Parlo inglese.
I speak English.
IPA /ˈparlo iŋˈɡleze/
Say it PAR-loh een-GLEH-zeh
Lesson 1 of 16
The Italian Verb Engine
Learn the single most powerful pattern in Italian: the present-tense verb matrix. Say what you do, what you do not do, ask questions and talk about the past — from your very first lesson.
What you will learn
- Build sentences with regular -are verbs in the present tense
- Use the subject pronouns io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro
- Make any sentence negative with non
- Ask questions with intonation and the seven core question words
- Use avere (to have) in the present tense
- Form your first past sentences with ho parlato
Theory
The verb matrix: your engine for hundreds of sentences
Italian verbs change their ending depending on who is acting. This sounds like extra work, but it is actually a gift: learn six endings and you unlock every regular -are verb in the language.
Look at the matrix for parlare (to speak). The stem parl- never changes; only the ending does. The same endings work for abitare, lavorare, mangiare and thousands more.
- Io parlo italiano. I speak Italian.
- Tu parli inglese. You speak English.
- Noi abitiamo a Roma. We live in Rome.
Negation: one word changes everything
To say what you do not do, place non directly before the verb. That is the whole rule.
This tiny word doubles your speaking power immediately: every affirmative sentence you know becomes a negative one.
- Non parlo italiano. I do not speak Italian.
- Marco non lavora qui. Marco does not work here.
- Non mangiamo carne. We do not eat meat.
Questions: raise your voice, not your grammar
In Italian a yes-or-no question uses exactly the same word order as a statement — only the intonation rises at the end. Parli inglese. (statement) becomes Parli inglese? (question).
For information questions, put the question word first: Dove abiti? (Where do you live?). Learn the seven core question words in this lesson and you can ask about almost anything.
- Parli italiano? Do you speak Italian?
- Dove abiti? Where do you live?
- Perché studi italiano? Why are you studying Italian?
Avere (to have) and your first past tense
Avere is irregular, so learn its forms as a set: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno.
Avere also builds the most common past tense. Put ho + a past participle: parlare becomes parlato, mangiare becomes mangiato. Ho parlato means both I spoke and I have spoken. Regular -are verbs all form this participle with -ato.
- Ho una domanda. I have a question.
- Ho parlato con Marco. I spoke with Marco.
- Hai mangiato bene? Did you eat well?
| parlare | mangiare | abitare | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlo | mangio | abito |
| tu | parli | mangi | abiti |
| lui / lei | parla | mangia | abita |
| noi | parliamo | mangiamo | abitiamo |
| voi | parlate | mangiate | abitate |
| loro | parlano | mangiano | abitano |
All regular -are verbs follow these six endings: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano.
| avere | |
|---|---|
| io | ho |
| tu | hai |
| lui / lei | ha |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | avete |
| loro | hanno |
The h is never pronounced: ho sounds like o, hai like eye.
| present | past (passato prossimo) | |
|---|---|---|
| io | parlo | ho parlato |
| tu | mangi | hai mangiato |
| lui / lei | lavora | ha lavorato |
| noi | ascoltiamo | abbiamo ascoltato |
-are verbs form the participle with -ato: parlare → parlato, mangiare → mangiato.
Vocabulary
Learn these words with their pronunciation. Nouns are given with their article — always learn them together.
| Italian | English | Pronunciation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| parlare | to speak | /parˈlare/ par-LAH-reh | |
| abitare | to live (reside) | /abiˈtare/ ah-bee-TAH-reh | |
| lavorare | to work | /lavoˈrare/ lah-voh-RAH-reh | |
| ascoltare | to listen | /askolˈtare/ ah-skohl-TAH-reh | |
| guardare | to watch, to look at | /ɡwarˈdare/ gwahr-DAH-reh | |
| mangiare | to eat | /manˈdʒare/ mahn-JAH-reh | |
| amare | to love | /aˈmare/ ah-MAH-reh | |
| imparare | to learn | /impaˈrare/ eem-pah-RAH-reh | |
| giocare | to play | /dʒoˈkare/ joh-KAH-reh | |
| avere | to have | /aˈvere/ ah-VEH-reh | |
| io | I | /ˈio/ EE-oh | |
| tu | you (informal singular) | /ˈtu/ TOO | |
| lui | he | /ˈlui/ LOO-ee | |
| lei | she | /ˈlɛi/ LAY | |
| noi | we | /ˈnɔi/ NOY | |
| voi | you (plural) | /ˈvɔi/ VOY | |
| loro | they | /ˈloro/ LOH-roh | |
| non | not | /ˈnon/ NOHN | |
| chi | who | /ˈki/ KEE | |
| che cosa / cosa | what | /ke ˈkɔza/ keh KOH-zah | |
| dove | where | /ˈdove/ DOH-veh | |
| quando | when | /ˈkwando/ KWAHN-doh | |
| perché | why, because | /perˈke/ pehr-KEH | |
| come | how | /ˈkome/ KOH-meh | |
| quanto | how much | /ˈkwanto/ KWAHN-toh | |
| molto | very, a lot | /ˈmolto/ MOHL-toh | |
| bene | well | /ˈbɛne/ BEH-neh | |
| adesso | now | /aˈdesso/ ah-DEHS-soh | |
| qui | here | /ˈkwi/ KWEE |
Ready-to-use phrases
Non parlo bene l'italiano.
