In the tenses of finite modes, the verb has six persons, three for number singular (the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd) and three for the plural number (the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd).
The imperative is an exception because it has only four persons, two for the singular (the 2nd and the 3rd) and two for the plural (the 2nd and the 3rd).
Through the ending of a verb we can therefore immediately understand both the person and the number of the subject of a sentence:
| Number | Person | Ending |
| Singular | the 1st (io) the 2nd (tu) the 3rd (lui/lei) | cant-o cant-i cant-a |
| Plural | the 1st (noi) the 2nd (voi) the 3rd (loro) | cant-iamo cant-ate cant-ano |
In Italian, unlike other languages, it is not mandatory to indicate the personal pronoun io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro in front of the verb, because the ending already contains all the information relating to the person (or thing) that performs the action.