A list of common Italian verbs can be very useful if you are learning Italian, as they are essential in order to formulate sentences and express yourself.
Italian verbs can be divided into three groups, depending on the last syllable of the infinitive verb ‘-are‘, ‘-ere‘ or ‘-ire‘ and can be regular or irregular.The list below will help you to memorise some of the most commonly used Italian verbs, but if you would also like to put them into practice with a native Italian tutor’s help, you can do so very easily through one of our Italian courses.
BASIC ITALIAN VERBS: ESSERE, AVERE & FARE
ESSERE & AVERE → Two very important verbs that all Italian learners need to know are ESSERE (= ‘to be’) and AVERE (= ‘to have’) which are very common because they are also used as auxiliary verbs in perfect tenses. To discover more about these two verbs, read our post about the Italian verbs essere and avere.
FARE → Another basic Italian verb is FARE, which is an irregular verb and can be translated into English in many different ways, for example:
- fare colazione = to have breakfast
- fare una domanda= to ask a question
- fare una foto = to take a picture
- fare una passeggiata = to have a walk
- fare la spesa = to do the shopping
OTHER COMMON ITALIAN VERBS:
You can find other important verbs with their English translation in the list of common Italian verbs below. As you can see, many verbs are related to actions of daily life. If you want to know how to conjugate them, you can easily do that here.
- andare = to go
- aprire = to open
- arrivare = to arrive
- ascoltare = to listen
- bere = to drink
- capire = to understand
- chiedere = to ask
- cominciare = to start
- comprare = to buy
- conoscere = to know (sb/smth)
- correre = to run
- credere = to believe
- cucinare = to cook
- dare = to give
- dire = to say
- dormire = to sleep
- dovere = must (modal verb)
- entrare = to enter
- finire = to finish
- imparare = to learn
- iniziare = to start
- invitare = to invite
- finire = to finish
- lavorare = to work
- lavare = to wash
- leggere = to read
- mangiare = to eat
- morire = to die
- nascere = to be born
- pagare = to pay
- parlare = to speak
- partire = to leave
- pensare = to think
- potere = to be able/can (modal verb)
- sapere = to know (information)
- scrivere = to write
- studiare = to study
- tornare = to come back
- uscire = to go out
- vedere = to see
- venire = to come
- vivere = to live
Now discover how to conjugate the Italian verbs ending in -are.
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