Regular -ERE Verbs in Italian

In Brief

To form the present tense of a regular Italian verb ending in -ere, remove -ere and add -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono: scrivere → scrivo, scrivi, scrive, scriviamo, scrivete, scrivono. The ending normally makes the subject clear, so Italian often says Scrivo rather than Io scrivo for “I write.”

Overview

Verbs are words for actions, events, or states, such as “write,” “happen,” and “live.” Their infinitive (the basic dictionary form, corresponding to English “to write”) ends in -ere for the verbs in this group: scrivere (to write), leggere (to read), and vivere (to live). This is traditionally called the second conjugation, meaning the second main family of Italian verbs.

At A1, the essential skill is forming the present indicative—the ordinary present tense used for facts, habits, and actions happening now. English often needs a subject and may distinguish “I write” from “I am writing.” Italian usually uses one present form for both ideas and can omit the subject pronoun: Leggo ogni sera means “I read every evening,” while Leggo il messaggio adesso means “I’m reading the message now.” Context supplies the difference.

The pattern is compact, but it is worth learning as a complete six-form set. The endings tell you who performs the action, including a distinction English does not show in the word “you”: tu addresses one person informally, while voi addresses two or more people. Not every verb whose infinitive ends in -ere is regular, so this article first teaches the dependable beginner pattern and then identifies important limits.

How It Works

The regular present-tense pattern

Take the infinitive, remove -ere, and attach the ending for the subject. The part left after removing the infinitive ending is the stem (the stable core carrying the verb’s main meaning).

scrivere → scriv- + present ending

Person	Subject pronoun	Ending	scrivere	English
First-person singular	io	-o	scrivo	I write / I am writing
Second-person singular	tu	-i	scrivi	you write / you are writing
Third-person singular	lui, lei, Lei	-e	scrive	he/she writes; you write (formal)
First-person plural	noi	-iamo	scriviamo	we write / we are writing
Second-person plural	voi	-ete	scrivete	you all write / are writing
Third-person plural	loro	-ono	scrivono	they write / are writing

The formula is therefore:

Subject	Formula	Example with vivere
io	stem + -o	vivo
tu	stem + -i	vivi
lui/lei/Lei	stem + -e	vive
noi	stem + -iamo	viviamo
voi	stem + -ete	vivete
loro	stem + -ono	vivono

More complete model verbs

These common verbs follow the same endings. A doubled consonant already present in the stem remains there: removing -ere from leggere gives legg-, so the forms are leggo and leggi, not lego and legi.

Person	leggere (to read)	prendere (to take)	vedere (to see)
io	leggo	prendo	vedo
tu	leggi	prendi	vedi
lui/lei/Lei	legge	prende	vede
noi	leggiamo	prendiamo	vediamo
voi	leggete	prendete	vedete
loro	leggono	prendono	vedono

Matching the form to the subject

The subject is the person or thing doing the action. It need not be a pronoun. A singular noun takes a singular form, and a plural noun takes a plural form:

• Marco prende un caffè. — Marco has a coffee.
• Marco e Sara prendono un caffè. — Marco and Sara have a coffee.
• Il treno parte? — Is the train leaving? (partire belongs to another verb group, but subject agreement works in the same way.)

When two singular subjects are joined by e (and), they normally require a plural verb: Anna e Luca vivono a Torino.

Italian commonly leaves out io, tu, noi, and the other subject pronouns because endings such as -iamo and -ete already identify the subject. Use a pronoun when it adds contrast or clarity: Io leggo, ma lui scrive (“I read, but he writes”).

Statements, questions, and negatives

Unlike English, Italian does not add an auxiliary like “do” to make a present-tense question. Intonation in speech and a question mark in writing may be all that changes:

• Leggi il giornale. — You read the newspaper.
• Leggi il giornale? — Do you read the newspaper?

To make a negative, put non immediately before the conjugated verb:

• Non vedo il numero. — I don’t see the number.
• Non prendiamo l’autobus. — We aren’t taking the bus.

What the Italian present can mean

The same present form covers several uses that English expresses differently.

Use	Italian	Natural English
Habit	Scrivo ogni mattina.	I write every morning.
Action now	Scrivo un’e-mail.	I’m writing an email.
General fact	Elena vive in Italia.	Elena lives in Italy.
Near scheduled event	Il corso riprende lunedì.	The course resumes on Monday.

Do not choose a different ending for “is writing.” The subject—not the English tense wording—determines the Italian ending.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Scrivo una lettera.	I’m writing a letter.	io form; the pronoun is omitted.
Leggi il giornale?	Do you read the newspaper?	Informal singular question; no equivalent of English “do.”
Marta vive vicino alla stazione.	Marta lives near the station.	A singular named subject takes -e.
Prendiamo il treno delle otto.	We’re taking the eight o’clock train.	noi form in a near-future plan.
Voi vedete bene da qui?	Can you all see well from here?	voi explicitly clarifies plural “you.”
I miei amici leggono molto.	My friends read a lot.	A plural noun subject takes -ono.
Non vedo le chiavi.	I can’t see the keys.	non comes before the verb.
Lei scrive spesso ai suoi genitori.	She often writes to her parents.	A habitual action.
Signora, prende un caffè?	Would you like a coffee, ma’am?	Polite singular address uses the third-person form.
Viviamo in Italia.	We live in Italy.	-iamo clearly identifies “we.”
Paolo e Giulia prendono il treno.	Paolo and Giulia take the train.	Two people require the plural form.
Io leggo il romanzo, ma tu leggi il giornale.	I’m reading the novel, but you’re reading the newspaper.	Pronouns create a contrast.
Il negozio vende anche libri.	The shop also sells books.	vendere follows the regular pattern.
Credete a questa storia?	Do you believe this story?	voi form of credere.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the infinitive ending

• Wrong: Io scrivere una lettera.
• Right: Io scrivo una lettera.
• Why: A finite verb (a verb shaped for a particular subject) needs a person ending. Remove -ere before adding -o.

