Do you need to know all the verb tenses to speak Italian?
The good news is: NO, YOU DON’T!
There are many verb tenses in Italian, but not all of them are used in the spoken language.
So in this lesson, you’ll learn the 5 most common tenses in daily conversations.
Focus on these first and once you feel ready, you can move on to the others 🙂
5 VERB TENSES MOST USED IN SPOKEN ITALIAN
To speak a language, you don’t necessarily need to know all its grammar rules. In fact, people tend to talk in a more simple way than when they write.
And this applies to the verbs as well. Realistically, in the spoken language you don’t use all the verb tenses that a grammar book would teach you.
So if your goal is to communicate with locals (and not doing an essay in Italian), keep reading…
In this lesson, I’ll show you 5 of the most used Italian verb tenses in daily life.
1. INDICATIVO PRESENTE
The first is the one we call “Indicativo Presente“. It’s the tense that you mainly use to talk about the present.
Basically, it’s like the “Simple Present” in English.
This verb tense is the basis to have a simple conversation and you can use it in the following cases.
1. Current Situation
The first use of the present in Italian is to talk about something that is happening or is true at the moment you speak.
Some situations include:
– telling someone where you’re from or currently live:
(Io) sono Italiana = I’m Italian
(Tu) vivi a Roma = you live in Rome
– talking about your job:
(Lui) fai il medico = he’s a doctor
(Lei) lavora in un bar = she works in a bar
– describing people or things:
(Lei) ha i capelli biondi = she’s blond
Oggi il tempo e’ bello = today the weather is nice
– saying what you can or can’t do:
(Voi) parlate Italiano = You can speak Italian
(Loro) non ballano = They can’t dance
2. Habits
Another common use of the present in Italian is for talking about hobbies, habits, or things that happen often (repeated actions); for example:
(Lei) suona la chitarra = she plays the guitar
(Lui) corre tutte le mattine = He runs every morning
(Loro) sono sempre in ritardo = they’re always late
3. Timetables/Scheduled times
The next situation where you can use the present in Italian is for timetables or scheduled times.
For instance:
Il treno parte alle 9:00 = the train leaves at 9 am
l’autobus arriva alle 17:00 = the bus arrives at 5 pm
4. Future
In the spoken language, we also use the present tense (instead of the future) to talk about events scheduled in the near future.
Like in these examples here:
Giovedi’ vado dal dentista = I’m going to the dentist on Thursday
Partono la prossima settimana = they’re leaving next week
Ti chiamo domani = I’ll call you tomorrow
Stasera ceno con un’amica = Tonight I’m having dinner with a friend
5. Facts / Generalitations / Saying
Finally, the present tense is also for telling facts, generalizations or sayings.
For instance:
La frutta fa bene = fruit is good for your health
Gli italiani mangiano molta pasta = Italians eat loads of pasta
Chi rompe paga = is a popular Italian saying for when you’ve broken something and have to pay for the damage (you pay for what you’ve broken).
2. PASSATO PROSSIMO
The one that we call PASSATO PROSSIMO is the most common past tense used in the spoken language.
Generally, you can use it to talk about something that happened in the past and has been completed at the time you talk about it.
Hence the passato prossimo is for referring to the following:
1. Something recently happened and somehow still related to the present moment, for example:
Ho appena finito di pranzare = I’ve just finished my lunch
2. A fact or an action in the past but not necessarily close to the moment you are talking about it
Sono nato a Firenze = I was born in Florence
3. INDICATIVO IMPERFETTO
The INDICATIVO IMPERFETTO indicates a continuous action that lasted an indefinite time in the past.
Here is when can you use this past tense:
1. To talk about habits in the past, something that you used to do and you no longer do, for example:
Quando ero piccolo andavo a letto alle 9.00 = When I was a kid, I used to go to bed at 9 pm
2. For a continuous action that happened in the past:
Ieri ero a scuola = Yesterday I was at school
4. IMPERATIVO PRESENTE
This verb tense is very common in the informal language to express a request and it’s used in the following situations:
1. To dictate or give an order in the present, for example:
Fate silenzio! = Silence please!
2. For asking/requesting something:
Passami il pane, per favore = Can you pass me the bread, please?
5. FUTURO SEMPLICE
The FUTURO is the verb tense for speaking in the future.
In the spoken Italian, you’ll probably hear the presente indicativo more often than the futuro semplice especially in informal conversations.
However the futuro semplice is still very common in the below cases:
1. To tell of an action that will certainly happen in the future, for example:
Il prossimo anno andrò in Italia = Next month I’ll go to Italy
2. When you want to say about something that will happen at some stage in the future:
Ci penserò = I’ll think about it
Do you need a PLAN to learn Italian?
Check out my FREE PLAN to learn Italian in 7 Days.
Of course it doesn’t take only 7 days to learn Italian … but this plan is a great help to get started especially if you’re feeling a bit lost!
You can request it for FREE HERE.
Don’t waste precious time and do it now! 🙂
Conclusion
Italian verbs are certainly one of the most challenging aspects of the Italian language.
But before you start learning all the verbs and their conjugations, you should first know what verb tenses people use the most when speaking in their daily life.
In this way, you can focus on what’s important to have a real conversation.
Let’s recap on the most common verb tenses in Italian:
1. PRESENTE
You can use it to talk about something that relates to the present or to talk about your habits/hobbies.
Sometimes, this verb tense can also replace the future tense to talk about something that you are going to do.
2. PASSATO PROSSIMO
This is the verb that you will use more often when you refer to something that happened in the past and has ended.
3. IMPERFETTO
Like the passato prossimo, the imperfetto is very common to talk about the past.
Anyway, it differs from the first because it refers to continuous actions or past habits.
4. IMPERATIVO
You will happen to use the imperativo a lot in informal situations for requests.
5. FUTURO
Even if you can replace the Future tense with the Present in many situations, the Future is still largely used in the spoken language to say about things that will happen in the future.