Conjugate -ERE Verbs in Italian With Ease: A Complete Guide

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Mastering verbs is essential in your journey toward speaking Italian confidently. Among them, -ERE verbs are the second-largest verb group in the Italian language. Once you internalize the rules for conjugating these verbs, a new world of expression will open up, allowing you to talk about virtually anything in Italian.

This guide focuses on regular -ERE verbs in Italian, the ones with fixed suffixes, explaining conjugation patterns across all tenses and moods. Ready to learn Italian -ERE verbs? Iniziamo! (Let’s start!).

Understanding Italian verbs: a quick recap

If you’re starting to work with -ERE verbs in Italian, chances are you’ve already begun exploring  Italian verbs as a whole. Italian verbs are divided into three conjugation groups, easily recognized by the infinitive ending, which corresponds to “to + (verb)” in English.

• prima coniugazione (first conjugation): includes all -ARE verbs in Italian, like amare (to love).
• seconda coniugazione (second conjugation): includes verbs ending in -ERE, like credere (to believe)
• terza coniugazione (third conjugation): includes Italian -IRE verbs, like scoprire (to discover)

Every Italian verb—regular or irregular— belongs to one of these three groups. The first conjugation includes the most verbs, and they are predominantly regular (with only four exceptions). As you move to the second and third conjugations, the number of verbs decreases, but irregular verbs become more common.

What is the purpose of conjugating Italian verbs?

Verb conjugation is the foundation of how to speak Italian effectively. All Italian verbs are conjugated based on three key elements: mood, tense, and the performer of the action (the subject). 

• Moods reflect the intention behind the verb: Are you stating a fact, expressing a desire, giving a command, or describing something hypothetical?
• Tenses indicate when the action occurs (past, present, future), and each mood has its own tenses.
• Subjects (explicit nouns or pronouns) determine the suffix added to the verb.

The last one may be the most significant difference between Italian and English. Verb conjugation in Italian makes the subject so clear that you can omit it. For instance:

• Io leggo un libro. = I read a book.
• Leggo un libro. = means “I read a book” without explicitly stating “I”

Understanding which conjugation group a verb belongs to allows you to know how to modify it by applying the appropriate suffixes—for regular verbs. Irregular verbs can be more challenging because they involve changes to the suffix and the stem, so you have to memorize them.

If you want to quickly see how to conjugate a verb, this list of all Italian -ERE verbs with their conjugation comes in handy.

Regular vs. irregular -ERE verbs in Italian

The second conjugation (-ERE verbs) includes many commonly used verbs, like chiedere (to ask), credere (to believe), and prendere (to take).

It also includes several irregular verbs. The most important are two groups of verbs that work as a stand-alone or combine with other verbs.

• verbi ausiliari (auxiliary verbs): The verbs essere (to be) and avere (to have) are critical, as they help create the compound form of other verbs (you will see them a lot in the following charts).
• verbi servili (modal verbs): These pair with other verbs to give them a particular meaning and include volere (to want to), potere (to can), and dovere (to have to).

Although this guide focuses on regular -ERE verbs, it’s important to know how these irregular verbs fit into the second conjugation. 

Conjugating regular -ERE Italian verbs

Conjugating regular -ERE verbs in Italian is quite straightforward. They use a single set of suffixes across all tenses. To conjugate, simply replace the -ERE ending of the verb with the appropriate suffix:

• credere (root) + “o” = Io credo (I believe)

Many -ERE verbs have a unique feature regarding pronunciation. Some verbs emphasize the root, as in CREdere (to believe), while others stress the suffix, as in vedERE (to see). This variation occurs because the second conjugation includes verbs from the second and third Latin conjugations, making pronunciation occasionally tricky.

Below is a list of some of the most commonly used regular Italian -ERE verbs and their pronunciations.

To perfect your Italian pronunciation, Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine analyzes how you pronounce each word or phrase, helping you refine your accent from the first lesson.

