Irregular Italian verbs

All 141, with their three forms, the English meaning and an example sentence each — sorted by what actually happens, not by the alphabet.

Why not alphabetical

The usual list has three columns in alphabetical order. You find something in it if you already know what you are looking for — for learning it is poor, because it hides the only order there is here. These verbs are not 141 separate cases. Most of them fall into groups in which the same change happens, and once you have the group, you have several verbs at once.

Find a verb

141 verbs.

A stem of its own in the passato remoto

119 verbs

The largest group, the one that repays the effort most, and the one with the kindest rule. Only <b>three of the six forms</b> are irregular: presi, prese, presero. The other three are built regularly from the infinitive — prendesti, prendemmo, prendeste. Get the stem and you have the whole set. The principle is the one behind English « write, wrote »: the change happens inside the word rather than at its end. Nearly all of these verbs end in -ere, and many have an irregular participle as well. A word on use: the passato remoto is the tense of novels and history books. In everyday speech, above all in the north, Italians say ieri ho preso il treno where English says « yesterday I took the train ».

Base form	Past	Participle	English	Level
prendere	presi	preso	to take	A1
Presi il treno delle sette.I took the seven o’clock train.
mettere	misi	messo	to put	A1
Mise le chiavi sul tavolo.He put the keys on the table.
scrivere	scrissi	scritto	to write	A1
Le scrissi una lettera lunghissima.I wrote her a very long letter.
leggere	lessi	letto	to read	A1
Lessi il libro in due giorni.I read the book in two days.
vedere	vidi	visto	to see	A1
La vidi solo di sfuggita.I only caught a glimpse of her.
venire	venni	venuto	to come	A1
Vennero tutti insieme.They all came together.
tenere	tenni	tenuto	to hold, to keep	A2
Tenne il discorso in piedi.He gave the speech standing up.
volere	volli	voluto	to want	A1
Volle pagare lui.He insisted on paying.
sapere	seppi	saputo	to know (facts), to know how to	A1
Lo seppi solo ieri sera.I only found out yesterday evening.
chiedere	chiesi	chiesto	to ask, to ask for	A1
Mi chiese un favore.He asked me a favour.
rispondere	risposi	risposto	to answer, to reply	A1
Rispose subito al messaggio.He replied to the message straight away.
chiudere	chiusi	chiuso	to close, to shut	A1
Chiuse la porta piano.He closed the door quietly.
decidere	decisi	deciso	to decide	A2
Decisero di partire subito.They decided to leave at once.
ridere	risi	riso	to laugh	A2
Risero tutti insieme.They all laughed together.
sorridere	sorrisi	sorriso	to smile	B1
Sorrise senza dire niente.He smiled without saying anything.
scendere	scesi	sceso	to go down, to get off	A2
Scese alla fermata dopo.He got off at the next stop.
spendere	spesi	speso	to spend (money)	A2
Spesero troppo per la casa.They spent too much on the house.
rendere	resi	reso	to give back; to make (+ adjective)	B1
La notizia lo rese felice.The news made him happy.
perdere	persi	perso	to lose, to miss	A1
Persi il treno per due minuti.I missed the train by two minutes.
correre	corsi	corso	to run	A2
Corse fino alla stazione.He ran all the way to the station.
vivere	vissi	vissuto	to live	A2
Visse trent’anni a Roma.He lived in Rome for thirty years.
nascere	nacqui	nato	to be born	A1
Nacque in un paese di montagna.He was born in a mountain village.
piacere	piacqui	piaciuto	to please, to be liked	A1
Il film piacque a tutti.Everyone liked the film.
conoscere	conobbi	conosciuto	to know (people, places), to meet	A1
La conobbi a Firenze.I met her in Florence.
crescere	crebbi	cresciuto	to grow, to grow up	A2
Crebbe in campagna.He grew up in the countryside.
rompere	ruppi	rotto	to break	A2
Ruppe il bicchiere senza volere.He broke the glass by accident.
bere	bevvi	bevuto	to drink	A1
Bevve un bicchiere d’acqua.He drank a glass of water.
cadere	caddi	caduto	to fall	A2
Cadde dalla bicicletta.He fell off his bike.
rimanere	rimasi	rimasto	to remain, to stay	A2
Rimase in silenzio.He remained silent.
scegliere	scelsi	scelto	to choose, to pick	A2
Scelse il vestito blu.She chose the blue dress.
togliere	tolsi	tolto	to take off, to remove	B1
Si tolse il cappotto.He took off his coat.
raccogliere	raccolsi	raccolto	to pick up, to gather	B1
Raccolse le foglie in giardino.He gathered up the leaves in the garden.
sciogliere	sciolsi	sciolto	to melt, to dissolve, to untie	B2
Il sole sciolse la neve.The sun melted the snow.
spegnere	spensi	spento	to switch off, to put out	A2
Spense la luce e uscì.He switched off the light and went out.
giungere	giunsi	giunto	to arrive, to reach	B1
Giunsero a un accordo.They reached an agreement.
