Leggo il giornale e prendo un caffè.I read the newspaper and have a coffee.

Regular verbs ending in -ere work like -are verbs: take off -ere to get the stem, then add the ending that matches the subject. prendere → prend- + -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono.

Quick shortcut: compared with -are verbs, only three forms change: lui / lei → -e (not -a), voi → -ete (not -ate), loro → -ono (not -ano). The rest, -o, -i, -iamo, are the same.

The pattern: prendere (to take, to have)

Person Form Example
io prendo Prendo il treno. (I take the train.)
tu prendi Prendi un caffè? (Are you having a coffee?)
lui / lei / Lei prende Anna prende l'autobus. (Anna takes the bus.)
noi prendiamo Prendiamo un tè. (We're having a tea.)
voi prendete Prendete un gelato? (Are you having an ice cream?)
loro prendono Prendono sempre il taxi. (They always take a taxi.)

The same pattern works for many common verbs: leggere (to read), scrivere (to write), vedere (to see), vivere (to live), chiudere (to close), correre (to run), mettere (to put), perdere (to lose), ricevere (to receive), credere (to believe), chiedere (to ask), rispondere (to answer), decidere (to decide).

As with -are verbs, the ending shows the person, so the subject pronoun is normally left out (Scrivo un messaggio, see Subject pronouns). The uses of the present (habits, facts, what is happening now) are the same as in the -are lesson.

Stress moves in the forms: PREN-do, PREN-di, PREN-de, pren-DIA-mo, pren-DE-te, PREN-do-no.

-are or -ere? Look at the infinitive

For regular verbs, the infinitive ending tells you the pattern, so it helps to learn each verb with its ending: parlare but prendere. Mixing the two patterns is the most common error: ❌ voi prendate, ❌ loro prendano.

The sound of c and g

In verbs like leggere and vincere, the spelling stays the same but the sound of g and c changes, because g and c are hard before o and soft before i and e:

leggere (to read) vincere (to win)
io leggo (hard g) vinco (hard c, like k)
tu leggi (soft g, like j) vinci (soft c, like ch)
lui / lei legge (soft g) vince (soft c)
noi leggiamo (soft g) vinciamo (soft c)
voi leggete (soft g) vincete (soft c)
loro leggono (hard g) vincono (hard c)

The same happens with conoscere (to know a person or place): conosco (sk), conosci (sh), conosce, conosciamo, conoscete, conoscono (sk).

Some common -ere verbs are irregular

Several very common -ere verbs do not follow the pattern, for example potere, volere, dovere, sapere and bere. The modal verbs have their own lesson: Modal verbs: potere, volere, dovere + infinitive.

Common mistakes

  • ❌ io prende → ✅ io prendo
  • ❌ tu prende → ✅ tu prendi (-e is for lui / lei)
  • ❌ lui prendo → ✅ lui prende
  • ❌ noi prendemo → ✅ noi prendiamo (the ending is -iamo)
  • ❌ voi prendate → ✅ voi prendete (-ate is for -are verbs)
  • ❌ loro prendano → ✅ loro prendono (-ano is for -are verbs)

Quick check

Write the correct present-tense form.

  1. io (scrivere)
  2. tu (leggere)
  3. lui (vedere)
  4. noi (vivere)
  5. voi (chiudere)
  6. loro (rispondere)
Show answers
  1. scrivo   2. leggi   3. vede   4. viviamo   5. chiudete   6. rispondono

Key takeaways

  • Regular -ere verbs: remove -ere and add -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono.
  • Compared with -are verbs, only lui / lei, voi and loro differ (-e, -ete, -ono).
  • Each person has its own ending, so the subject pronoun is usually omitted.
  • In verbs like leggere, vincere and conoscere, the spelling stays the same but the sound of g, c and sc changes before o and before i / e.
  • Several very common verbs, such as potere, volere, dovere, sapere and bere, are irregular.