Non-finite moods: infinitive, participle, and gerund in Italian

There are three particular verb moods with just one form for all the subjects/pronouns, and they’re called non-finite moods. They only have two tenses: present and past.

Infinito (infinitive) mood in Italian

The present infinitive is the basic form, like “to” + verb in English.

• present infinitive: credere = to believe

The past is formed by combining the present infinitive of the auxiliary verb avere (to have) or essere (to be) + the past participle of the main verb:

• past infinitive: avere creduto = had read

Participio (participle) mood in Italian

The present describes an ongoing or continuous action. It’s mostly used as a noun or adjective:

• present participle: credente = believer

The past participle creates compound tenses and passive forms:

• past participle: creduto = believed

Gerundio (gerund) Italian verb mood

The present gerund describes an ongoing action and is often translated as verb + “-ing” in English.

• present gerund: credendo = believing

The past gerund describes a completed action that occurred before another action. It is more formal and mostly used in written Italian.

• past gerund: avendo creduto = having believed

Modo indicativo (indicative mood) of -ERE verbs in Italian

The indicative mood is used to express actions and certainties. It’s the one you’ll rely on most in everyday conversations because it lets you talk about concrete facts—whether they happened in the past, are happening now, or will happen in the future.

You’ll frequently use the simple present, imperfect, compound past, and the simple future tenses for this mood. The other four tenses are more common in literary contexts, but it’s still helpful to know they exist and be able to recognize them.

Presente (simple present tense) in the indicative mood

You can use this tense to describe actions or facts happening right now, habits, or universal truths. It’s one of the most commonly used tenses in Italian.

• Io credo in te. = I believe in you.
• Leggo il giornale ogni mattina. = I read the newspaper every morning.

Imperfetto (imperfect tense) in the indicative mood

This tense is perfect for describing ongoing actions in the past, habitual actions, or background details.

• Quando ero piccola, credevo alle favole. = When I was little, I believed in fairy tales.
• Leggevamo insieme ogni sera. = We used to read together every evening.

Passato prossimo (compound past tense) in the indicative mood

This tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past with a clear beginning and end.

It’s a compound tense, so you form it with the present of avere (to have) or essere (to be) + the past participle of the -ERE verb.

• Ho creduto ai pronostici della partita. = I believed the match predictions.

Trapassato prossimo (past perfect tense) in the indicative mood

This tense describes an action that was completed before another past event. It’s formed with the imperfect of the auxiliary verb + the past participle of the -ERE Italian verb.

• Avevate creduto alle sue parole! = You (plural) believed his words!

Passato remoto (simple past/remote past tense) in the indicative mood

This tense is used to recount events that happened in the distant past. While modern Italians often substitute it with other past tenses in everyday conversation, it remains a staple in literature and is still used in certain regional dialects.

• Credetti subito a ciò che disse. = I immediately believed what he said.

Notice something unique about this tense? Some of the conjugations offer two possible endings. This duality is a distinctive feature of the -ERE verbs in Italian.

Take credere (to believe), for example—both forms (credei and credetti) are correct! But how do you know which ending to use? While there’s no strict rule, here’s a helpful hint:

• Verbs with roots ending in the consonant “t” often use the suffix “-ei.”
  • battere (to beat/strike) = Io battei (I struck), not Io battetti
• Verbs with roots ending in other consonants typically use “-etti.”
  • vendere (to sell): Io vendetti (I sold), not Io vendei

When in doubt, consult a dictionary to check the preferred form for a specific verb.

Trapassato remoto (remote past perfect tense) in the indicative mood

This tense appears in literary contexts to indicate an action that was completed before another past action described using the remote past. It’s rarely used in spoken Italian.

Use the remote past of the auxiliary verb + the past participle to construct this tense.

Futuro semplice (future simple tense) in the indicative mood

Use this tense to talk about actions or events that will happen.

• Leggeremo un libro domani. = We will read a book tomorrow.

