The seconda coniugazione — the -ere class — is the smallest of the three Italian verb classes, but it carries enormous weight: it includes some of the highest-frequency verbs in the language, including prendere (to take), vedere (to see), leggere (to read), scrivere (to write), mettere (to put), and rispondere (to answer). Unlike the productive -are class, -ere is a closed group — no new verbs join it — but you cannot speak Italian without these verbs.
The model verb is scrivere (to write). Once you internalize its presente, you have the pattern for every regular -ere verb. The catch, which we'll address head-on below, is that many -ere verbs are perfectly regular in the presente but become irregular in other tenses (especially the passato remoto and the participio passato).
The endings
To conjugate a regular -ere verb in the presente, drop the -ere ending from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the appropriate ending for the subject.
The six endings are:
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| io | -o |
| tu | -i |
| lui / lei / Lei | -e |
| noi | -iamo |
| voi | -ete |
| loro | -ono |
Scrivere — the model verb
Take scrivere, drop the -ere to get the stem scriv-, then add each ending. The bold marks below indicate stress and are training aids only — they are not normally written.
| Person | Conjugation | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| io | scrivo | scrìvo |
| tu | scrivi | scrìvi |
| lui / lei / Lei | scrive | scrìve |
| noi | scriviamo | scriviàmo |
| voi | scrivete | scrivéte |
| loro | scrivono | scrìvono |
Scrivo una mail al mio capo, poi sono libera.
I'm writing an email to my boss, then I'm free.
Mi scrivi quando arrivi, per favore?
Will you text me when you get there, please?
Mio nonno scrive ancora le lettere a mano.
My grandfather still writes letters by hand.
Scriviamo insieme una canzone per il suo compleanno.
We're writing a song together for her birthday.
Ragazzi, scrivete troppo piccolo, non riesco a leggere.
Guys, you're writing too small, I can't read it.
I giornalisti scrivono articoli di tre righe e li chiamano notizie.
Journalists write three-line articles and call them news.
How -ere differs from -are
If you already know the -are paradigm, the good news is that three of the six endings are completely identical: -o, -i, -iamo are the same in both classes. The other three differ — but the differences are small and follow a consistent vowel swap (a → e):
| Person | -are | -ere |
|---|---|---|
| io | -o | -o |
| tu | -i | -i |
| lui / lei | -a | -e |
| noi | -iamo | -iamo |
| voi | -ate | -ete |
| loro | -ano | -ono |
So three forms differ: 3rd singular (-e vs -a), 2nd plural (-ete vs -ate), and 3rd plural (-ono vs -ano). This is why lui parla but lui scrive; voi parlate but voi scrivete; loro pàrlano but loro scrìvono. The io, tu, and noi forms behave the same across both classes.
Stress on the loro form
Like -are verbs, -ere verbs stress the root in the loro form, not the ending. So scrìvono, not scrivòno. Prèndono, not prendòno. Lèggono, not leggòno. The unstressed -ono ending is one of the most common giveaways of a non-native speaker — Italians say it almost as one fast syllable, with all the weight on the syllable before.
I miei figli prèndono il treno alle sette ogni mattina.
My kids take the seven o'clock train every morning.
Quando lèggono, fanno silenzio.
When they read, they stay quiet.
I ragazzi scrìvono solo messaggi vocali, ormai.
The kids only send voice messages these days.
For the full picture of where stress falls across all conjugations, see stress patterns in conjugations.
Ten high-frequency -ere verbs
These all conjugate exactly like scrivere in the presente. (Note: most of them are irregular in other tenses — see the next section — but the presente is regular for all ten.)
| Infinitive | Meaning | io form | noi form | loro form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| prendere | to take, to get | prendo | prendiamo | prendono |
| vedere | to see | vedo | vediamo | vedono |
| leggere | to read | leggo | leggiamo | leggono |
| credere | to believe | credo | crediamo | credono |
| mettere | to put | metto | mettiamo | mettono |
| perdere | to lose | perdo | perdiamo | perdono |
| ricevere | to receive | ricevo | riceviamo | ricevono |
| vivere | to live | vivo | viviamo | vivono |
| rispondere | to answer | rispondo | rispondiamo | rispondono |
| conoscere | to know (a person) | conosco | conosciamo | conoscono |
Prendi il caffè con lo zucchero?
