Italian conjugation explanation
Accents on conjugated verb forms

<p>In Italian, an accent mark is required when the stress of the word falls on the <strong>last vowel</strong>. While many verb forms are stressed on the penultimate syllable (e.g., <span style="font-style: italic;">p<strong>a</strong>rlo</span>), specific tenses and irregular verbs require an accent on the final letter.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The Future Simple</div>

<p>In the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/40/" target="_blank">Future Simple</a>

, the <strong>first person singular</strong> (S/1) and the <strong>third person singular</strong> (S/3) always carry a grave accent (<span style="font-style: italic;">`</span>). This applies to all verb groups (-are, -ere, -ire).</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/parlare/" title="Click to see conjugations for parlare" target="_blank">parlare</a>

(to speak)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Io <span class="green_emphasis">parlerò</span> con Luigi domani. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I will speak with Luigi tomorrow.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dirigere/" title="Click to see conjugations for dirigere" target="_blank">dirigere</a>

(to direct)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Lei <span class="green_emphasis">dirigerà</span> il nuovo progetto. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She will direct the new project.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>Here is the conjugation table for

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/abitare/" title="Click to see conjugations for abitare" target="_blank">abitare</a>

in the Future Simple:</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/40/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Futuro semplice</a>

</span>abiterò

</span>

</div>

</span>abiterai

</span>

</div>

lui

</span>abiterà

</span>

</div>

noi

</span>abiteremo

</span>

</div>

voi

</span>abiterete

</span>

</div>

loro

</span>abiteranno

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The Past Historic (Passato Remoto)</div>

<p>In the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank">Past Historic</a>

, regular verbs ending in <span style="font-style: italic;">-are</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">-ire</span> carry an accent on the <strong>third person singular</strong> (S/3).</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/andare/" title="Click to see conjugations for andare" target="_blank">andare</a>

(to go) → <span style="font-style: italic;">-are</span> verb</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Mario <span class="green_emphasis">andò</span> a Roma l'anno scorso. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Mario went to Rome last year.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dormire/" title="Click to see conjugations for dormire" target="_blank">dormire</a>

(to sleep) → <span style="font-style: italic;">-ire</span> verb</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Il bambino <span class="green_emphasis">dormì</span> per dieci ore. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The baby slept for ten hours.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>Compare the conjugations of <span style="font-style: italic;">camminare</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">finire</span> in the Past Historic:</p>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Passato remoto</a>

</span>camminai

</span>

</div>

</span>camminasti

</span>

</div>

lui

</span>camminò

</span>

</div>

noi

</span>camminammo

</span>

</div>

voi

</span>camminaste

</span>

</div>

loro

</span>camminarono

</span>

</div>

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/39/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Passato remoto</a>

</span>finii

</span>

</div>

</span>finisti

</span>

</div>

lui

</span>finì

</span>

</div>

noi

</span>finimmo

</span>

</div>

voi

</span>finiste

</span>

</div>

loro

</span>finirono

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Monosyllabic Verbs</div>

<p>In the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/36/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>

, a few monosyllabic verb forms take an accent to distinguish them from other parts of speech (like conjunctions or prepositions).</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div><span class="green_emphasis">è</span> (is) → verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/essere/" title="Click to see conjugations for essere" target="_blank">essere</a>

</div>

<div><span class="brown_emphasis">e</span> (and) → conjunction</div>

</li>

<li>

<div><span class="green_emphasis">dà</span> (gives) → verb

</div>

<div><span class="brown_emphasis">da</span> (from) → preposition</div>

</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Lui <span class="green_emphasis">è</span> a casa <span class="brown_emphasis">e</span> dorme. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He is at home and is sleeping.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Maria mi <span class="green_emphasis">dà</span> un regalo che viene <span class="brown_emphasis">da</span> Parigi. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Maria gives me a gift that comes from Paris.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Common Mistakes: Fa, Va, Sta, Do</div>

<p>Crucially, the third person singular forms of

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/andare/" title="Click to see conjugations for andare" target="_blank">andare</a>

, and

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/stare/" title="Click to see conjugations for stare" target="_blank">stare</a>

, as well as the first person of

, correspond to words that are already unique. Therefore, they are <strong>never accented</strong> in the Present Indicative.</p>

<ul>

<li><strong>sta</strong> (he/she stays) → NOT <span class="red_emphasis">stà</span></li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Marco <span class="green_emphasis">va</span> a scuola e <span class="green_emphasis">fa</span> i compiti. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Marco goes to school and does his homework.</span>)</div>

<p>Note: The Imperative forms of these verbs may appear with an apostrophe (not an accent) to indicate truncation, for example:

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/italian_imperative_truncated_forms/" target="_blank">dimmi, fammi, vacci, etc.</a>

</p>

Italian conjugation explanation Accents on conjugated verb forms

Italian conjugation explanation
Accents on conjugated verb forms