The present

Formation

Like venire (vengo, vengono), a few verbs add a g to the stem in the first person singular and the third person plural; in the other persons, the stem is that of the infinitive. They are rimanere (“to stay”), tenere (“to hold, to keep”) and its compounds such as ottenere (“to obtain”), and salire (“to go up, to get on”). Spegnere (“to switch off”) is written with ng in the same persons: spengo, spengono. Tenere also has ie with tu and lui: tieni, tiene. Verbs in -gliere, such as scegliere (“to choose”), togliere (“to take off”) and accogliere (“to welcome”), follow the same pattern: the group gli becomes lg before -o: scelgo, scelgono.

Use

In rimango, tengo and scelgo, the g is hard, as in “go”; in scegli and scegliamo, the group gli is pronounced as in figlio, roughly like the “lli” of “million”. Salire is used for getting on a vehicle or going up stairs: salire sul treno, salire le scale.

Formation

Sapere is irregular: so, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, sanno. Conoscere is regular, but the group sc of its stem changes its sound: it is pronounced like “sk” before o (conosco, conoscono) and like the “sh” of “ship” before i and e (conosci, conosce).

Use

Sapere is used for a piece of information, a fact one has learnt: So dove abita. It also introduces an indirect question: Non so se viene. Followed by an infinitive, it expresses a skill one has learnt, where English says “can”: So nuotare (“I can swim”), Sai cucinare? In answers, “I know” is usually lo so and “I don’t know” non lo so, with the pronoun lo. Conoscere is used for a person, a place or a thing known from experience: Conosci Marco?, Conosco bene Roma. In the passato prossimo, conoscere usually means “to meet (for the first time)”: Ho conosciuto Elena a una festa.

Formation

The gerund (gerundio) is formed from the stem of the infinitive: verbs in -are take -ando (parlando, mangiando), verbs in -ere and -ire take -endo (prendendo, dormendo, finendo). It does not change. The gerund of fare, dire and bere is formed from a longer stem: facendo, dicendo, bevendo. The progressive is formed with the present of stare (sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno) followed by the gerund: sto parlando. The reflexive pronoun is placed before stare: mi sto preparando.

Use

Stare + gerund is used for an action going on at the moment of speaking: Sto cucinando, ti chiamo dopo. The simple present is also correct for an action in progress (Che fai? — Cucino.), but the construction with stare stresses that the action is under way. For a habit or a general fact, only the simple present is used: La sera leggo. At A2, the construction is used in the present.

Formation

Volerci is used in the third person and agrees with what is needed: ci vuole with a singular noun, ci vogliono with a plural noun. Metterci is conjugated in every person, with ci before the verb: ci metto, ci metti, ci mette, ci mettiamo, ci mettete, ci mettono. Bisogna does not change and is followed by an infinitive.

Use

Ci vuole and ci vogliono give the time or the thing needed, without saying who acts: Ci vuole un'ora per arrivare. Metterci gives the time a person takes to do something; the person is the subject: Quanto ci metti? Bisogna expresses a general necessity, before an infinitive: Bisogna partire presto.