A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (to decompose (itself), to glitter), or a state of being (exist, live, soak, stand).
Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (what we usually call subject, object, etc.). Examples:
- Vado in Italia con la mia famiglia » I will go to Italy with my family.
- Il biglietto costa 2200 dollari australiani » The ticket costs 2200 australian
dolars.
- Faccio studiare i ragazzi » I make the boys study.
- Noi studiamo sempre » We always study.
- Vuole anche questo libro » He wants that book, too.
- Le fragole sono dolcissime » Strawberries are very sweet.
- Questa arancia è molto buona » This orange is very good.
- Lei parla piano piano » She speaks very
softly
In Italian, most verbs end in a common pattern, such as -are, -ere, and -ire.
These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations respectively. Examples:
| ARE |
Means |
ERE |
Means |
IRE |
Means |
IRE (*) |
Means |
|
| parlare |
to
speak |
scrivere |
to
write |
dormire |
to
sleep |
finire |
to
finish |
| cantare |
to
sing |
vedere |
to
see |
partire |
to
leave |
colpire |
to
hit |
| lavorare |
to
work |
vendere |
to
sell |
aprire |
to
open |
costruire |
to
build |
| amare |
to
love |
vivere |
to
live |
servire |
to
serve |
sparire |
to
disappear |
The features of the verbs are:
- The Person: (indicates the subject that does the action)
The persons in
Italian are io, tu, lui (masculine), lei (feminine), noi, voi, loro (masculine
and feminine).
- The Manner: (indicates how the action happens)
In Italian there are seven manners or moods with
different forms and functions: indicativo (indicative), congiuntivo
(subjunctive), condizionale (conditional),imperativo (imperative), infinito
(infinitive), gerundio (gerund), participio (participle).
- The Time: (indicates when the action happens)
In Italian there are many different
times: all the seven manners of the verb have different times.The times can be
simple (only one word) or compound (two or more words).
- The Form: (indicates the kind of action)
In Italian the form can be active
transitive, active intransitive, reflexive and passive.
(*) There are few verbs of the -ire conjugation in Italian that have different suffix.
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