What Do You Do?

Mastering Regular -ARE Verbs

In Italian, most verbs end in -are. To use them, you drop the -are ending and add specific endings depending on who is doing the action. This is called conjugation!

Conjugation Rules for -ARE Verbs

Pronoun Ending Example (Lavorare - To work)
Io (I) -o lavoro (I work)
Tu (You singular) -i lavori (You work)
Lui / Lei (He / She) -a lavora (He / She works)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't forget to change the ending! Saying io parlare instead of io parlo sounds unnatural. Also, subject pronouns like io or tu can often be omitted because the verb ending already tells you who is speaking.

Words

lavorare
to work
Io lavoro in ufficio.I work in an office.
parlare
to speak
Tu parli italiano.You speak Italian.
studiare
to study
Lei studia l'inglese.She studies English.
ascoltare
to listen
Io ascolto la musica.I listen to music.
mangiare
to eat
Tu mangi una mela.You eat an apple.
cucinare
to cook
Lui cucina la cena.He cooks dinner.
guardare
to watch
Io guardo la TV.I watch TV.
abitare
to live
Tu abiti a Roma.You live in Rome.

Lessons are prepared with the help of AI.

Patterns

Io ___ a ___

Saying where you do something or live (I ... in ...)

Io lavoro a Roma.I work in Rome.

Tu parli ___

Asking or stating what language someone speaks

Tu parli italiano.You speak Italian.