The verb is the most important part of a sentence and the nucleus around which its elements are organized. In the verb we find information relating to the subject, the time in which the expressed facts take place and how the speaker perceives them.
- Andiamo a casa.
- Let’s go home.
- Facemmo festa.
- We had a party.
- Avete capito tutto?
- Have you understood everything?
- Amare la vita.
- To love life.
In a verb we can distinguish:
- La radice (root): an invariable element that contains the meaning of the verb: am- in amare, ved– in vedere, dorm– in dormire.
- La vocale tematica (thematic vowel): identifies the three conjugations: a for the first (am-are), e for the second (tem-e-re), i for the third (dorm-i-re).
- La desinenza (ending): a variable part, placed after the root (la radice). It conveys all the grammatical information relating to mood, time, person, and number: for example –iamo, in amiamo, is the ending of the 1st person plural of the present indicative.
- La tema (theme): The root and the thematic vowel, together, give rise to the theme: guarda – is the theme of guardare, legge – is the theme of leggere, parti – is the theme of partire.