Verbs are where most beginners get stuck. You can know a hundred Italian words and still not say anything, because every sentence needs a verb — and Italian verbs change their ending depending on who is doing the thing. The good news is that the endings are regular and there are not many of them. Do these eight exercises with pen and paper first, then check yourself. They follow on from my free Italian exercises for absolute beginners.
Esercizio 1 — Essere (to be)
Fill the gap with sono, sei, è, siamo, siete or sono:
1. Io ___ italiana. 2. Tu ___ inglese? 3. Lui ___ di Roma. 4. Noi ___ a Bristol. 5. Voi ___ studenti. 6. Loro ___ simpatici.
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1. sono, 2. sei, 3. è, 4. siamo, 5. siete, 6. sono. Yes, io and loro share a form — the sentence tells you which is meant, so we usually drop the pronoun and just say Sono italiana.
Esercizio 2 — Avere (to have)
Fill the gap with ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete or hanno:
1. Io ___ due fratelli. 2. Tu ___ tempo? 3. Marco ___ trent’anni. 4. Noi ___ una casa in Sicilia. 5. Voi ___ una domanda? 6. Loro ___ un cane.
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1. ho, 2. hai, 3. ha, 4. abbiamo, 5. avete, 6. hanno. That h is silent: ho is said “oh”, hanno is “ANN-o”. It only tells words apart in writing.
Esercizio 3 — Essere or avere?
Choose the right verb for each English meaning:
1. ___ stanco (I am tired) 2. ___ fame (I am hungry) 3. ___ freddo (I am cold) 4. ___ in ritardo (I am late) 5. ___ ragione (you are right)
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1. sono stanco, 2. ho fame, 3. ho freddo, 4. sono in ritardo, 5. hai ragione. In Italian you have hunger, thirst, cold, fear and your age, where English says you are. Learn these as whole phrases and you will never have to work them out.
Esercizio 4 — Regular -are verbs: parlare
Add the endings:
io parl___, tu parl___, lui/lei parl___, noi parl___, voi parl___, loro parl___
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parlo, parli, parla, parliamo, parlate, parlano. Every regular -are verb takes these six endings, so learning one teaches you hundreds. Mind the stress on the last one: PAR-la-no, not par-LA-no.
Esercizio 5 — -are verbs in sentences
Put the verb in brackets into the present tense:
1. Io (abitare) ___ a Gloucester. 2. Tu (lavorare) ___ a Londra? 3. Anna (studiare) ___ italiano. 4. Noi (mangiare) ___ alle otto. 5. Loro (guardare) ___ la televisione.
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1. abito, 2. lavori, 3. studia, 4. mangiamo, 5. guardano. Verbs in -giare and -ciare drop a letter rather than double it: mangiamo and mangi, never mangiiamo.
Esercizio 6 — Saying no
Make each sentence negative:
1. Parlo francese. 2. Ho fame. 3. Siamo italiani. 4. Lavora il lunedì.
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1. Non parlo francese. 2. Non ho fame. 3. Non siamo italiani. 4. Non lavora il lunedì. Non goes immediately before the verb, every time — there is no Italian equivalent of “I do not”.
Esercizio 7 — Asking a question
Turn each statement into a question:
1. Parli italiano. 2. Abita in Italia. 3. Avete fame.
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1. Parli italiano? 2. Abita in Italia? 3. Avete fame? Nothing moves and nothing is added — your voice simply rises at the end. If you can say it, you can ask it.
Esercizio 8 — Put it together
Translate into Italian:
1. I am English. 2. I have two children. 3. We live in Gloucestershire. 4. Do you speak Italian? (to a friend) 5. She does not work on Mondays.
Show answers
1. Sono inglese. 2. Ho due figli. 3. Abitiamo nel Gloucestershire. 4. Parli italiano? 5. Non lavora il lunedì. Notice how short they are: no do, and no extra pronoun.
What to practise next
Go back to the A1 exercises on greetings, articles and numbers and say each answer out loud inside a full sentence, using a verb from this page. That is the step most learners skip, and it is the one that turns recognition into speech.
If you would rather have someone correct you as you go, that is what lessons are for — one-to-one at £30 an hour, or £15 for a ninety-minute small-group session. Get in touch and tell me where you are up to.