Verbs in Italian language indicate actions, habits or phenomena:
Peter legge un libro
Peter reads a book
John si sveglia presto tutte le mattine
John wakes up early every morning
Oggi piove
today it rains
A verb can also be used to introduce a characteristic or define a property or feature:
Il tuo insegnante è molto gentile
Your teacher is very kind
Laura ha gli occhi azzurri
Laura has blue eyes
Martin ha una casa molto grande
Martin has a very big hous
Verbs generally have a subject and can be olloweb by a variable numer of complements. In particular the object id the noun or pronoun that answer the question 'what?/who':
| Mario mangia una pizza | [Mario= subject ; mangia=verb; una pizza=object] |
| Mario eats a pizza |
Verbs that take an object are called transisive (transitivi), those:
| Luca mangia spesso pasta | [mangia=transitive verb + object ] |
| Luca often eats pasta |
Verbs without an object are called intransitive (intransitivi):
| Sei arrivato giusto in tempo | [arrivare=intransitive verb ,no object ] |
| You have arrived just in time. |
The verb, in Italian language is in the active voice when the subject carries out the action expressed by the verb:
Mario ha scritto una lettera
Mario has written a letter
Luca ha incontrato tua sorella
Luca has met your sister
The verb is in the passive voice when the subject is the recipient of the action expressed by the verb:
La lettera è stata scritta da Mario
The letter was written by Mario
I bambini sono stati ricevuti dal papa
Children were received by the pope
Only transitive verbs can take the passive voice; the object of the active voice becomes the becomes the subject in the passive voice:
| active voice | Il postino ha consegnato quel pacco The postman delivered that parcel |
| passive voice | Quel pacco è stato consegnato dal postino. That parcel was delivered by the postman |
In italian language the verb has various forms taht express the mood (modo), the tense (tempo) anf the person (persona) that carries out the action. Togheter these forms express the conjugation of the verb.
In Italian there are three regular conjugations:
| first conjugation » | Parlare to speak |
| second conjugation » | Volere to want |
| third conjugation » | Sentire to hear |
The auxiliary verbs, in italian language, help other verbs to form the cmpound tenses and the passive voice. The auxiliary verbs are essere (to be) and avere (to have):
Sono andato al mare due vilte questa'anno.
I have been to the seaside twice this year.
Avevo scritto una lettera alla mamma.
I had written a letter to mom
Il Presidente è stato intervistato dai giornalisti
The president was interviewed by the journalists
(...to be continued...)