |
| Noi | teniamo | rimaniamo |
| Voi | tenete | rimanete |
| Loro | tengono | rimangono |
The most important Italian irregular verbs: 17 you should know: Review
Annoyingly, irregular verbs are some of the most commonly used in Italian. But because they're said so often, you'll have plenty of opportunity to get used to them.
Here are some of the key phrases with the irregular verbs:
Avere:
Hai l’indirizzo dell’hotel? - Do you have the address of the hotel?
Abbiamo i biglietti - We have the tickets
Fare:
Cosa fai? - What are you doing?
Fanno una visita guidata - They’re doing a guided tour
Essere:
Sono americano - I’m American
Dov’è il supermercato? - Where is the supermarket?
Stare:
Come stai? - How are you?
Sto imparando l’italiano - I am learning Italian
Dovere, volere and potere:
Voglio visitare il Vaticano - I want to visit the Vatican
Dovete andare a piedi - You have to go on foot
Posso pagare con la carta? - Can I pay by card?
“ISCo” verbs:
Quando finisce il tour della città? - When does the tour of the city end?
Capisco un po’ di italiano - I understand a bit of Italian
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: The name “irregular verb” sounds kind of scary, like it belongs in a boring grammar book, probably because it does!
K: Most verbs follow a predictable pattern in Italian, like mangiare, which means “to eat”. I eat is: mangio (x2). You eat is mangi (x2) etc. We change the ending in predictable ways. Irregular verbs follow different patterns. They can be a bit annoying to learn, so the key is to approach them with a lot of patience and practice.
M: For this reason we'll repeat them a few times here to help you get familiar with some of the forms so that you’ll be able to start recognising and using them naturally in conversation.
K: We use irregular verbs to talk about stuff we do all the time, but in today’s conversation, Matteo is suspiciously talking about a few things he doesn’t do very often. How many verbs can you hear?
K: Cosa facciamo? Usciamo?
M: Prima faccio la lavatrice
K: Fai la lavatrice?!
M: …pulisco il forno…
K: Pulisci il forno?!
M: E voglio stirare!
K: Matteo…vuoi stare a casa?
M: Sì… ho un appuntamento con i miei amici Nerd
K: I asked Matteo:
M: Cosa facciamo? Usciamo? - What shall we do? Shall we go out?
M: Cosa - what
Facciamo - we do
Usciamo - we go out
K: In Italian asking these questions is a bit easier than English because we just use a question intonation. Usciamo is “we go out”, while shall we go out is:
M:
Usciamo? (x2)
K: Matteo replied:
M: Faccio la lavatrice - I’ll do the washing. Literally:
Faccio - I do
La lavatrice - the washing
K: Now that you’ve heard la lavatrice, you’ve technically learnt two words in Italian. It doesn’t just mean “the washing”, but also means “the washing machine”.
M: La lavatrice - the washing machine
Faccio la lavatrice - I’ll do the washing
K: Finding this hard to believe I said:
M: Fai la lavatrice?! - you’ll do the washing?
Fai - you do
La lavatrice - the washing
K: Can you tell which irregular verb we’re using?
M: It’s fare . And guess what? You’ve also learnt two words for the price of one again, because fare can mean both “to do” and “to make”.
Here’s how it works:
Io faccio - I do
Tu fai - you do
Lui / lei fa - he or she does
Noi facciamo - we do
Voi fate - you plural do
Loro fanno - they do
K: The last one, for “they do”, is probably hardest to pronounce because it has a double consonant. In Italian you have to pronounce both “ns”. This can be quite tricky, but when you say it, imagine that there’s a pause between each one.
M: Fanno x 2
K: In Italian, we can use the present tense to not only talk about what you're doing now, but also the future. So in our conversation, even though we’re talking about what we’ll do soon, we use the present tense throughout.
K: Let’s hear fare again.
How do I say: I do?
M: io faccio
K: You do?
M: Tu fai
K: He or she does?
M: Lui / lei fa
K: We do?
M: Noi facciamo
K: You plural do?
M: Voi fate
K: They do?
M: Loro fanno
K: You’ll notice that when we practice these irregular verbs, we’re including Italian pronouns for 'I' (io), 'you' (tu), and so on.
M: But in Italian, you usually don’t need these words because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. For example, to say “I do”, we normally just say faccio (x2) — no need to say io faccio . Or to say “you do”, we normally just say fai (x2).
K: Then I asked Matteo:
M: Pulisci il forno? - you’ll clean the oven?
Pulisci - you clean
Il forno - the oven
K: The verb pulire is an irregular verb. But there are other verbs that follow a really similar pattern to pulire , so once you learn it, you can easily learn those verbs as well.
