Third conjugation in Italian (verbs ending in -ire)
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Hide- 1.What is the third conjugation of regular verbs (-ire verbs)
- 1.1.Characteristics of the third conjugation
- 1.1.1.Verbs with the participio presente in -ente and -iente
- 1.1.2.Verbs that add -isc in their conjugation
- 1.1.3.Verbs that add an -i in their conjugation
- 2.How to conjugate regular -ire verbs in Italian?
- 2.1.Indicativo
- 2.2.Congiuntivo
- 2.3.Condizionale
- 2.4.Imperativo
- 2.5.Infinito
- 2.6.Participio
- 2.7.Gerundio
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs that belong to the third conjugation
- 3.2.Drag the correct -ire verb to complete the sentences
What is the third conjugation of regular verbs (-ire verbs)
In Italian all verbs that belong to the third conjugation end in -ire.
Some regular verbs in Italian that belong to this conjugation are dormire (to sleep), sentire (to feel), partire (to leave), mentire (to lie), vestire (to wear), inseguire (to chase).
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Characteristics of the third conjugation
Despite being regular verbs, some verbs of the third conjugation have peculiarities.
Here are the main peculiarities:
Verbs with the participio presente in -ente and -iente
Some verbs of the third conjugation form the participio presente (present participle) in two ways: with the ending -ente or with the ending -iente.
Examples: dorm-ente and dorm-iente
Other verbs only present the form in -iente.
Examples: obbed-iente, nutr-iente
Here is a chart with some forms of the participio presente:
| Infinito | Participio presente |
|---|---|
| Capire (to understand) | capente |
| Consentire (to permit/to allow) | consenziente |
| Nutrire (to feed) | nutriente |
| Patire (to suffer) | paziente |
| Sentire (to feel) | senziente |
| Ubbidire/obbedire (to obey) | ubbidiente/obbediente |
| Venire (to come) | veniente |
Verbs that add -isc in their conjugation
In some cases many verbs of the third conjugation such as capire (to understand), finire (to finish), sparire (to disappear), obbedire (to obey), percepire (to perceive) add isc between the root and the ending.
This happens for:
1. the 1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural of the presente indicativo and congiuntivo presente;
2. the 2nd, 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural of the imperativo presente
Examples:
| Indicativo presente | Congiuntivo presente | Imperativo presente |
|---|---|---|
| Io capisco | Che io capisca | / |
| Tu capisci | Che tu capisca | Capisci |
| Egli/Ella capisce | Che egli/ella capisca | Capisca |
| Noi capiamo | Che noi capiamo | Capiamo |
| Voi capite | Che voi capiate | Capite |
| Essi/Esse capiscono | Che essi/esse capiscano | Capiscano |
Some verbs such as applaudire (to clap), mentire (to lie), nutrire (to feed), partire (to divide) con have both forms: with or without isc.
Examples: io applaudo, io applaudisco
Verbs that add an -i in their conjugation
The verb cucire (to sew) is conjugated by adding an i between the root and the endings that begin with a and o.
Examples: io cuc-i-o (I sew), noi cuc-i-amo (we sew).
How to conjugate regular -ire verbs in Italian?
Here is the conjugation for regular verbs of the third conjugation.
Example servire (to serve)
Indicativo
| Presente | Passato prossimo | Imperfetto | Trapassato prossimo | Passato remoto | Trapassato remoto | Futuro semplice | Futuro anteriore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io | servo | ho servito | servivo | avevo servito | servii | ebbi servito | servirò | avrò servito |
| Tu | servi | hai servito | servivi | avevi servito | servisti | avesti servito | servirai | avrai servito |
| Egli/Ella | serve | ha servito | serviva | aveva servito | servì | ebbe servito | servirà | avrà servito |
| Noi | serviamo | abbiamo servito | servivamo | avevamo servito | servimmo | avemmo servito | serviremo | avremo servito |
| Voi | servite | avete servito | servivate | avevate servito | serviste | aveste servito | servirete | avrete servito |
| Essi/Esse | servono | hanno servito | servivano | avevano servito | servirono | ebbero servito | serviranno | avranno servito |
Congiuntivo
| Presente | Passato | Imperfetto | Trapassato | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Che) io | serva | abbia servito | servissi | avessi servito |
| (Che) tu | serva | abbia servito | servissi | avessi servito |
| (Che) egli/ella | serva | abbia servito | servisse | avesse servito |
| (Che) noi | serviamo | abbiamo servito | servissimo | avessimo servito |
| (Che) voi | serviate | abbiate servito | serviste | aveste servito |
| (Che) essi/esse | servano | abbiano servito | servissero | avessero servito |
Condizionale
| Presente | Passato | |
|---|---|---|
| Io | servirei | avrei servito |
| Tu | serviresti | avresti servito |
| Egli/Ella | servirebbe | avrebbe servito |
| Noi | serviremmo | avremmo servito |
| Voi | servireste | avreste servito |
| Essi/Esse | servirebbero | avrebbero servito |
Imperativo
| Presente | |
|---|---|
| Io | / |
| Tu | servi |
| Egli/Ella | serva |
| Noi | serviamo |
| Voi | servite |
| Essi/Esse | servano |
Infinito
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| servire | avere servito |
Participio
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| servente | servito |
Gerundio
| Presente | Passato |
|---|---|
| servendo | avendo servito |
Exercises
- Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs that belong to the third conjugation
- Drag the correct -ire verb to complete the sentences
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs that belong to the third conjugation
Drag the correct -ire verb to complete the sentences
Exercises
- Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs that belong to the third conjugation
- Drag the correct -ire verb to complete the sentences