Italian Verb Forms
Italian verbs have seven main forms:
- Infinito (Infinitive)
- Participio (Participle)
- Gerundio (Gerund)
- Indicativo (Indicative)
- Congiuntivo (Subjunctive)
- Condizionale (Conditional)
- Imperativo (Imperative)
They are divided into 3 groups, depending on their ending:
| -are | Mangiare (to eat) |
| -ere | Credere (to believe) |
| -ire | Offrire (to offer) |
Verbs can be used in the active, passive and reflexive forms.
When the subject of the sentence is performing the action we use the active form:
Luca lancia la palla.
(Luca throws the ball.)
When the subject of the sentence has something done to it and does not do it itself, we use the passive form:
La palla è lanciata da Luca.
(The ball is thrown by Luca.)
When the subject does the action to itself, we use the reflexive form:
Io mi lavo la faccia.
(I wash my face.)
