When you start learning Italian, you’re taught that there are three conjugations to Italian verbs: -are, -ere and -ire. But have you ever come across any verbs ending in -arre, -orre and -urre? Well, these verbs are a group of irregular verbs that need to be learnt separately.
As a general rule, the infinitive is shorter than the conjugated form. They’re called contracted infinitive verbs. They are considered part of the second conjugation, as they are derived from Latin -ere verbs.
You may have seen or heard the verb ‘tradurre’ before. It means ‘to translate’ in English. Let’s look at how it is conjugated:
Tradurre
Io traduco – I translate
Tu traduci – You translate
Lui/lei traduce – He/she translated
Noi traduciamo – We translate
Voi traducete – You (pl) translate
Loro traducono – They translate
As you can see, once you have the root ‘traduc’, you add the regular present tense -ere endings to the verb. This is the case for other -urre verbs, such as:
condurre – to lead, bring, carry, accompany
dedurre – to deduce, infer, gather
produrre – to produce, make, manufacture
Here are some sentences:
Traduco il testo – I translate the text
Vi conduce in sala da pranzo – She’ll accompany you to the dining room
Si può dedurre il risultato – You can work out the result
Produci molta birra in casa – You make a lot of beer at home
Next let’s look at verbs ending in -arre, such as ‘trarre’, which means to pull or to draw:
Trarre
Io traggo – I pull
Tu trai – You pull
Lui/lei trae – He/she pulls
Noi traiamo – We pull
Voi traete – You (pl) pull
Loro traggono – They pull
In this grouping, some parts of the verb have the letter ‘g’ inserted, whereas others do not. Other verbs that follow a similar pattern are:
Contrarre – to contract, tense
Detrarre – to deduct
Sottrarre – to subtract
Let’s look at some sentences:
I ragazzi traggono le conclusion – The boys draw conclusions
Contraggo i muscoli – I contract my muscles
Detraete le spese dalle tasse? – Do you deduct your expenses from your taxes?
Se si sostrae dieci, quanto rimane? – If we subtract ten, how much is left?
The last of this irregular type of verb ends in -orre, like ‘porre’, which means to put or to place:
Porre
Io pongo – I put
Tu poni – You put
Lui/lei pone – He/she puts
Noi poniamo – We put
Voi ponete – You (pl) put
Loro pongono – They put
As you can see, the ‘io’ and ‘loro’ parts have an ‘ng’ added, and the rest of the verb just has the letter ‘n’. Other verbs like this are:
Esporre – to exhibit, display, show
Imporre – to impose, oblige
Comporre – to compose, put together
Here are some sentences using these verbs:
Devi porre il livello orizzontalmente – You have to put the level horizontally
La galleria espone un nuovo quadro famoso – The art gallery is displaying a new famous painting
I miei genitori impongono le regole – My parents impose the rules
Componiamo delle frasi in italiano – Let’s put together some sentences in Italian
These can be quite tricky to remember but it’s well worth the effort!