Using an -ARE ending

• Wrong: Loro vivano a Roma.
• Right: Loro vivono a Roma.
• Why: Regular -ere verbs use -ono for loro. The ending -ano belongs to regular -are verbs in the present indicative.

Dropping part of a doubled-consonant stem

• Wrong: Tu legi il giornale.
• Right: Tu leggi il giornale.
• Why: The stem of leggere is legg-. Keep both g’s, then add -i.

Treating singular “you” and plural “you” alike

• Wrong: Voi prendi il treno?
• Right: Voi prendete il treno?
• Why: English “you” hides number, but Italian does not. Use -i with informal singular tu and -ete with plural voi.

Adding an English-style question helper

• Wrong: Fai leggere il giornale? when you mean “Do you read the newspaper?”
• Right: Leggi il giornale?
• Why: Italian does not use a counterpart of English “do” merely to form a question. Fare leggere has a different, more advanced meaning: “to make/let someone read.”

Assuming every -ERE verb is regular

• Wrong: Io pot-o for “I can.”
• Right: Io posso.
• Why: The infinitive ending identifies a verb family, but it does not guarantee a regular stem. Very common verbs such as essere, avere, potere, dovere, and volere have irregular present forms and must be learned separately.

Usage Notes

Pronouns are optional, endings are not

In everyday Italian, Scrivo, prendiamo, and vivono usually sound complete without io, noi, or loro. English speakers may overuse pronouns because English normally requires them. This is not grammatically wrong, but repeated unnecessary pronouns can sound heavy. Keep one when correcting a misunderstanding, contrasting people, or shifting focus: No, io prendo il bus; loro prendono il treno.

Formal address uses a third-person form

Polite singular Lei takes the same verb form as lui and lei: Lei vede, Lei prende, Lei scrive. The capital letter is common when making the polite meaning explicit, though lowercase lei also appears in modern writing. Context distinguishes “you” from “she.” In conversation, titles can make the intended address clear: Professoressa, prende il treno?

Pronunciation and stress

In the regular present forms, the endings -iamo and -ete are stressed: scriviàmo, scrivéte. In forms such as scrivo, scrivi, scrive, and scrivono, stress normally falls within the stem. Written Italian usually does not mark this stress with an accent.

Infinitives in -ere do not all have identical stress. Many common verbs have stress on the stem, as in scrìvere, lèggere, and prèndere; others have stress on the ending, as in vedére. This pronunciation difference does not change the six present endings, but it is best learned by listening rather than guessed from spelling.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they prevent the beginner rule from becoming an overgeneralization.

Regular now does not mean regular in every tense

A verb may follow the ordinary present pattern yet have an irregular past participle (a form used with an auxiliary to build compound tenses). For example, scrivere has regular present forms but the participle scritto; leggere has letto, prendere has preso, and vedere commonly has visto. You will meet these when studying the passato prossimo. Learn each tense on its own terms rather than trying to derive every form from the present.

Some apparent stem changes follow spelling or sound rules

Many -ere verbs are genuinely irregular in the present. Compare regular leggo, leggi, legge—whose gg is already part of the stem—with scegliere, which has forms such as scelgo and scegli. Verbs like piacere (piaccio, piaci, piace) also require special attention. The regular ending may still be visible, but the stem is not fully predictable from the simple rule taught above.

The present can refer to a planned future

Italian often uses the present for a settled or scheduled future event when a time expression makes the timing clear: Domani prendiamo il treno (“We’re taking the train tomorrow”). This resembles English use of the present progressive for arrangements, but Italian does not need a separate progressive form here.

The progressive exists, but it is narrower than in English

Italian can emphasize an action in progress with stare + gerund (an -ando or -endo verb form): Sto scrivendo means “I’m in the middle of writing.” However, ordinary Scrivo adesso can also mean “I’m writing now.” English speakers should not automatically replace every English “am/is/are doing” with stare + gerund.

Object pronouns attach differently from subject pronouns

In Lo vedo (“I see him/it”), lo is an object pronoun—it receives the action—and it comes before the conjugated verb. This does not alter the -ere ending. More combinations appear at later levels, but the person ending still agrees with the subject: Noi lo vediamo (“We see him/it”).

Practice Tips

1. Build six-form ladders. Choose five useful regular verbs—such as scrivere, leggere, vivere, prendere, and vendere—and say all six forms aloud in the same order. Highlight the recurring endings rather than memorizing each line as an unrelated word.
2. Turn one sentence into six. Start with Io leggo il giornale and replace both subject and verb: Tu leggi…; Marta legge…; noi leggiamo…; voi leggete…; loro leggono…. This trains agreement between the subject and the verb.
3. Practice meaning through context. Write pairs such as Leggo ogni sera and Leggo il messaggio adesso. Translate them naturally as “I read” and “I’m reading,” while noticing that Italian uses the same form. Then make each sentence negative and turn it into a question.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — review io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, and loro before matching them to verb endings.