I do not speak Italian well.
IPA /non ˈparlo ˈbɛne litaˈljano/
Say it nohn PAR-loh BEH-neh lee-tah-LYAH-noh
Parli italiano?
Do you speak Italian?
IPA /ˈparli itaˈljano/
Say it PAR-lee ee-tah-LYAH-noh
Same word order as the statement — your voice does the work.
Dove abiti?
Where do you live?
IPA /ˈdove ˈabiti/
Say it DOH-veh AH-bee-tee
Abito a Londra.
I live in London.
IPA /ˈabito a ˈlondra/
Say it AH-bee-toh ah LOHN-drah
Use a with cities: a Roma, a Londra, a Milano.
Dove lavori?
Where do you work?
IPA /ˈdove laˈvori/
Say it DOH-veh lah-VOH-ree
Lavoro a Roma.
I work in Rome.
IPA /laˈvoro a ˈroma/
Say it lah-VOH-roh ah ROH-mah
Che cosa mangi?
What are you eating?
IPA /ke ˈkɔza ˈmandʒi/
Say it keh KOH-zah MAHN-jee
Cosa alone is just as common: Cosa mangi?
Ascolto la musica.
I listen to music.
IPA /aˈskolto la ˈmuzika/
Say it ah-SKOHL-toh lah MOO-zee-kah
Guardo un film.
I am watching a film.
IPA /ˈɡwardo um ˈfilm/
Say it GWAHR-doh oon FEELM
Ho una domanda.
I have a question.
IPA /o ˈuna doˈmanda/
Say it oh OO-nah doh-MAHN-dah
The h in ho is silent.
Hai tempo adesso?
Do you have time now?
IPA /ai ˈtempo aˈdesso/
Say it eye TEHM-poh ah-DEHS-soh
Quanto costa?
How much does it cost?
IPA /ˈkwanto ˈkɔsta/
Say it KWAHN-toh KOH-stah
One of the most useful travel sentences.
Perché studi italiano?
Why are you studying Italian?
IPA /perˈke ˈstudi itaˈljano/
Say it pehr-KEH STOO-dee ee-tah-LYAH-noh
Imparo l'italiano adesso.
I am learning Italian now.
IPA /imˈparo litaˈljano aˈdesso/
Say it eem-PAH-roh lee-tah-LYAH-noh ah-DEHS-soh
Giochiamo a calcio.
We play football.
IPA /dʒoˈkjamo a ˈkaltʃo/
Say it joh-KYAH-moh ah KAHL-choh
Giocare a + game or sport.
Non lavoro qui.
I do not work here.
IPA /non laˈvoro ˈkwi/
Say it nohn lah-VOH-roh KWEE
Chi parla inglese?
Who speaks English?
IPA /ˈki ˈparla iŋˈɡleze/
Say it KEE PAR-lah een-GLEH-zeh
Ho parlato con il direttore.
I spoke with the manager.
IPA /o parˈlato kon il diretˈtore/
Say it oh par-LAH-toh kohn eel dee-reht-TOH-reh
Your first past-tense pattern: ho + parlato.
Abbiamo mangiato molto bene.
We ate very well.
IPA /abˈbjamo manˈdʒato ˈmolto ˈbɛne/
Say it ahb-BYAH-moh mahn-JAH-toh MOHL-toh BEH-neh
Quando lavorate?
When do you (all) work?
IPA /ˈkwando lavoˈrate/
Say it KWAHN-doh lah-voh-RAH-teh
Amiamo questa città.
