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Unlike English, which has basic verb conjugations that make it almost impossible to get the subject of a sentence wrong, Italian is a fickle language. As we will see, getting one conjugation wrong can completely change the subject of a sentence<\/strong>. This is why it is very, very important to have a consistent Italian conjugation practice.<\/p>\n In this article, I will give you some tips on how to approach Italian verbs and some valuable resources that can help you keep your skills fresh.<\/p>\n Let’s start with the fundamentals: the Italian verb system.<\/p>\n To be successful in your Italian conjugation practice, you first need to know the basics of how verbs work in Italian. An Italian infinitive verb is made up of:<\/p>\n Examples of verbs are am-are<\/strong> (to love), ved-ere<\/strong> (to see), and dorm-ire<\/strong> (to sleep).<\/p>\n The root of the verb is the action itself.<\/p>\n The verb ending carries all the other information:<\/p>\n For example, the ending -iamo<\/strong> is used with the subject noi<\/strong> (we), so its number is plural. It’s used in the Italian present simple tense, which falls under the indicative mood.<\/p>\n But when we say “iamo<\/em>“\u2026 we’re not really conveying any information about what action we’re doing. This suffix alone doesn’t make sense. We need a verb root! For example, we can say:<\/p>\n The same thing applies to all other endings like -avo\/evo<\/strong>, which are used in the first-person singular (io <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0I) in the imperfect tense of the indicative mood:<\/p>\n Endings in –are, -ere<\/strong> and -ire<\/strong> are the endings for the infinitive mood<\/strong>, which is the form you’ll find in dictionaries.<\/p>\n Moods are tense categories, and for your Italian conjugation practice you should know which mood is ideal to use in a sentence.<\/p>\n There are seven verb moods in Italian<\/strong>, each one giving a different nuance to a sentence, just like English moods:<\/p>\n In your Italian conjugation practice, you should be aware of an important distinction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The first four moods (indicativo, condizionale, congiuntivo<\/em> and imperativo<\/em>) convey all the information you need: subject, tense, and number.<\/p>\n The last three moods (infinitivo, participio passato<\/em> and gerundio<\/em>) give no information, so they need some context or they are used in conjunction with other verbs to form compound tenses. For example, past participles are used in the passato prossimo<\/em> tense, which is roughly equivalent to the English present perfect tense.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/p>\n Prendere, preso<\/strong>, and prendendo<\/strong> are generic verb forms like to take, taken<\/em>, and taking<\/em>. There’s no subject, no number, no tense.<\/p>\n There are 18 verb tenses in Italian<\/strong> (yes, eighteen!), split into three different “times”: present, past, and future.<\/p>\n If you are a beginner in Italian conjugation practice, you want to focus on the most common tenses, which are:<\/p>\n If you are an intermediate learner, these tenses should be your priority for Italian conjugation practice:<\/p>\n Advanced learners can tackle:<\/p>\n Of all the verbs, the conjugations of essere<\/strong> (to be) and avere<\/strong> (to have) are the most important to know because they are used as helper verbs in compound tenses.<\/p>\n Studying irregular verbs<\/strong> should also be an important part of your Italian conjugation practice. Very common verbs like bere<\/strong> (to drink), fare<\/strong> (to do), and venire<\/strong> (to come) are irregular. They are used very often!<\/p>\n Like English, the Italian verb system has two voices:<\/p>\n The passive voice is made up of:<\/p>\n Examples:<\/p>\n The correct use of verbs is essential to get your message across.<\/strong> It takes a letter to change the meaning of a sentence altogether:<\/p>\n Also, if you don’t know how to conjugate verbs in Italian, locals will be able to tell right away that Italian is not your first language, even if you have a flawless accent.<\/p>\n Since the information about the subject pronoun is carried by the suffix, we don’t really use subject pronouns<\/strong> in the sentence at all. They sound redundant<\/strong> and are only used when you need to emphasize who the subject is, as in:<\/p>\n Phew, enough of our boring theory! Let’s take a look at some of the best resources out there for your Italian conjugation practice.<\/p>\n (And if you are one of those who do<\/em> love theory, here is a comprehensive guide on the Italian verb tenses and moods<\/strong><\/a>!)<\/p>\n Below is a list of valuable resources you can use in your Italian conjugation practice.<\/p>\n schoLINGUA<\/strong><\/a>‘s conjugation trainer features a database with thousands of Italian verbs<\/strong> for you to practice.<\/p>\n If you feel you are up to the challenge, you can click “random verbs!” on the page to add 3 or more random verbs to practice. I especially like the memory game<\/strong>: it’s a matching game, and each time you click on a box to reveal the information behind it, an audio track plays with the pronunciation of that word.