Italian All-in-One For Dummies (139 page)
Read Italian All-in-One For Dummies Online
Authors: Consumer Dummies
How do you know which verbs take
isc
in their conjugation? You don't. You have to refer to the dictionary, which shows the conjugation right after the infinitive. In this book, you see
isc
after those infinitives that use it. The best thing is to memorize the most commonly used
isc
verbs from the get-go. Only a few will be useful at this point, including the following:
Multiplying your vocabulary with conjugations
After you figure out how to conjugate each of the three infinitive types, you immediately multiply your vocabulary by a factor of six â and that's just in the present tense.
Another element that multiplies your vocabulary exponentially comes with meanings in the present tense.
Parlo,
for example, means
I speak, I do speak,
and
I am speaking.
You can use it to make statements or to ask questions. Still using
parlare,
the
tu
form,
parli,
can mean many things.
Parli italiano
is a statement:
You speak Italian. You are speaking Italian. You do speak Italian.
It can also be a question:
Do you speak Italian? Are you speaking Italian? You speak Italian?
All of that comes in one five-letter word.
capire (isc)
(
to understand
)
finire (isc)
(
to finish
)
preferire (isc)
(
to prefer
)
guarire (isc)
(
to heal
)
garantire (isc)
(
to guarantee
)
punire (isc)
(
to punish
)
pulire (isc)
(
to clean
)
Spedire
(
to send
) is an
isc
verb, but you can use the regular
-are
verbs
mandare
or
inviare
to mean the same thing.
Here are the most common
-ire
verbs (without
isc
):
dormire
(
to sleep
)
aprire
(
to open
)
partire
(
to leave; to depart
)
seguire
(
to follow
)
sentire
(
to hear; to feel
)