How to conjugate -ire verbs
Verbs in -ire such as dormire (to sleep) work like the other families: drop the ending -ire, keep the stem and add the ending for the person. The stem dorm- never changes.
dormire (to sleep)
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | dormo | I sleep |
| tu | dormi | you sleep |
| lui/lei | dorme | he/she sleeps |
| noi | dormiamo | we sleep |
| voi | dormite | you (all) sleep |
| loro | dormono | they sleep |
Present tense of dormire
The endings are the same as in -ere, only voi ends in -ite instead of -ete.
dormire in a sentence
Dormo otto ore ogni notte.
I sleep eight hours every night.
Dormi bene in questo letto?
Do you sleep well in this bed?
Stanotte dormiamo in albergo.
Tonight we are sleeping in a hotel.
I bambini dormono già.
The children are already asleep.
Verbs that work like dormire
Common -ire verbs without an insert
Il treno parte alle sette.
The train leaves at seven.
Senti, hai un minuto?
Listen, do you have a minute?
Il bar apre alle sei.
The bar opens at six.
Stasera offro io.
Tonight it is on me.
Quando partite per Napoli?
When are you all leaving for Naples?
Seguiamo un corso di italiano.
We are taking an Italian course.
Not all -ire verbs work like this: many insert -isc-, for example capire (capisco). You cannot tell from the infinitive. So learn every new -ire verb together with its io form: partire, parto.
