Correggere (to correct, to mark a paper, to set straight) descends from Latin corrigere — cor- (intensive con-, "thoroughly") + regere (to rule, to set straight). The shared root with regere gives the verb its distinctive flavor: where eleggere is about choosing, correggere is about straightening — making something right, putting it back on course.
The morphology mirrors leggere: a regular -ere paradigm everywhere except the passato remoto (the -ssi pattern: corressi, corresse, corressero) and the participle (corretto — the -tto class). What sets correggere apart is the cultural life of its participle: corretto doubles as the adjective for "proper, polite, well-mannered" and as the name of the espresso fortified with grappa or sambuca that you order at any Italian bar by simply saying un caffè corretto, per favore.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| io | correggo | /korˈrɛɡɡo/ — hard g |
| tu | correggi | /korˈrɛddʒi/ — soft g |
| lui / lei / Lei | corregge | /korˈrɛddʒe/ — soft g |
| noi | correggiamo | /korredˈdʒamo/ — soft g |
| voi | correggete | /korredˈdʒete/ — soft g |
| loro | correggono | /korˈrɛɡɡono/ — hard g |
The pronunciation has two simultaneous consonant-length features that anglophone speakers tend to underweight: the double rr (a phonologically real long /rː/, distinguishing correggere from a hypothetical coreggere) and the double gg (long /ɡɡ/ or /ddʒ/ depending on the following vowel). Italian listeners hear both lengths clearly. Stress falls on the second syllable in the singular and 3pl (cor-règ-go, cor-règ-gi, cor-règ-ge, cor-règ-go-no) and shifts to the ending in noi and voi (cor-reg-già-mo, cor-reg-gé-te).
The verb is heavily transitive: you correct something — an exam, a translation, a pronunciation, a course, an attitude.
Correggo i compiti dei miei studenti ogni sera.
I mark my students' homework every evening.
Se sbaglio, correggimi subito, non avere paura.
If I'm wrong, correct me right away — don't be afraid.
Il professore corregge gli esami con la matita rossa.
The professor marks exams with a red pencil.
Correggiamo insieme la traduzione prima di consegnarla.
Let's correct the translation together before handing it in.
I revisori correggono i refusi prima della stampa.
The proofreaders correct the typos before printing.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | correggevo |
| tu | correggevi |
| lui / lei / Lei | correggeva |
| noi | correggevamo |
| voi | correggevate |
| loro | correggevano |
All forms have soft /ddʒ/ because every imperfect ending begins with e. The imperfect is the standard form for habitual past correcting (a teacher's nightly routine) and for a backdrop action interrupted by something else: stavo correggendo gli esami quando ha telefonato ("I was marking exams when she called").
Da giovane mio padre correggeva le bozze per un piccolo editore.
When he was young, my father used to proofread for a small publisher.
Mentre correggevamo il testo, ci siamo accorti dell'errore.
While we were correcting the text, we noticed the mistake.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | corressi |
| tu | correggesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | corresse |
| noi | correggemmo |
| voi | correggeste |
| loro | corressero |
The classic -ssi pattern in 1-3-3 distribution, identical in shape to lessi / lesse / lessero and elessi / elesse / elessero. The 1sg, 3sg, and 3pl take the contracted corress- stem (the gg has collapsed to ss, with no g remaining); the other three persons keep the regular corregg- stem with regular endings.
The pronunciation: corressi is /korˈrɛssi/ with no g sound — a clean /ss/. The double rr remains audible throughout the paradigm, since it belongs to the prefix cor-, not to the verb root.
This passato remoto belongs to literary and academic prose: editorial histories of canonical texts, biographies of philologists, accounts of papal corrections to Church doctrine. Bembo corresse il manoscritto di Petrarca con grande attenzione ("Bembo corrected Petrarch's manuscript with great care") is the natural register.
Il maestro corresse l'errore alla lavagna davanti a tutta la classe.
The teacher corrected the mistake on the blackboard in front of the whole class.
I filologi del Cinquecento corressero molti errori dei copisti medievali.
Sixteenth-century philologists corrected many errors made by medieval copyists.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | correggerò |
| tu | correggerai |
| lui / lei / Lei | correggerà |
| noi | correggeremo |
| voi | correggerete |
| loro | correggeranno |
Built on the predictable future stem corregger-. All forms have soft /ddʒ/ because the future endings all begin with e. The grave accent on correggerò and correggerà is mandatory.
Correggerò il tuo saggio stasera e te lo restituirò domani.
I'll correct your essay tonight and give it back to you tomorrow.
Se sbaglieremo, ci correggerà la coscienza, non il giudice.
If we make a mistake, our conscience will correct us, not a judge.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | correggerei |
| tu | correggeresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | correggerebbe |
| noi | correggeremmo |
| voi | correggereste |
| loro | correggerebbero |
Watch the orthographic distinction: correggeremo (future, single m) versus correggeremmo (conditional, double m). Same trap as every -ere conjugation.