aggiungere	aggiunsi	aggiunto	to add	B1
Aggiunse un po’ di sale.He added a little salt.
raggiungere	raggiunsi	raggiunto	to reach, to catch up with	B1
Raggiunse la vetta all’alba.He reached the summit at dawn.
piangere	piansi	pianto	to cry, to weep	A2
Pianse per la gioia.He wept for joy.
spingere	spinsi	spinto	to push	B1
Spinse la porta con la spalla.He pushed the door open with his shoulder.
vincere	vinsi	vinto	to win	A2
Vinse la partita all’ultimo minuto.He won the match in the last minute.
dipingere	dipinsi	dipinto	to paint	B1
Dipinse il quadro in una notte.He painted the picture in a single night.
fingere	finsi	finto	to pretend	B2
Finse di non aver capito.He pretended not to have understood.
stringere	strinsi	stretto	to squeeze, to grip, to tighten	B1
Mi strinse la mano a lungo.He shook my hand for a long time.
distinguere	distinsi	distinto	to distinguish, to tell apart	B2
Non distinse i due gemelli.He couldn’t tell the two twins apart.
nascondere	nascosi	nascosto	to hide	B1
Nascose la lettera in un libro.He hid the letter in a book.
accendere	accesi	acceso	to light, to switch on	A2
Accese il fuoco con un fiammifero.He lit the fire with a match.
difendere	difesi	difeso	to defend	B1
Difese il fratello davanti a tutti.He defended his brother in front of everyone.
offendere	offesi	offeso	to offend	B1
Non volle offendere nessuno.He didn’t want to offend anyone.
muovere	mossi	mosso	to move	B1
Non mosse un dito.He didn’t lift a finger.
scuotere	scossi	scosso	to shake	B2
Scosse la testa senza parlare.He shook his head without speaking.
cuocere	cossi	cotto	to cook (food)	B1
Cosse la pasta troppo a lungo.He overcooked the pasta.
risolvere	risolsi	risolto	to solve, to resolve	B1
Risolse il problema in dieci minuti.He solved the problem in ten minutes.
volgere	volsi	volto	to turn (one’s gaze, one’s attention)	C1
Volse lo sguardo altrove.He looked away.
rivolgere	rivolsi	rivolto	to address, to direct (to someone)	B2
Rivolse la domanda a me.He addressed the question to me.
svolgere	svolsi	svolto	to carry out	B2
Svolse il compito con calma.He went about the task calmly.
sorgere	sorsi	sorto	to rise, to arise	B2
Sorse un dubbio.A doubt arose.
porgere	porsi	porto	to hand, to hold out	C1
Porse la mano per primo.He was the first to hold out his hand.
accorgersi	mi accorsi	accorto	to notice, to realise	B1
Si accorse dell’errore troppo tardi.He noticed the mistake too late.
spargere	sparsi	sparso	to scatter, to spread	C1
Sparse la voce in tutto il paese.He spread the rumour all over the village.
emergere	emersi	emerso	to emerge, to come to light	B2
Emerse un particolare nuovo.A new detail came to light.
dirigere	diressi	diretto	to direct, to run, to conduct (music)	B2
Diresse l’orchestra per vent’anni.He conducted the orchestra for twenty years.
correggere	corressi	corretto	to correct	B1
Corresse i compiti in una sera.He marked the homework in one evening.
proteggere	protessi	protetto	to protect	B1
Protesse i figli da ogni cosa.He protected his children from everything.
reggere	ressi	retto	to hold up, to withstand	C1
Il ponte resse anche la piena.The bridge held even when the river flooded.
distruggere	distrussi	distrutto	to destroy	B1
Il fuoco distrusse mezzo bosco.The fire destroyed half the wood.
friggere	frissi	fritto	to fry	B2
Frisse il pesce in poco olio.He fried the fish in a little oil.
sconfiggere	sconfissi	sconfitto	to defeat	B2
Sconfisse l’avversario in tre set.He beat his opponent in three sets.
discutere	discussi	discusso	to discuss, to argue	B1
Discussero per ore senza decidere.They argued for hours without deciding anything.
concludere	conclusi	concluso	to conclude, to end	B1
Concluse il discorso con una domanda.He ended the speech with a question.
includere	inclusi	incluso	to include	B2
Il prezzo incluse la colazione.The price included breakfast.
escludere	esclusi	escluso	to exclude, to rule out	B2
Escluse ogni altra possibilità.He ruled out every other possibility.
dividere	divisi	diviso	to divide, to share, to split	A2
Dividemmo il conto in tre.We split the bill three ways.
persuadere	persuasi	persuaso	to persuade	C1
Lo persuase a restare.He persuaded him to stay.
invadere	invasi	invaso	to invade, to flood	B2
L’acqua invase le cantine.The water flooded the cellars.
assumere	assunsi	assunto	to hire, to take on; to assume (a role)	B2
Assunse due persone in un mese.He took on two people in a month.
esprimere	espressi	espresso	to express	B1
Espresse la sua opinione con calma.He calmly expressed his opinion.
riflettere	riflessi	riflesso	to reflect, to think over	B1
Il vetro riflesse la luce.The glass reflected the light.
connettere	connessi	connesso	to connect, to link	C1
Connesse i due fatti subito.He linked the two facts at once.
tradurre	tradussi	tradotto	to translate	B1