We love this city.
IPA /aˈmjamo ˈkwesta tʃitˈta/
Say it ah-MYAH-moh KWEH-stah cheet-TAH
Dialogues
At the language exchange
Anna meets Tom at an evening language exchange in Turin.
-
Anna
Ciao! Parli italiano?
Hi! Do you speak Italian?
-
Tom
Un po'. Parlo inglese e imparo l'italiano adesso.
A little. I speak English and I am learning Italian now.
-
Anna
Dove abiti?
Where do you live?
-
Tom
Abito a Torino adesso. E tu?
I live in Turin now. And you?
-
Anna
Abito a Milano, ma lavoro qui.
I live in Milan, but I work here.
-
Tom
Interessante! Perché lavori qui?
Interesting! Why do you work here?
-
Anna
Perché amo questa città.
Because I love this city.
After the lesson
Two classmates talk after their first Italian lesson.
-
Sara
Hai una domanda?
Do you have a question?
-
Leo
Sì. Quando studiamo il passato?
Yes. When do we study the past?
-
Sara
Adesso! Guarda: ho parlato, hai mangiato.
Now! Look: I spoke, you ate.
-
Leo
Ah, ho capito. Non è difficile.
Ah, I understand. It is not difficult.
-
Sara
No! E cosa hai mangiato ieri?
No! And what did you eat yesterday?
-
Leo
Ho mangiato una pizza. Molto bene!
I ate a pizza. Very good!
Exercises
Answer actively — try to recall the Italian before you look at any hint.
Choose the correct form of parlare.
Io ___ italiano.
Choose the correct form of abitare.
Tu ___ a Roma.
Choose the correct form of ascoltare.
Noi ___ la musica.
Choose the correct form of giocare.
Loro ___ a calcio.
Write the correct form.
lavorare — voi (present tense)
Write the correct form.
mangiare — lui (present tense)
Write the correct form.
imparare — io (present tense)
Write the correct form of avere.
avere — noi (present tense)
Write the correct form of avere.
avere — tu (present tense)
Write the correct form of avere.
avere — loro (present tense)
Translate into Italian.
I speak English.
Translate into Italian (informal you).
Where do you live?
Translate into Italian. (meat = la carne)
We do not eat meat.
Translate into Italian.
I have a question.
Translate into Italian.
I spoke with Marco.
Translate into English.
Perché studi italiano?
Translate into English.
Abbiamo mangiato molto bene.
Fill the gap with the correct form.
Marco non ___ qui. (lavorare)
Fill the gap with the correct question word.
___ parla inglese? (who)
Fill the gap with the past participle.
Hai ___ con Anna? (parlare, past participle)
Tap the words in the correct order.
Build the question: Do you speak Italian?
Tap the words in the correct order.
Build the sentence: We do not work here.
Tap a pronoun, then tap its verb form.
Match each pronoun to the correct verb form of parlare.
True or false?
In Italian, a yes/no question needs a different word order from a statement.
True or false?
The h in ho, hai, ha, hanno is pronounced.
Play the audio, then type exactly what you hear.
Listen and write the Italian sentence.
Say the sentence aloud, then show the meaning and rate yourself.
Non parlo bene l'italiano.
Speak now
Say each sentence aloud three times: once slowly, once at normal speed, once from memory. Then change one word and say your own version.
- Parlo inglese e imparo l'italiano. I speak English and I am learning Italian.
- Non lavoro qui, lavoro a casa. I do not work here, I work at home.
- Dove abiti? Dove lavori? Where do you live? Where do you work?
- Ho parlato con un amico ieri. I spoke with a friend yesterday.
Lesson checkpoint
Before you move on, make sure you can do all of this without looking:
- Say all six present-tense forms of parlare from memory
- Make any of today's sentences negative with non
- Ask three questions using dove, quando and perché
- Say all six forms of avere without looking
- Form the past of three -are verbs with ho + participle
Remember this
- Regular -are verbs: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano. One matrix, thousands of sentences.
- Non before the verb makes the sentence negative: non parlo.
- Questions use the same word order with rising intonation, or start with a question word: dove, quando, perché, come, chi, cosa, quanto.
- Avere is irregular: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno — the h is silent.
- The past is ho + participle: parlare → parlato, so ho parlato means I spoke.
Go deeper: Present tense · -are verbs · avere · Negation · Questions · Passato prossimo