Futuro anteriore (future perfect tense) in the indicative mood

This tense expresses an action that will have been completed before a specific point in the future.

• Avrà già bevuto la medicina a quell’ora. = He will have drunk the medicine by then.

It works similarly to the trapassato prossimo, but in the future, and it’s often used with expressions like già (already), prima di (before), or dopo che (after) to clarify the order of events.

To conjugate, use the future tense of avere (to have) or essere (essere) + past participle.

Modo congiuntivo (subjunctive mood) of -ERE verbs in Italian

The subjunctive mood expresses doubt, uncertainty, wishes, or subjective feelings in dependent clauses, introduced by che (that).

This mood conveys a different feeling from the indicative mood, and it’s one of the keys to speaking a refined Italian. Mastering its nuances will significantly enhance your conversational skills.

Presente (present tense) in the subjunctive mood

Whether you want to express a wish, a desire, or a possibility in the present, this tense is perfect.

Here are some examples of how to use the present subjunctive in a subordinate sentence:

• Lui spera che io creda in quella storia. = He hopes that I believe in that story.
• Dubito che tu creda in te stesso. = I doubt that you believe in yourself.
• È importante che lui creda nei suoi sogni. = It’s important that he believes in his dreams.
• È conveniente che noi crediamo nelle stesse cose. = It’s convenient that we believe in the same things.
• Spero che voi crediate nelle vostre forze. = I hope that you believe in your strength.
• È fondamentale che loro credano in se stessi. = It’s essential that they believe in themselves.

Imperfetto (imperfect tense) in the subjunctive mood

This is your go-to verb tense for describing hypothetical situations, opinions, or expressing polite wishes. 

This is how you can use the imperfect subjunctive in a sentence:

• Pensava che io credessi nell’astrologia. = He/she thought that I believed in astrology.
• Non pensavo che tu credessi fosse così importante. = I didn’t think that you believed it was so important.
• Era convinto che lei credesse che fosse il momento giusto. = He was convinced that she believed it was the right time.
• Credevo che tutti noi credessimo che fosse una buona idea. = I believed that we all believed that it was a good idea.
• Speravamo che voi credeste in questo progetto. = We hoped that you believed in this project.
• Immaginavo che loro ci credessero. = I imagined that they believed it.

Passato (past tense) in the subjunctive mood

The past subjunctive describes actions or situations that are placed in the past but are hypothetical or uncertain.

Remember that in compound tenses, such as the past subjunctive, the auxiliary verb must always be conjugated according to the subject:

• Non pensa che io abbia creduto in quella teoria. = He/She doesn’t think that I have believed in that theory.
• Immagino che tu abbia creduto a quella bugia. = I imagine that you have believed that lie.
• Mi sorprende che lui abbia creduto a tutte quelle voci. = It surprises me that he has believed all those rumors.
• È incredibile che noi abbiamo creduto in quell’idea. = It’s incredible that we have believed in that idea.
• Immagino che voi abbiate creduto nel suo piano. = I imagine that you have believed in his/her plan.
• Mi spiace che loro abbiano creduto a ciò. = I’m sorry that they have believed that.

In these examples, we used the auxiliary verb avere (to have). If your verb in the past subjunctive requires the auxiliary verb essere (to be), in addition to conjugating the auxiliary according to the subject, you must also adjust the past participle of your -ERE verb to match the gender and number of the subject. For example, with the verb nascere (to be born):

• che io sia nato (masculine)/che io sia nata (feminine) = that I was born

Trapassato (past perfect subjunctive tense) in the subjunctive mood

The trapassato congiuntivo expresses hypothetical or uncertain actions that occurred before another past action. It pairs the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb with the past participle of the -ERE verb in Italian.