M: Like capire - to understand. Or preferire - to prefer. I clean is pulisco. I understand is capisco . I prefer is preferisco . See how they’re similar?
K: So far you’ve heard pul isco - I clean. And pul isci - you clean. We can hear how the end of the verb changes for each person.
M: But let’s change to a verb you’ll use more often. We hope you don’t find yourself discussing all the cleaning you need to do with your Italian friends! So we’ll give preferire (“to prefer”) instead :
Io preferisco - I prefer
Tu preferisci - you prefer
Lui / lei preferisce - he or she prefers
Noi preferiamo - we prefer
Voi preferite - you plural prefer
Loro preferiscono - they prefer
K: Let’s hear those endings again. How would I say I prefer?
M: Io preferisco
K: You prefer?
M: Tu preferisci
K: He or she prefers?
M: Lui / lei preferisce
K: We prefer?
M: Noi preferiamo
K: You plural prefer?
M: Voi preferite
K: They prefer
M: Loro preferiscono
K: Then Matteo said:
M: E voglio stirare - I want to iron
Voglio - I want
Stirare - to iron
K: At this point I knew there was something strange going on. We don’t even have an iron at home. So, I asked:
M: Matteo, vuoi stare a casa? - Matteo? Do you want to stay at home?
Vuoi - You want
Stare - to stay
A casa - at home?
K: Volere, to want is a great verb to know because it pairs easily with another verb right after it. You don’t have to change the second verb at all—it stays the same, no matter who's talking
M: For example, you could say:
Voglio mangiare - I want to eat
Vogliamo mangiare - we want to eat
Mangiare, the second verb, always stays the same. There are other verbs like this, and you can learn more about them on our blog.
K: So to say all of volere , it’s:
Io voglio - I want
Tu vuoi - you want
Lui / Lei vuole - he / she wants
Noi vogliamo - we want
Voi volete - you (plural) want
Loro vogliono - they want
K: Let’s hear that one again. I want is…
M: Io voglio
K: You want
M: Tu vuoi
K: He / she wants
M: Lui / Lei vuole K: We want
M: Noi vogliamo K: You (plural) want
M: Voi volete
K: They want:
M: Loro vogliono
K: And as I suspected, Matteo replied to my question with: M: Sì… ho un appuntamento con i miei amici Nerd - Yes, I have a meetup with my nerdy friends
Sì - yes
Ho - I have
Un appuntamento - a meetup (literally: an appointment)
Con - with
I miei - my
Amici - friends
Nerd - nerd
K: Most evenings, Matteo catches up with his friends online to play World of Warcraft
M: Most evenings! One or two, at most.
K: Matteo’s just used another irregular verb: Avere - to have . And at the start we also used the irregular verb uscire - to go out. You can learn more irregular verbs like this and practice their forms over on our blog.
K: For now, let’s see if you can remember some of the ones you learned today. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come straight away. These verbs are common so you’ll be able to practice them a lot over time.
So, how would I say “I do”?
[...]
M: Faccio x 2
K: And “you do?
[...]
M: Fai x 2
K: What about I prefer?
[...]
M: Preferisco x 2
K: And you prefer?
M: Preferisci x 2
K: And how about “I want”
M: Voglio x2
K: You want?”
[...]
M: Vuoi x 2
K: If you find Italian irregular verbs annoying and fiddly, don’t worry, everyone does! The key is to learn them little by little, and focus on them being used in everyday sentences. Speaking of which, let’s listen to the whole conversation again.
K: Cosa facciamo? Usciamo?
M: Prima faccio la lavatrice …
K: Fai la lavatrice?!
M: ……pulisco il forno…
K: Pulisci il forno?!
M: E voglio stirare!
K: Matteo…vuoi stare a casa?
M: Sì… ho un appuntamento con i miei amici Nerd
K: When I was learning these verbs in Italian, it really helped me to see them written down and review them, many, many (many) times! For this reason, over on our blog you’ll find the most common irregular verbs in some handy tables that you can keep coming back to.
M: You can head over by following the link in the description.
See you next time.
K: Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: The most important Italian irregular verbs
Vocabulary
Faccio una torta = I’m making a cake
Cosa fai? = What are you doing?
Devi scaricare l’app = You have to download the app
Abbiamo i biglietti = We have the tickets
Voglio visitare il Vaticano = I want to visit the Vatican
Posso pagare con carta? = Can I pay with card?
Capisco un po’ d’italiano = I understand a bit of Italian
Ho un appuntamento = I have a meetup (literally: an appointment)
Cosa facciamo? = What shall we do?
Usciamo? = Shall we go out?
Vuoi stare a casa? = Do you want to stay at home?
Flashcards: The most important Italian irregular verbs
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
