Amare, vedere, and sentire, are all infinitives. In English, infinitives are usually used with to (as in to eat), but in Italian, infinitives don’t require a word like to. To say I want to eat, you would simply say: Voglio mangiare.
Italian has three verb groups based on their infinitive endings: ‑are, ‑ere, and ‑ire. Here’s something to remind you the ending patterns for the verbs of each group.
trovare to find |
|
---|---|
io | trovo (I) find |
tu | trovi (you) find |
lui / lei | trova (he / she) finds |
noi | troviamo (we) find |
voi | trovate (you all) find |
loro | trovano (they) find |
credere to believe |
|
---|---|
io | credo (I) believe |
tu | credi (you) believe |
lui / lei | crede (he / she) believes |
noi | crediamo (we) believe |
voi | credete (you all) believe |
loro | credono (they) believe |
offrire to offer |
|
---|---|
io | offro (I) offer |
tu | offri (you) offer |
lui / lei | offre (he / she) offers |
noi | offriamo (we) offer |
voi | offrite (you all) offer |
loro | offrono (they) offer |
You’ve seen that Italian infinitives (like essere) usually correspond to a verb with to in English, for example to be.
But they also correspond to the ‑ing version of the verb (like being), or just the verb on its own (like be).