Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conjugate the most essential irregular present-tense verbs, building on the regular patterns from Part 1.

Lesson Explanation

Building on the three regular conjugation groups from Part 1, Lesson 4, this lesson covers frequent, genuinely irregular verbs that must be memorized individually.

Volere (to want): voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono. Potere (can/to be able to): posso, puoi, può, possiamo, potete, possono. Dovere (must/to have to): devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete, devono. These three modal verbs are almost always combined with an infinitive: Devo studiare. (I have to study.)

Venire (to come): vengo, vieni, viene, veniamo, venite, vengono. Uscire (to go out): esco, esci, esce, usciamo, uscite, escono.

A genuinely important distinction with no single Spanish equivalent, since Spanish uses saber and conocer (covered in an earlier-built Gabal course) for a similar split: sapere (to know facts/how to do something) and conoscere (to know/be familiar with people or places): So la risposta. (I know the answer — fact) versus Conosco Maria. (I know Maria — familiarity). Sapere is irregular (so, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, sanno); conoscere is regular except for the -isc--free pattern already seen for regular -ere verbs.

Practice Questions