Verbi: there are three types of regular verbs in italian, defined by their endings: -are, -ere, and -ire.

-are. Take the infinitive: example - parlare (to speak).

The stem is parl- and the ending is -are

Take the stem, and change the endings for each person, in this pattern:

So, for example, the regular -are verb parlare (to speak) is conjugated:

click on "play triangle">

The regular -are verb aspettare (to wait for) is conjugated:

click on "play triangle">

-Verbi: "-ere" verbs.

For regular -ere verbs, take the stem, and change the endings for each person, in this pattern:

-o___________-iamo

-i___________-ete

-e__________-ono

so, for example, leggere is conjugated:click on "play triangle">

leggo _________leggiamo

leggi__________ leggete

legge__________leggono

-Verbi: "-ire" verbs. The regular -ire verbs are conjugated two different ways:

partire (to depart)

parto, parti, parte. partiamo, partite, partono.

finire (to finish)

finisco, finisci, finisce. finiamo, finite, finiscono.

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The tense that we are learning is the present indicative. For all verbs in Italian, the present indicative is used extensively, and can be translated into English in several ways.

Let's take one verb as an example:

The phrase in English, "I am buying..." is expressed in Italian by just one word: "Compro..."

You can get into trouble if you try to translate word by word from English into Italian. Sometimes just one Italian word takes the place of several words in English.

The word "Compro..." can mean "I am buying..." or "I buy..." or "I will buy" or "I do buy..." depending on the context.

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- Spelling changes.

-are verbs ending in -care or -gare change their spelling to keep the sound of the g or c consistent for each person.

-ere verbs do not do this: verbs ending in -gere or -scere are pronounced with a hard g or c sound in the io and loro forms.
conoscere - to know something (as in: to be familiar with something)

conosco _________conosciamo

conosci__________conoscete

conosce__________conoscono

Here are a few -are verbs which have spelling changes to preserve the sound of the stem. Cercare (to look for), dimenticare (to forget), pagare (to pay for), mangiare (to eat)....

Cerco, cerchi, cerca. Cerchiamo, cercate, cercano

Dimentico, dimentichi, dimentica. Dimentichiamo, dimenticate, dimenticano

Pago, paghi, paga. Paghiamo, pagate, pagano.

Mangio, mangi, mangia. Mangiamo, mangiate, mangiano.

"Mi piace" when one thing is pleasing to you (to say you like something)

"Mi piacciono" when more than one thing is pleasing to you. (literally, "To me are pleasing...")

"Non mi piace" when one thing displeases you (to say you don't like something)

"Mi piace sciare" - I like to ski. "To ski" is the subject. "Me" is the indirect object of the verb "piacere". (literally, "To me is pleasing to ski")

"Mi piacciono la festa e la musica." The party and the music are pleasing to me. (I like the party and the music.) (literally, "To me are pleasing the party and the music.") The verb is plural because the subject is plural: "The party and the music" is the subject. "Me" is the indirect object of "piacere".

You say "Piacere" when you meet someone.

"Mi dispiace" when you're sorry

- "Vorrei, vorrebbe... ...del vino, della birra." We practiced some sentences from our CDs, unit 8.

6. Interrogatives. Translate these sentences into English.
look up any words you don't know: http://www.WordReference.com/iten/