Let’s see how you could use the past perfect subjunctive in a sentence:

• Non era convinto che io gli avessi creduto. = He wasn’t convinced that I had believed him.
• Non sapevo che tu avessi creduto a Maria. = I didn’t know that you had believed Maria.
• Era sorpreso che lei avesse creduto alla nuova teoria. = He was surprised that she had believed the new theory.
• Non immaginava che noi avessimo creduto in quella possibilità. = He/she didn’t imagine that we had believed in that possibility.
• Speravo che voi aveste creduto nella sua intuizione. = I hoped that you had believed in his/her intuition.
• Mi spiacque che loro avessero creduto a questo. = I was sorry that they had believed that.

Modo condizionale (conditional mood) of -ERE Italian verbs

The conditional mood expresses hypothetical scenarios or possibilities dependent on certain conditions. It’s the Italian equivalent of “would” in English. It may also be translated using “might” or “could.” 

Presente (present tense) in the conditional mood

This tense describes actions that would happen under specific circumstances. It’s commonly used for hypothetical statements and formal speech.

Here are some examples of sentences with the verb credere (to believe) conjugated in the present conditional:

• Io crederei a quella storia se solo fosse vera. = I would believe that story if only it were true.
• Se fossi meno scettico, mi crederesti. = If you were less skeptical, you would believe me.
• Crederebbe a tutti se potesse! = He/she would believe everyone if he/she could!
• Noi crederemmo in questo progetto se ci dessero l’opportunità. = We would believe in this project if they gave us the opportunity.
• Se lui dicesse che esistono gli unicorni, voi ci credereste. = If he said that unicorns exist, you would believe it.
• Se dimostrassi il tuo valore, loro crederebbero in te. = If you proved your worth, they would believe in you.

Passato (past tense) in the conditional mood

This tense is particularly useful for expressing regrets or missed opportunities, especially in storytelling or emotional expressions. You can use it to express something that could have happened but didn’t.

As you can see in the following example, you use the past conditional in the same cases as the present conditional, but for past actions:

• Gli avrei creduto volentieri, ma era chiaro mentisse. = I would have believed him gladly, but it was clear he was lying.
• Tu avresti creduto volentieri a quella storia, se non si fosse dimostrata falsa. = You would have gladly believed that story if it hadn’t turned out to be false.
• Se ti fossi impegnato, lui ti avrebbe creduto. = If you had tried harder, he would have believed you.
• Non avremmo creduto che fosse possibile se non ci avessero ingannato. = We wouldn’t have believed that it was possible if they hadn’t deceived us.
• Avreste creduto nella possibilità di vincere se vi fosse stato dato modo. = You would have believed in the chance of winning if you had been given the opportunity.
• Loro ci avrebbero creduto se non ti fossi comportato così. = They would have believed us if you hadn’t behaved like that.

Modo imperativo (imperative) of Italian -ERE verbs

The imperative mood is used to issue commands, provide instructions, offer advice, or make requests. It has only one tense: the present.

For regular -ERE verbs in Italian, the forms are straightforward and consistent. However, note that the imperative does not include the first-person singular (io) or the third-person plural (loro). 

Pay particular attention to the third person singular. In this mood, Lei does not mean “she.” Instead, it is used for formal “you” and is exclusively for polite requests or formal commands.

• La prego, mi creda! = Please believe me! (formal context only).

Tips for learning -ERE verbs in Italian

It’s time to put your knowledge of -ERE verbs into practice! Here are some tips to guide your learning journey:

• Start with regular verbs: While -ERE verbs have more irregular forms than -ARE verbs, many still follow regular patterns. Focus on mastering regular verbs first. 
• Master the stress patterns: -ERE Italian verbs can place the stress on the root or on the suffix. 
• Pay attention to tenses with double suffixes: Italian -ERE verbs often feature double suffixes in certain tenses. Start by making an educated guess based on what sounds natural, then confirm the correct form with a dictionary. 
• Reinforce grammar through context: Practice building sentences with -ERE verbs to understand their usage better. For instance, Io leggo un libro (I read a book) can progress to Lo leggo (I read it.) as you incorporate Italian pronouns.
• Leverage proven learning tools: Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method can support your learning by helping you process Italian naturally, like a native speaker.