The 20 Most Common Italian Verbs and How to Use Them

Italian verbs indicate the action in a sentence—eating, jumping, talking, and so on. Knowing the most common verbs in Italian will make it much easier to communicate.

Today, we’re going to show you the top 20 Italian verbs you should learn first, plus all of their present tense conjugations and an example sentence. These verbs are some of the most common words you’ll hear over and over in Italian, so let’s get started!

The basics of verbs in Italian

Before we look at any Italian verbs, remember that a verb is the part of the sentence that describes an action or state of being.

You’ll first see verbs in their base form, called the infinitive. In English, the infinitive looks like the “to + verb” form. It simply means the verb hasn’t been changed to agree with a subject (I, you, they, etc.). Examples of infinitives in English:

• To run
• To jump
• To speak
• To eat

Then we’ll show you the conjugation of the Italian verb—that is, when it’s been changed to fit the subject and tense. In English, this looks like:

• I ran
• She jumps
• You speak
• They eat

Finally, we’ll put it all together in a sentence so you can see how it works. To see all the ins-and-outs of how to conjugate any regular verb into the present tense, check out Busuu’s article on Italian verb conjugation.

20 Italian verbs to learn right now

Without further ado, let’s get started with our top 20 verbs in Italian.

1. Essere – to be

Essere means “to be” in Italian, and if there’s any verb to learn first, it’s this one. It’s so important, we even have a whole article dedicated to it. Once you’re ready to learn more about essere and how it looks in the past, present and future tenses, check it out!

Example: Sono americano. (I’m American.)

Remember: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi and loro are all examples of personal pronouns—they act as the subject in our examples for today. Feel free to review Italian pronouns if you need to.

2. Avere – to have

Our second verb means “to have.” It’s also very important, so see Busuu’s complete guide to avere for more on how to conjugate it. Here’s the chart for avere in present tense:

Example: Ha un cane molto intelligente. (She/He has a very smart dog.)

3. Fare – to do

Fare corresponds with “to do” or sometimes with “to make” in English. This verb is irregular, and Busuu also has a guide to fare and how to use it in Italian.

Example: Facciamo colazione in cucina. (We have breakfast in the kitchen.)

4. Potere – can / to be able to

Meaning “to be able to,” potere is also a helping verb. That means it can combine with other verbs, as you can see in the example below. First, here’s how to conjugate it:

Example: Può camminare così tanto? (Can he/she walk that far?)

5. Volere – to want

Like potere, volere is also a helping verb, so it can pair with other verbs, like in the example below. This is also the verb Italians use to order food or request something.

Example: Vuoi un po’ di succo? (Do you want some juice?)

Read Busuu’s guide to volere for more examples of conjugating it.

6. Dire – to say

He says, she says, lui dice, lei dice. Dire is the Italian verb for “to say.” See below for how it looks in the present tense:

Example: Che dici? (What are you saying?)

7. Andare – to go

Here’s the conjugation of andare in the present tense:

Example: Andate al supermercato? (Are you going to the supermarket?)

8. Venire – to come

And here is venire, which means “to come.”

Example: Vengono alla festa. (They’re coming to the party.)

9. Mangiare – to eat

Finally, a regular verb! If you’ve read Busuu’s guide to conjugating Italian verbs, you’ll already know how to conjugate this verb in the present tense. If you haven’t, no worries. Here’s the conjugation:

Example: Lui nonmangia carne. (He doesn’t eat meat.)

10. Bere – to drink

Now that you’ve learned “to eat,” let’s learn “to drink.” Unfortunately, this verb is not regular:

Example: Bevo solo il vino migliore. (I only drink the best wine.)

11. Sapere – to know

Do you know sapere? If not, you’ll know now. We use sapere for facts, situations or pieces of information. We don’t use it for knowing a person or being familiar with someone.

Example: So dov’è l’ufficio. (I know where the office is.)

12. Conoscere – to know

While sapere is for facts and information, conoscere is for knowing people, places you’re familiar with or for things you know in-depth. Check out the conjugation and example below:

Example: Lo conosco, è mio fratello! (I know him, he’s my brother!)

13. Stare – to be/to stay

Stare as a verb means “to be” more as a temporary state of being or position. It can also be used as “to stand”, “to stay”, or “to lie.” You’ll see it in fixed expressions, like the example below.

Example: Come stai? (How are you?)

14. Dovere –must/to have to

As another “helping” verb in Italian, dovere can be paired with other verbs—see how it does so with fare in the example below. See our guide to dovere in order to understand more about how this verb works.

Example: Devi fare le tue faccende. (You have to do your chores.)

15. Vedere – to see

Example: Vedo che loro sono già qui. (I see they’re here already.)

16. Parlare – to speak

While dire translates to “to say,” we use parlare for “to speak.” You can use this similarly to how we do in English, such as with speaking languages: “Parlo italiano” (I speak Italian.) Fortunately, it’s a regular verb; see below for the conjugation:

Example: Scusi, può parlare* più lentamente? (Excuse me, can you speak more slowly? – polite.)

Parlare is in its infinitive form here because it’s paired with the modal verb, potere.

17. Usare – to use

Thankfully, usare is another regular verb. Take a look below at how to use usare in the Italian present tense:

Example: Uso il computer per lavoro. (I use the computer for work.)

18. Sentire – to feel, to hear

Because it relates to the senses, sentire corresponds with a few English words, like feel or hear. You can use it for both emotions and physical sensations. Luckily, it is a regular -ire verb.

Example: Oggi mi sento triste. (I feel sad today.)

19. Prendere – to take

Prendere roughly translate to “to take,” but it can also mean “to get” or “to catch.” You can use it similarly to English, even to say “take a break”: Mi prendo una pausa.

It’s regular in the present tense, so here’s how the conjugation of prendere looks:

Example: Prendiamo l’autobus. (Let’s take the bus.)

20. Capire – to understand

Last but not least is capire, which means “to understand.” This is an extremely useful Italian verb to know as you start conversations in Italian—you can signal if you understand someone or not!

It’s a regular -ire verb, but it takes the second typical -ire ending. For more on that, see Busuu’s guide to the present tense.

Example: Sì, capisco perfettamente! (Yes, I understand completely!)

That’s it—20 of the most common Italian verbs! As you’ve probably noticed, many of these verbs are unfortunately irregular, so their conjugation will be different from the normal verb endings. Don’t worry, though. With a little practice, it’ll become second nature.

We’re Busuu, the language learning app, and we’re here to help with learning any verb conjugation—regular or irregular.