Do you take your coffee with sugar?
Non vedo niente senza occhiali.
I can't see anything without my glasses.
Leggiamo lo stesso libro per il club del lunedì.
We're reading the same book for Monday's club.
Credo di sì, ma non sono sicura.
I think so, but I'm not sure.
Dove metti le chiavi di solito?
Where do you usually put your keys?
Perdo sempre l'ombrello sul tram.
I always lose my umbrella on the tram.
Ricevi tu il pacco o lo lascio dal vicino?
Are you getting the package or shall I leave it with the neighbor?
Vivono a Bologna da quasi vent'anni.
They've been living in Bologna for almost twenty years.
Perché non rispondi al telefono?
Why aren't you answering the phone?
Conosci un buon ristorante qui vicino?
Do you know a good restaurant nearby?
Regular in the presente, irregular elsewhere
Here is something that genuinely confuses learners: many -ere verbs that behave perfectly regularly in the presente go irregular in the passato remoto and the participio passato. There is no logical shortcut — these forms have to be memorized one verb at a time. A few examples to set expectations:
| Infinitive | Presente (regular) | Passato remoto (1sg) | Participio passato |
|---|---|---|---|
| prendere | prendo | presi | preso |
| leggere | leggo | lessi | letto |
| scrivere | scrivo | scrissi | scritto |
| mettere | metto | misi | messo |
| vedere | vedo | vidi | visto |
| rispondere | rispondo | risposi | risposto |
| vivere | vivo | vissi | vissuto |
So ho letto (I read), ho scritto (I wrote), ho preso (I took), ho messo (I put). The presente is the easy part. Be ready: the moment you reach the passato prossimo, these participles need to be in your head.
Orthographic subgroups
Two spelling patterns within -ere need attention because the letter c and the digraph sc behave differently before different vowels.
-cere verbs (vincere, piacere)
In verbs whose stem ends in c, the c stays as it is in spelling, but its pronunciation depends on the following letter. Before -o or -ono (the io and loro forms), the c is hard /k/. Before -i or -e (the tu and lui/lei forms), the c is soft /tʃ/. The spelling does not change — only the sound:
| Person | vincere (to win) | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| io | vinco | /ˈvinko/ |
| tu | vinci | /ˈvintʃi/ |
| lui / lei | vince | /ˈvintʃe/ |
| noi | vinciamo | /vinˈtʃamo/ |
| voi | vincete | /vinˈtʃete/ |
| loro | vincono | /ˈvinkono/ |
Vinciamo sempre la partita del giovedì sera.
We always win the Thursday night match.
L'Italia vince il mondiale!
Italy wins the World Cup!
So within a single conjugation, the same letter switches sound four times. This is purely an orthographic-phonetic feature, not a true irregularity.
-scere verbs (conoscere, crescere)
The same logic applies to sc, but the contrast is /sk/ vs /ʃ/. Conosco (with /sk/) but conosci (with /ʃ/). Crescono (with /sk/) but cresce (with /ʃ/). Again, the spelling never adds an h or drops a letter — only the sound shifts.
Non conosco nessuno alla festa, vieni con me?
I don't know anyone at the party, will you come with me?
I miei nipoti crescono troppo in fretta.
My nephews and nieces are growing up too fast.
