Regular -IRE Conjugation

The -IRE verb group is the third and smallest family of Italian verbs. However, it has an important twist: -IRE verbs split into two sub-groups — those that conjugate with standard endings and those that insert -isc- between the stem and the ending. This lesson covers the standard -IRE pattern; the next lesson focuses on the -ISC pattern.

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The Standard -IRE Present Tense Endings

Subject Pronoun	Ending	Example with dormire	Translation
io	-o	dormo	I sleep
tu	-i	dormi	you sleep
lui / lei / Lei	-e	dorme	he/she sleeps
noi	-iamo	dormiamo	we sleep
voi	-ite	dormite	you all sleep
loro	-ono	dormono	they sleep

Tip: Compare -IRE with -ERE: the only difference is in the voi form — -IRE uses -ite where -ERE uses -ete. All other endings are identical.

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Comparing All Three Verb Groups

Person	-ARE	-ERE	-IRE
io	-o	-o	-o
tu	-i	-i	-i
lui/lei	-a	-e	-e
noi	-iamo	-iamo	-iamo
voi	-ate	-ete	-ite
loro	-ano	-ono	-ono

Key observations:

• io and noi are the same across all three groups
• tu is the same across all three groups
• lui/lei and loro: -ARE differs, but -ERE and -IRE are identical
• voi is unique for each group: -ate, -ete, -ite

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Common Standard -IRE Verbs

These verbs follow the standard pattern (no -isc-):

Infinitive	English	Example Sentence
dormire	to sleep	Dormo otto ore ogni notte.
partire	to leave / depart	Partiamo domani mattina.
sentire	to hear / to feel	Senti questa musica?
aprire	to open	Apro la finestra.
seguire	to follow	Seguiamo le indicazioni.
offrire	to offer	Offre sempre il caffè.
servire	to serve	Servono la cena alle otto.
coprire	to cover	Coprite il tavolo con la tovaglia.
scoprire	to discover	Scopro qualcosa di nuovo ogni giorno.
soffrire	to suffer	Soffre di mal di testa.

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Full Conjugation Tables

dormire (to sleep)

	Singular	Plural
1st person	io dormo	noi dormiamo
2nd person	tu dormi	voi dormite
3rd person	lui/lei dorme	loro dormono

partire (to leave)

	Singular	Plural
1st person	io parto	noi partiamo
2nd person	tu parti	voi partite
3rd person	lui/lei parte	loro partono

sentire (to hear / to feel)