Three Irregular Verbs Ending in -Gliere

| Thu, 11/07/2019 - 15:56
Three Irregular Verbs Ending in -Gliere

There are so many irregular Italian verbs, it can sometimes feel like you’ll never learn them all. But don’t worry, it really is possible! 

There are many tips and tricks to getting the hang of irregular verbs. It depends how best you learn but some of my students write them down again and again until they start to remember them. Others prefer to learn them orally, reciting them in the car on the way to work for example. It’s best to start with the most frequently used ones, making sure you get those right first. 

Another trick is to learn them in groups. Whenever you come across an irregular verb, try to see how it is similar to other verbs. This can help you remember them in groups, rather than trying to recall each one individually. 

One small collection of irregular present tense verbs all end in -gliere. The most common verb in this group is scegliere – to choose, to select. Here are some example sentences:

 

Scelgo sempre un albergo con un bel panorama– I always choose a hotel with a beautiful view

Scegli tu tra pizza e pasta! – You choose between pizza or pasta!

Scegliamo di andare in vacanza in montagna quest’estate – We are choosing to go on holiday in the mountains this summer

Gli sposi scelgono la chiesa perfetta per il matrimonio – The bride and groom choose the perfect church for their wedding 

Devi scegliere il momento giusto per dirglielo – You have to choose the right moment to tell him

 

This verb is irregular in the first person (io) and third person plural (loro), where the letters ‘gl’ change to ‘lg’. Let’s look at this in more detail:

 

Scegliere – to choose

Io scelgo – I choose

Tu scegli – You choose

Lui / lei sceglie – He / she chooses

Noi scegliamo – We choose

Voi scegliete – You (pl) choose

Loro scelgono – They choose 

 

Another verb that follow this exact same pattern is:

 

Togliere – to take off, to remove

Io tolgo – I take off

Tu togli – You take off 

Lui / lei toglie – He / she takes off

Noi togliamo – We take off

Voi togliete – You (pl) take off

Loro tolgono – They take off

 

Io tolgo il cappotto – I take my coat off

Tolgono le scarpe in casa – They take their shoes off in the house

 

 

The third verb in this group is:

 

Cogliere – to pick, to gather

Io colgo – I pick

Tu cogli – You pick

Lui / lei coglie – He / she picks

Noi cogliamo – We pick

Voi cogliete – You (pl) pick

Loro colgono – They pick

 

La bimba coglie il fiore – The child picks the flower

Cogliamo la frutta nell’orto – Let’s pick fruit in the garden

 

Once you can see the similarities between these verbs, you can learn three irregular verbs in one hit. Go on, you can do it!