Present Tense: -ere Verbs

Level: A1. The second Italian verb group ends in -ere (prendere, scrivere, leggere). In the present tense it shares most endings with the -are verbs you already know — only three forms differ.

The rule

An infinitive is the dictionary form of a verb, like prendere (“to take”). Remove the -ere to find the stem (prend-), then add the ending that matches the subject.

The six present-tense endings for regular -ere verbs are:

• -o (io) — prendo — I take
• -i (tu) — prendi — you take (informal)
• -e (lui / lei) — prende — he / she takes
• -iamo (noi) — prendiamo — we take
• -ete (voi) — prendete — you (all) take
• -ono (loro) — prendono — they take

As with every Italian verb, the ending shows who acts, so the subject pronoun is usually dropped: Prendo il treno is a full sentence — “I take the train.” One present form covers “I take”, “I am taking” and “I do take”.

Forms

The sound of c and g (leggere, conoscere)

The spelling of these verbs never changes, but the sound of c and g does. Before o they are hard; before i or e they are soft:

• leggere → leggo (hard “g” as in “go”) but leggi, legge, leggiamo (soft “g” as in “gem”).
• conoscere → conosco (hard “sk”) but conosci, conosce (soft “sh”).
• vincere → vinco (hard “k”) but vinci, vince (soft “ch”).

How to say it

Italian is read as written; watch these in -ere verbs:

• c / g before o are hard: leggo ≈ “LEG-go”, conosco ≈ “ko-NOS-ko”.
• c / g before i or e are soft: leggi ≈ “LED-jee”, conosci ≈ “ko-NO-shee”.
• Stress the loro form early: prèndono ≈ “PREN-do-no”, never “pren-DO-no”.
• Double consonants are held: leggere ≈ “LED-jeh-reh”, mettere ≈ “MET-teh-reh”.

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ Io scrivere una lettera. → ✅ Scrivo una lettera. Conjugate the verb; do not leave the infinitive.
• ❌ Voi scrivite. → ✅ Voi scrivete. The voi ending for -ere is -ete; -ite belongs to -ire verbs.
• ❌ Lui prendono il treno. → ✅ Lui prende il treno. A singular subject takes -e, not the plural -ono.
• ❌ Loro prendòno (stressed on -o-) → ✅ prèndono. The loro form is stressed early, on the stem.
• ❌ Loro vendano la casa. → ✅ Loro vendono la casa. The present loro ending is -ono; -ano here would be another mood.

A short conversation

— Cosa leggi di bello? — Leggo un romanzo giallo. Prendi un caffè con me? — Volentieri. Dove mettiamo le borse? — Le mettiamo qui. Poi prendiamo il treno delle otto.

Usage notes

• io, tu and noi are shared. -o, -i, -iamo are the same in all three groups, so most of -ere is already familiar from -are.
• The present covers the near future: Domani prendo il treno (“Tomorrow I’ll take the train”) is normal with a time word.
• Stress in the infinitive is unpredictable. Some -ere verbs stress the stem (prèndere, scrìvere, lèggere), others the ending (vedére, avére). The loro form always echoes the stem.
• Many -ere verbs are irregular — essere, avere, potere, volere, dovere, sapere, bere. Learn those one by one; the rule here is for the regular ones.

Compared with -are and -ire verbs

Italian has three verb groups. The present endings differ only in lui/lei, voi and loro:

• -are (parlare): parlo, parli, parla, parliamo, parlate, parlano.
• -ere (prendere): prendo, prendi, prende, prendiamo, prendete, prendono.
• -ire (dormire): dormo, dormi, dorme, dormiamo, dormite, dormono.

So -ere and -ire share lui/lei (-e) and loro (-ono); they split only at voi (-ete vs -ite). Review the first group in Present tense: -are verbs, and the key irregulars in The Verb Essere (to be) and The Verb Avere (to have).

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Compare the first group: Present tense: -are verbs
• Practise reading these verbs: Italian Reading Practice: Intermediate (B1)
• New here? Start with Start Learning Italian Here