The conditional is the natural mood for tactful correction — telling someone, in a softened way, what should be changed.
Correggerei solo una piccola cosa: il tono finale è un po' troppo severo.
I'd only correct one small thing — the final tone is a bit too severe.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | corregga |
| (che) tu | corregga |
| (che) lui / lei | corregga |
| (che) noi | correggiamo |
| (che) voi | correggiate |
| (che) loro | correggano |
Three singulars collapse into corregga. The pronunciation pattern: corregga and correggano (before a) are hard /ɡɡ/, while correggiamo and correggiate (before i) are soft /ddʒ/.
Voglio che tu corregga subito quell'errore di battitura.
I want you to correct that typo right away.
È bene che gli studenti correggano da soli i propri errori.
It's good that students correct their own mistakes themselves.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | correggessi |
| (che) tu | correggessi |
| (che) lui / lei | correggesse |
| (che) noi | correggessimo |
| (che) voi | correggeste |
| (che) loro | correggessero |
Standard imperfect-subjunctive endings on the regular corregg- stem; all forms soft /ddʒ/. The voi form correggeste is identical to the passato remoto correggeste — context disambiguates entirely.
Se mi correggesse ogni volta che parlo, smetterei di parlare del tutto.
If she corrected me every time I spoke, I'd stop speaking altogether.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | correggi |
| Lei (formal) | corregga |
| noi | correggiamo |
| voi | correggete |
| loro (formal pl.) | correggano |
The imperative is genuinely common in classroom and learning contexts: correggimi! ("correct me!") is the request every Italian language learner makes of a patient native-speaker friend. The form correggimi combines the imperative correggi with the enclitic object pronoun mi (me) — a single phonological word, two morphemes.
The negative tu form takes the infinitive: non correggere ogni piccola cosa, lascialo parlare ("don't correct every little thing — let him speak").
Correggimi se sbaglio: hai detto che torni mercoledì?
Correct me if I'm wrong — did you say you're coming back Wednesday?
Correggete attentamente i compiti prima di consegnarli.
Correct your homework carefully before handing it in.
Non correggere mai un bambino davanti agli altri.
Never correct a child in front of others.
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | correggere |
| Infinito passato | aver(e) corretto |
| Gerundio presente | correggendo |
| Gerundio passato | avendo corretto |
| Participio passato | corretto |
The participle corretto is irregular in the same way as letto, eletto, scritto, fatto, detto, rotto, cotto — the -tto class. The Latin source is correctus, past participle of corrigere, and the same root surfaces in English derivatives correct, correction, correctness, rectify, rectitude.
Compound tenses
Correggere takes avere as its auxiliary in all standard transitive uses. The participle does not agree with the subject but agrees with a preceding direct-object pronoun.
| Tense | io | noi |
|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | ho corretto | abbiamo corretto |
| Trapassato prossimo | avevo corretto | avevamo corretto |
| Trapassato remoto | ebbi corretto | avemmo corretto |
| Futuro anteriore | avrò corretto | avremo corretto |
| Condizionale passato | avrei corretto | avremmo corretto |
| Congiuntivo passato | abbia corretto | abbiamo corretto |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | avessi corretto | avessimo corretto |
Le bozze? Le ho già corrette tre volte.
The proofs? I've already corrected them three times.
In the example above, corrette agrees with the preceding feminine-plural pronoun le (= le bozze).
Correggersi — the reflexive
The reflexive correggersi ("to correct oneself") is in active everyday use, both in literal language-learning contexts and in the broader sense of changing one's behavior. It takes essere as auxiliary and agrees with the subject.
Mi correggo subito: non era lunedì, era martedì.
Let me correct myself right away — it wasn't Monday, it was Tuesday.
Si è corretto da solo dopo aver capito di aver detto una sciocchezza.
He corrected himself on his own after realising he'd said something silly.
In the broader behavioural sense, correggersi covers both deliberate self-correction in speech (the language-learning case above) and the longer arc of changing course in life — leaving a bad habit, mending an attitude, taking responsibility for a mistake:
Dopo l'incidente si è corretto: non beve più.
After the accident he changed his ways — he doesn't drink any more.
The participle corretto — adjective and noun
The remarkable feature of correggere's participle is its rich adjectival life. Corretto has three productive senses, all derivable from "set straight, made right":
1. Corrected, fixed (the literal participial sense):
Ecco il testo corretto, con tutte le modifiche evidenziate in giallo.
Here's the corrected text, with all the changes highlighted in yellow.
2. Proper, polite, well-mannered (a person whose behavior has been "set straight"):
È un ragazzo molto corretto, sempre rispettoso con tutti.
He's a very proper young man, always respectful to everyone.
Un comportamento corretto in pubblico è essenziale per la sua professione.
Proper behaviour in public is essential for his profession.
This adjectival use is closer to English proper, decent, well-behaved than to correct. Saying that someone is corretto implies an ethical compliment, not a factual one.
3. Corrected with grappa — the iconic Italian café idiom:
Un caffè corretto alla grappa, per favore.
