Verbs: Infinitive 1
Voglio mangiare!
Amare, vedere, and sentire, are all infinitives. In English, infinitives are usually used with to (as in to eat), but in Italian, infinitives don't require a word like to. To say I want to eat, you would simply say: Voglio mangiare.
Voglio mangiare adesso.
I want to eat now.
Non mi piace stare qui.
I do not like to stay here.
‑are, ‑ere, ‑ire
Italian has three verb groups based on their infinitive endings: ‑are, ‑ere, and ‑ire. Here's something to remind you the ending patterns for the verbs of each group.
| subject | verb (trovare) |
| io I | trovo find |
| tu you | trovi find |
| lui / lei he / she | trova finds |
| noi we | troviamo find |
| voi you all | trovate find |
| loro they | trovano find |
| subject | verb (credere) |
| io I | credo believe |
| tu you | credi believe |
| lui / lei he / she | crede believes |
| noi we | crediamo believe |
| voi you all | credete believe |
| loro they | credono believe |
| subject | verb (offrire) |
| io I | offro offer |
| tu you | offri offer |
| lui / lei he / she | offre offers |
| noi we | offriamo offer |
| voi you all | offrite offer |
| loro they | offrono offer |
To be, being, or just be?
You’ve seen that Italian infinitives (like essere) usually correspond to a verb with to in English, for example to be.
Vuoi essere il mio ragazzo?
Do you want to be my boyfriend?
But they also correspond to the ‑ing version of the verb (like being), or just the verb on its own (like be).
Mi piace essere da sola.
I like being alone.
Non può essere vero.
It cannot be true.