Closing out the three families
Lesson 9 covered -are, Lesson 10 covered -ere. -ire is the smallest of the three families, and the only one that splits into two different regular sub-patterns for no predictable reason — which verb takes which pattern simply has to be learned per verb.
Sub-pattern A: dormire (to sleep) — the "plain" pattern
| Person | Ending | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| io (I) | -o | dormo | Dormo poco. — I sleep little. |
| tu (you, informal) | -i | dormi | Dormi bene? — Do you sleep well? |
| lui/lei/Lei (he/she/you-formal) | -e | dorme | Il bambino dorme. — The baby is sleeping. |
| noi (we) | -iamo | dormiamo | Dormiamo fino a tardi. — We sleep in. |
| voi (you, plural) | -ite | dormite | Dormite qui stanotte? — Are you (all) sleeping here tonight? |
| loro (they) | -ono | dormono | Dormono ancora. — They're still asleep. |
Identical to the -ere pattern from Lesson 10 except voi (-ite instead of -ete). Other verbs that follow this plain pattern: partire (to leave/depart), sentire (to hear/feel), servire (to serve/be needed), aprire (to open), seguire (to follow).
Sub-pattern B: finire (to finish) — the -isc- pattern
Most -ire verbs — a majority, despite "dormire-type" being the one usually taught first — insert -isc- before the ending in the io, tu, lui/lei/Lei, and loro forms only. noi and voi stay plain:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| io | finisco | Finisco alle sei. — I finish at six. |
| tu | finisci | Quando finisci? — When do you finish? |
| lui/lei/Lei | finisce | Il corso finisce a maggio. — The course finishes in May. |
| noi | finiamo | Finiamo insieme. — We finish together. |
| voi | finite | Finite oggi? — Do you (all) finish today? |
| loro | finiscono | Finiscono presto. — They finish early. |
Named exception: no rule predicts which pattern a verb uses
There's no reliable way to tell from the infinitive alone whether a new -ire verb is dormire-type or finire-type — it has to be learned with the verb, the way gender has to be learned with a noun. A working list of common verbs by type:
| Plain (dormire-type) | -isc- (finire-type) |
|---|---|
| dormire, partire, sentire, servire, aprire, seguire | finire, capire (understand), preferire (prefer), pulire (clean), spedire (send/ship), costruire (build) |
Capire is worth having ready early — "Capisco" (I understand) / "Non capisco" (I don't understand) is one of the most useful sentences in a new language, and it's already a free bonus once you know the -isc- pattern.
Named exception: three irregular -ire verbs
| Person | venire (come) | uscire (go out) | dire (say/tell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | vengo | esco | dico |
| tu | vieni | esci | dici |
| lui/lei/Lei | viene | esce | dice |
| noi | veniamo | usciamo | diciamo |
| voi | venite | uscite | dite |
| loro | vengono | escono | dicono |
Dire looks irregular for the same reason fare did in Lesson 9: its infinitive was reshaped over time from Latin dicere, but the conjugated forms still carry the older dic- stem throughout.
The same beginner walkthrough from Lessons 9–10, covering all three regular patterns together.
Practice
Fill in the blank (io-form of dormire): "___ poco." (I sleep little.)
"Quando ___ (tu, finire)?" (When do you finish?) — finire needs the -isc- infix here.
Which of these does NOT take the -isc- infix?
Fill in the blank: "___ subito!" (I'm coming right away!)
"A che ora ___ (tu, uscire) stasera?" (What time are you going out tonight?)
Fill in the blank (noi-form of dire): "Cosa ___ agli ospiti?" (What do we tell the guests?)
→ Open the reference cheat sheet for this lesson.