<\/p>\n I especially like schoLINGUA’s trainer because you can easily add accented letters<\/strong> thanks to the keyboard icon you find on the page. This is very useful if you don’t know how to type special characters on a non-IT keyboard!<\/p>\n Clozemaster<\/strong><\/a> allows you to do cloze exercises<\/strong> on thousands of Italian sentences, and sentences are key in Italian conjugation practice.<\/p>\n We have seen that conjugation endings are useless without the context of an action, a “root”.<\/p>\n Contextual learning<\/strong> and spaced repetition<\/strong> are the strengths of Clozemaster. Spaced repetition is especially useful for Italian verbs, because with so many verb endings, you can save time by learning only the moods and tenses you’re struggling with<\/strong>, and you can brush up on conjugations you already know. In addition, Clozemaster is very fun to use and has a very attractive pixel design.<\/p>\n With the free version, you’re limited to the number of sentences you can practice per day, but if you subscribe to the Pro version<\/strong>, you can unlock an unlimited number of sentences per day and get access to its advanced features. If recurring payments aren’t your thing, there’s also a lifetime plan.<\/p>\n This is another great addition to your Italian conjugation practice. Memrise<\/strong><\/a> is a language-learning platform that focuses on matching flashcards<\/strong>. It is a bit weak when it comes to its language courses (I find them too scattered), but it has hundreds of community courses, a spaced-repetition algorithm<\/strong>, and it allows you to create your very own courses for your Italian conjugation practice completely free of charge.<\/p>\n Memrise allows you to select special characters from a box, but few courses offer this option because it has to be enabled by the course creators on a per-course level.<\/p>\n For example, I created a temporary course with 5 levels and filled the first level with the present tense conjugation of essere<\/em>.<\/p>\n Don’t be fooled by its bare-bones design, Coniugazione.it<\/strong><\/a> has a ridiculously large database of Italian verb conjugations<\/strong> that you can consult anytime, anywhere. Just type in the verb of your choice, let’s say you want to know how to conjugate sapere<\/em><\/a> (to know), and hit enter!<\/p>\n If you’re on the go, there’s also a cheap and handy app for iOS devices.<\/p>\n verbi-italiani.info<\/strong><\/a> is very similar to the schoLINGUA’s trainer, so it’s a great resource for Italian conjugation practice. The exercises are divided into beginner and advanced levels: if you are a beginner, you can choose a specific verb to practice, otherwise you can practice on random verbs.<\/p>\n verbi-italiani.info’s trainer also allows you to select accented letters thanks to the green character selection box on the practice page.<\/p>\n Yet another resource for Italian conjugation practice, conjugate.in<\/strong><\/a> is another online verb trainer, but it’s very user-friendly and allows you to practice on a number of random verbs. On the settings page<\/a>, you can configure the exercises based on your language level and which tenses you want to practice, which is very convenient!<\/p>\n<\/a>Basics of the Italian verb system<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/a>The Italian verb moods<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/strong> I have to take the keys. (devo<\/em> + infinitive verb)<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> I have taken the keys. (ho<\/em> + past participle)<\/li>\n
\nI am taking the keys. (sto<\/em> + gerund)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>The Italian verb tenses<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Let’s not forget about the voice<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/strong> Luca eats the apple. The apple is eaten by Luca.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> Paolo read the book. The book was read by Paolo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>Why is Italian conjugation practice so important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/strong>S\/he<\/em> often went fishing.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong>I<\/em> often went fishing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n<\/strong>You<\/em> will wash the dishes, I<\/em> will clear the table.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>The best resources for effective Italian conjugation practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>schoLINGUA<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Clozemaster<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Memrise<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/word-image.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>Coniugazione.it<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>verbi-italiani.info<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>conjugate.in<\/strong><\/h3>\n