An espresso 'corrected' with grappa, please.
The caffè corretto is an espresso fortified with a small shot of liquor — grappa, sambuca, brandy, or anise. The metaphor is exact: the coffee has been "set right" by the addition. Order it by simply saying un corretto (with caffè understood) and naming the liquor: un corretto alla grappa. Especially associated with northern Italy and cold winter mornings.
Mio nonno prendeva sempre un caffè corretto alla sambuca dopo pranzo.
My grandfather always had an espresso 'corrected' with sambuca after lunch.
Idiomatic uses
Beyond the literal "to correct," correggere has a useful set of figurative collocations:
- correggere il tiro — literally "to correct one's aim" — to adjust one's approach, to fine-tune a strategy after seeing initial results
- correggere la rotta — "to correct course" — same metaphor, slightly more nautical, often used in political and managerial contexts
- correggere un'impressione — to correct an impression, to adjust someone's view
- correggere il testo — to edit a text (in the proofreading sense)
Dopo i primi sondaggi, il partito ha corretto il tiro sulla riforma fiscale.
After the first polls, the party adjusted its position on tax reform.
È ora di correggere la rotta: la strategia attuale non funziona.
It's time to change tack — the current strategy isn't working.
Vorrei correggere un'impressione: non ho mai detto questo.
I'd like to correct an impression — I never said that.
Etymology
Correggere descends from Latin corrigere, from cor- (intensive con-) + regere (to rule, to direct). Italian inherited regere directly as reggere and through prefixed compounds — dirigere, erigere, regola, regina, re. The shared semantic core is "keeping things straight." When you correggere un compito, you are doing exactly what the etymology promises: thoroughly setting straight what had gone crooked.
Common mistakes
❌ Hai correggiuto i miei errori?
Incorrect — correggere has an irregular participle.
✅ Hai corretto i miei errori?
Correct — corretto with -tt-.
❌ Loro correggono /korred'dʒono/.
Incorrect pronunciation — before o, gg is hard /ɡɡ/.
✅ Loro correggono /korˈrɛɡɡono/.
Correct — hard g before o.
❌ Penso che lui corregge bene.
Incorrect — penso che triggers the subjunctive.
✅ Penso che lui corregga bene.
Correct — corregga is the congiuntivo presente.
❌ Lui corregé l'errore subito.
Incorrect — correggere is irregular in the passato remoto.
✅ Lui corresse l'errore subito.
Correct — corresse with the irregular -ss- stem.
❌ Sono stato correggerto dal professore.
Incorrect — there is no such participle.
✅ Sono stato corretto dal professore.
Correct — corretto, with avere or in the passive with essere.
❌ Vorrei un caffè con un po' di grappa.
Marked — comprehensible but not idiomatic. Italians have a fixed term.
✅ Vorrei un caffè corretto alla grappa.
Correct — caffè corretto is the standard café order.
Key takeaways
Correggere is exactly parallel to leggere in morphology: regular -ere paradigm except for the passato remoto (the -ssi pattern: corressi / corresse / corressero, with gg → ss) and the participle (corretto — the -tto class).
The pronunciation has two consonant lengths to track: the rr in the prefix cor- (always long /rː/) and the gg in the stem (long /ɡɡ/ before back vowels, long /ddʒ/ before front vowels). Italian listeners hear both.
The auxiliary is avere in active uses and essere in the reflexive (correggersi — to correct oneself) and in the passive (essere stato corretto).
The participle corretto leads a triple life: as the literal "corrected" (il testo corretto), as the adjective for "proper, well-mannered" (un ragazzo corretto), and as the noun for the espresso fortified with grappa (un caffè corretto).
The reflexive correggersi is in active everyday use both in language-learning contexts (mi correggo subito) and in the broader sense of changing one's behavior or course of life.
For the parent verb sharing all of correggere's morphology, see leggere. The closely related verb eleggere shares the same paradigm shape with a different prefix and root. The -ssi pattern that drives corressi / corresse / corressero is documented at irregular double-consonant passato remoto.
Now practice Italian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Leggere: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of leggere (to read) — a regular -ere verb whose orthographic gg automatically alternates between hard /ɡɡ/ and soft /ddʒ/ depending on the following vowel.
- Eleggere: Full ConjugationB1 — Complete paradigm of eleggere (to elect, to choose) — a prefixed sibling of leggere with the same -ssi/-tto pattern (elessi, eletto), the auxiliary avere, and a participle eletto that doubles as the noun for the elected, the chosen, and (in religious contexts) the saved.
- Scrivere: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of scrivere (to write) — a regular -ere verb in most tenses, with the diagnostic -ssi passato remoto and irregular -tto past participle scritto.
- Passato Remoto: Double-Consonant Stems (bere, cadere, avere)B1 — The second great irregular family of the passato remoto — verbs whose io, lui, and loro forms double their stem-final consonant: ebbi, bevvi, caddi, seppi, volli, venni, stetti.