Tradusse il romanzo in un anno.He translated the novel in a year.
condurre	condussi	condotto	to lead, to conduct (talks)	B2
Condusse la trattativa da solo.He conducted the negotiations on his own.
produrre	produssi	prodotto	to produce, to manufacture	B1
La fabbrica produsse il primo modello nel 1954.The factory produced the first model in 1954.
ridurre	ridussi	ridotto	to reduce, to cut	B2
Ridusse le spese della metà.He cut costs by half.
porre	posi	posto	to place, to set (formal)	B2
Pose una condizione sola.He set only one condition.
proporre	proposi	proposto	to propose, to suggest	B1
Propose di rimandare tutto.He suggested putting everything off.
imporre	imposi	imposto	to impose, to enforce	C1
Impose il silenzio a tutti.He ordered everyone to be silent.
comporre	composi	composto	to compose, to put together	B2
Compose la melodia in una sera.He composed the melody in one evening.
trarre	trassi	tratto	to draw, to extract	C1
Trasse una conclusione sbagliata.He drew the wrong conclusion.
attrarre	attrassi	attratto	to attract	C1
La mostra attrasse molta gente.The exhibition drew a large crowd.
cogliere	colsi	colto	to pick (fruit, flowers), to grasp	B2
Colse il senso della frase subito.He grasped the meaning of the sentence at once.
valere	valsi	valso	to be worth, to be valid	B1
Il biglietto valse per due giorni.The ticket was valid for two days.
parere	parvi	parso	to seem	B2
Parve sorpreso della domanda.He seemed surprised by the question.
tacere	tacqui	taciuto	to be silent, to keep quiet	B2
Tacque per tutta la cena.He kept quiet all through dinner.
giacere	giacqui	giaciuto	to lie (be situated)	C1
Il paese giace in fondo alla valle.The village lies at the far end of the valley.
piovere	piovve	piovuto	to rain	A1
Piovve per tre giorni di seguito.It rained for three days in a row.
comprendere	compresi	compreso	to understand, to comprise	B1
Comprese subito la situazione.He understood the situation at once.
sorprendere	sorpresi	sorpreso	to surprise	B1
La notizia ci sorprese tutti.The news surprised us all.
promettere	promisi	promesso	to promise	A2
Promise di tornare presto.He promised to be back soon.
permettere	permisi	permesso	to allow, to permit	A2
Non permise a nessuno di entrare.He didn’t let anyone in.
ammettere	ammisi	ammesso	to admit	B1
Ammise di aver sbagliato.He admitted he had been wrong.
smettere	smisi	smesso	to stop (doing), to give up	A2
Smise di fumare a quarant’anni.He gave up smoking at forty.
descrivere	descrissi	descritto	to describe	B1
Descrisse la scena in poche parole.He described the scene in a few words.
eleggere	elessi	eletto	to elect	B2
Lo elessero sindaco al primo turno.They elected him mayor in the first round.
prevedere	previdi	previsto	to foresee, to provide for	B1
Nessuno previde quel finale.Nobody saw that ending coming.
ottenere	ottenni	ottenuto	to obtain, to get	B1
Ottenne il permesso in una settimana.He got the permit within a week.
mantenere	mantenni	mantenuto	to keep (a promise), to maintain	B1
Mantenne la promessa fino alla fine.He kept his promise to the very end.
sostenere	sostenni	sostenuto	to support, to maintain (a view)	B2
Sostenne la tesi con tre esempi.He backed up his argument with three examples.
appartenere	appartenni	appartenuto	to belong	B2
La casa appartenne alla stessa famiglia per un secolo.The house belonged to the same family for a century.
avvenire	avvenne	avvenuto	to happen, to take place (formal)	B2
L’incidente avvenne di notte.The accident happened at night.
succedere	successi	successo	to happen; to succeed (follow)	A2
Non successe niente di grave.Nothing serious happened.
deludere	delusi	deluso	to disappoint	B1
Il finale deluse tutti.The ending disappointed everyone.
trasmettere	trasmisi	trasmesso	to broadcast, to transmit	B2
La radio trasmise la partita in diretta.The radio broadcast the match live.
commettere	commisi	commesso	to commit	B2
Commise lo stesso errore due volte.He made the same mistake twice.
riprendere	ripresi	ripreso	to resume, to take back; to film	B1
Riprese il lavoro dopo un mese.He went back to work after a month.
attendere	attesi	atteso	to wait for, to await	B1
Attese il treno per due ore.He waited two hours for the train.
intendere	intesi	inteso	to mean, to intend	B1
Non intesi bene quello che disse.I didn’t quite catch what he said.
accogliere	accolsi	accolto	to welcome, to receive	B1
Ci accolsero con grande gentilezza.They gave us a very warm welcome.
costringere	costrinsi	costretto	to force, to compel	B2
La pioggia ci costrinse a rientrare.The rain forced us to go back in.
stendere	stesi	steso	to spread out, to hang out (washing)	B2
Stese il bucato prima di uscire.She hung out the washing before she left.
nuocere	nocqui	nociuto	to harm, to be harmful	C1
Il freddo nocque al raccolto.The cold damaged the harvest.