Why -ere feels alien to English speakers
English has no analog to the -ere class. Speakers who already know Spanish can lean on the cognates — Spanish -er verbs (vender, leer, beber) line up directly with Italian -ere (vendere, leggere, bere). Speakers coming from French face a slight twist: French -er verbs map to Italian -are (parler / parlare), so the -ere class feels less familiar. For English speakers, the vowel e in the ending has no obvious meaning; it's just there. The Italian -ere class also includes verbs that English just expresses with a single root: take, see, read, put, lose.
The practical consequence is that you should drill -ere endings independently rather than expecting them to feel familiar from another language. The good news: the endings are short, the stem doesn't change in the presente, and once -ere clicks, the irregular -isco subgroup of -ire and the pure -ire verbs follow easily — they share most of the same endings as -ere.
Common mistakes
❌ Lui scriva una lettera.
Incorrect — that's the -are ending leaking into an -ere verb. The lui form of scrivere is scrive.
✅ Lui scrive una lettera.
Correct — -ere takes -e in the third person singular.
❌ Voi prendate il caffè.
Incorrect — *prendate is the -are voi ending. -ere uses -ete.
✅ Voi prendete il caffè.
Correct — voi prendete il caffè.
❌ Loro lèggano il giornale.
Incorrect — that's the -are loro ending. -ere uses -ono.
✅ Loro lèggono il giornale.
Correct — leggono with stress on the first syllable.
❌ I miei amici scrivòno troppo poco.
Incorrect — wrong stress. The loro form of -ere verbs stresses the root, not the ending.
✅ I miei amici scrìvono troppo poco.
Correct — scrìvono, with stress on the first syllable.
❌ Ho letto, ma ieri non ho lèggono niente.
Incorrect — confusing the presente with the participio passato.
✅ Ho letto, ma oggi non leggo niente.
Correct — passato prossimo uses the participio passato (letto), presente uses leggo.
❌ Conosco il mio amico molto bene, lui conosci anche te.
Incorrect — third person of conoscere is conosce, not conosci.
✅ Conosco il mio amico molto bene, lui conosce anche te.
Correct — conosce in the third person.
Key takeaways
The regular -ere conjugation has six endings: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono. Add them to the stem (the infinitive minus -ere) and you have the conjugation of any regular -ere verb in the presente.
Three points to internalize:
Three endings differ from -are: 3sg (-e vs -a), 2pl (-ete vs -ate), 3pl (-ono vs -ano). The other three are identical.
Stress on the root in the loro form: scrìvono, prèndono, lèggono. Same rhythm as the -are loro form.
Regular here, often irregular elsewhere: many -ere verbs have unpredictable participi passati. Learn the participle alongside the infinitive (prendere → preso; leggere → letto; scrivere → scritto) so you're ready when you start using compound tenses with avere.
Once -ere is solid, move on to the pure -ire verbs — the endings are nearly identical, with one small twist in the voi form. Then learn the -isco subgroup, which is the productive default within -ire.
Now practice Italian
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Presente Indicativo: OverviewA1 — How Italian's most-used tense covers everything English splits between simple present and present progressive — and why 'sto facendo' is not the default.
- Presente: Regular -are VerbsA1 — How to conjugate the largest and most regular class of Italian verbs in the present indicative — and how to avoid the stress trap that gives away every learner.
- Presente: Regular -ire Verbs (Pure Subgroup)A1 — How to conjugate the 'pure' subgroup of -ire verbs in the present indicative — a small but high-frequency closed list of verbs that follow the basic -ire endings without the -isco infix.
- Presente: -isco -ire VerbsA1 — How to conjugate the productive -isco subgroup of -ire verbs in the present indicative — the default pattern that covers the vast majority of -ire verbs you'll encounter.
- Stress Patterns in Verb ConjugationsA2 — Where the stress falls in Italian conjugations — the silent rules that written Italian rarely marks but that instantly reveal a non-native speaker.
- Which Conjugation New Verbs JoinB1 — When Italian borrows or invents a new verb, it almost always joins the -are class. Why this is, and what it means for learners.