uscire / venire / dire
Irregular Presente: Uscire, Venire, Dire
Uscire (u → e), Venire (e → ie + g), and Dire (dic- stem) are essential irregular verbs. They change their spelling in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural.
How It Works
To become proficient in these verbs, you must recognize their specific stem changes:
- Uscire (to go out/exit): The 'u' changes to 'e' when stressed.
io esco, tu esci, lui esce, loro escono.
The noi and voi forms keep the 'u': usciamo, uscite. - Venire (to come): This verb adds a 'g' in the io and loro forms (vengo, vengono) and uses a diphthong 'ie' in the tu and lui/lei forms (vieni, viene). The noi and voi forms are regular: veniamo, venite. Note that in vengono, the stress falls on the first syllable (vèngono).
- Dire (to say/tell): This verb actually comes from the Latin dicere. This is why most forms use the stem dic- (dico, dici, dice, diciamo, dicono). The voi form is a unique contraction: dite.
Note that uscire and venire always use essere as an auxiliary in compound tenses because they are verbs of movement, while dire uses avere.
Examples (5)
- Stasera esco con i miei amici.
Tonight I’m going out with my friends.
Word by Word: Tonight I go out with the my friends.
Uses the irregular 'esco' form of 'uscire' to describe a social outing.
- Perché non vieni alla festa con noi?
Why don't you come to the party with us?
Word by Word: Why not you come to the party with us?
Uses the 'vieni' form of 'venire'. In Italian, you use 'venire' when the person you are talking to is already at the destination or going there too.
- Cosa dici? Non ti sento bene.
What are you saying? I can't hear you well.
Word by Word: What you say? Not you I hear well.
Uses the 'dici' form of 'dire'. Note that 'dire' focuses on the content of the words.
- Loro escono di casa alle otto.
They leave the house at eight.
Word by Word: They go out of house at the eight.
Note the stress on 'èscono' and the idiomatic use of the preposition 'di' with 'uscire'.
- Noi diciamo sempre la verità.
We always tell the truth.
Word by Word: We say always the truth.
The 'noi' form of 'dire' uses the 'dic-' stem from its Latin root.
Common Mistakes
Using 'andare' instead of 'venire' when joining someone.
Vengo a casa tua? No, vado da te!Vengo da te!When you move toward the person you are speaking to, Italian usually prefers 'venire': 'Vengo da te!' 'Vado da te' is also possible, mostly when you stress the trip itself, for example 'Domani vado da te a Roma'.
Misplacing the stress on the 'loro' form of uscire.
Loro escòno.Loro èscono.The stress in the 3rd person plural of these irregular verbs stays on the root, not the ending.
Confusing 'dire' and 'parlare'.
Lui parla una bugia.Lui dice una bugia.'Dire' is used for the specific content (a lie, a word, a thing), while 'parlare' refers to the general act of speaking or a language.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn these irregular verbs, you first need to know the subject pronouns to identify who is performing the action. Additionally, since these verbs belong to the -ire group (or historically the -ere group in the case of 'dire'), familiarity with regular present tense endings for -ere and -ire verbs provides the necessary framework to recognize their irregular stem changes.
Related Patterns
- andare / fare / dare / stareIrregular Presente: Andare, Fare, Dare, Stare
These are other high-frequency irregular verbs that often follow similar 'boot' patterns.
Level 1 - essere + Past ParticiplePresent Perfect with 'Essere'
Both 'uscire' and 'venire' are verbs of movement and require 'essere' in the past tense.
Level 2 - da + Person'Da' + Person (At Someone's Place)
Often used with 'venire' to say you are coming to someone's place (e.g., 'vengo da te').
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Sources
Practice uscire / venire / dire in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Italian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