The participle is irregular

6 verbs

Here the passato remoto is regular and the participle is not. There are only a few, all of them common, and every compound tense needs them: ho aperto, ha offerto, è morto. What stands out is that nearly all of them end in -ire — otherwise the most regular of the three groups.

Base form	Past	Participle	English	Level
aprire	aprii	aperto	to open	A1
Aprì la finestra e guardò fuori.He opened the window and looked out.
offrire	offrii	offerto	to offer	A2
Offrì da bere a tutti.He bought everyone a drink.
soffrire	soffrii	sofferto	to suffer	B1
Soffrì in silenzio per mesi.He suffered in silence for months.
coprire	coprii	coperto	to cover	B1
Coprì il tavolo con una tovaglia.He covered the table with a cloth.
scoprire	scoprii	scoperto	to discover, to find out	A2
Scoprì l’errore per caso.He discovered the mistake by chance.
morire	morii	morto	to die	A2
Morì in un giorno di pioggia.He died on a rainy day.

The present is irregular

9 verbs

Here the past and the participle are harmless, and the work lies in the present: vado, esco, salgo. It usually hits the first person singular and the third person plural, which share one pattern — vado and vanno, esco and escono. Learn one and you often have the other.

Base form	Past	Participle	English	Level
andare	andai	andato	to go	A1
Andò a piedi fino al mare.He walked all the way to the sea.
uscire	uscii	uscito	to go out, to leave	A1
Uscì senza salutare.He left without saying goodbye.
salire	salii	salito	to go up, to get on	A2
Salì le scale di corsa.He ran up the stairs.
potere	potei	potuto	can, to be able to	A1
Non potei fare altro.I couldn’t do anything else.
dovere	dovetti	dovuto	must, to have to; to owe	A1
Dovetti partire prima del previsto.I had to leave earlier than planned.
sedere	sedetti	seduto	to sit	A2
Sedette in fondo alla sala.He sat down at the back of the hall.
apparire	apparvi	apparso	to appear	B2
Apparve sulla soglia senza far rumore.He appeared in the doorway without a sound.
udire	udii	udito	to hear (formal)	C1
Udì un rumore in cortile.He heard a noise in the courtyard.
riuscire	riuscii	riuscito	to manage, to succeed	B1
Riuscì a finire tutto in un giorno.He managed to get everything done in a day.

Irregular throughout

7 verbs

A handful of verbs that no rule reaches — and the ones to learn first, because hardly a sentence gets by without them. Two of them even share a participle: essere and stare are both stato. Only the sentence tells you which is meant. English is no tidier at this end of the dictionary: « was » and « been » look nothing like « be » either.

Base form	Past	Participle	English	Level
essere	fui	stato	to be	A1
Ieri fui io a chiudere il negozio.It was me who closed the shop yesterday.
avere	ebbi	avuto	to have	A1
Ebbi paura solo per un momento.I was only scared for a moment.
fare	feci	fatto	to do, to make	A1
Fece quello che poteva.He did what he could.
dare	diedi	dato	to give	A1
Mi diede la chiave senza dire niente.He gave me the key without saying a word.
stare	stetti	stato	to stay; to be (how one is)	A1
Stetti a casa tutto il giorno.I stayed at home all day.
dire	dissi	detto	to say, to tell	A1
Non disse una parola.He didn’t say a word.
soddisfare	soddisfeci	soddisfatto	to satisfy	B2
La risposta non soddisfece nessuno.The answer satisfied nobody.

Practise the three forms

One base form, two missing forms. Only what you write counts — quotation marks, capitals and spaces are forgiven, not penalised.