Irregular Second Conjugation Italian Verbs

Irregular verbs are those that do not follow the typical conjugation patterns of their respective types (infinitive stem + endings). There are three distinct irregularities:

• change to the stem (andare—io vado)
• change in the normal ending (dare—io darò)
• change to both stem and ending (rimanere—io rimasi)

Irregular Second Conjugation Verbs
There are only three first conjugation verbs (verbs ending in –are) that are irregular—andare, dare, and stare. Much more numerous, however, are the irregular verbs of the second conjugation (verbs ending in –ere). These verbs are usually divided into two groups:

—verbs in –ére, (cadere, dovere, valere). The majority of irregular changes occur in the root, generally in the present indicative and subjunctive (valg–o, valg–a).

—verbs in –’ere (accendere, accludere) in which the accent falls on the stem. Usually these irregular verbs have changes in the past remote and the past participle (acce–si, acce–so).

Consult the list of principal irregular second conjugation verbs for reference.

INFINITIVE  REMOTE PAST

cadere—io caddi, lui cadde, loro caddero
tenere—io tenni, lui tenne, loro tennero
volere—io volli, lui volle, loro vollero

Other irregular –ere verbs double the final consonant of the irregular stem.

INFINITIVE  REMOTE PAST (with past participle)

bere—io bevvi, lui bevve...(bevuto)
conoscere—io conobbi, lui conobbe...(conosciuto)
rompere—io ruppi, lui ruppe...(rotto)
vivere—io vissi, lui visse...(vissuto)

Verbs ending in –arre (trarre), –orre (porre), and –urre (tradurre), like fare and dire, are considered second conjugation verbs since they derive from contractions of Latin verbs of the second conjugation (trahere, ponere, traducere, facere, dicere).

volgere