INFINITIVE

to go to come to look, watch to speak, talk to feel (improperly: to hear)

andare venire guardare parlare sentire

andà venì guardà parlà sentì

• If the penultimate syllable carries the stress, the same aforesaid rule is applied:
  

  to fall to want to enjoy to know to be able, can

  cadere volere godere sapere potere

  cadé volé godé sapé poté

  
  
• For the verbs whose antepenultimate syllable is stressed, the roman form drops ...re, keeping the stress in its original position:
  

  to take to believe to cook to laugh to grow

  prendere credere cuocere ridere crescere

  prende crede còce  (..uo.. turns into ..o..) ride cresce

  
  Seldom the same rule is applied to verbs of the previous group, which therefore have two possible forms:

  to see, watch to sit

  vedere sedere

  vede,  but also  vedé sede,  but also  sedé

to pull them to hear you to pay us to cure her to eat them to speak to you

tirarle sentirvi pagarci curarla mangiarli parlarvi

tiralle  (i.e.  tirà + le with a double "l") sentivve  (i.e.  sentì + ve with a double "v") pagacce  (i.e.  pagà + ce with a double "c") curalla maggnalli parlavve

to give (to) him · her · them   to pay her to steal from them to hold for him to speak to them

dargli · darle · dar loro pagarle rubare loro tenergli parlare loro

daje  (pronounced as dajje) pagaje  (pron. as pagajje) arubbaje  (p. as arubbajje) teneje  (pron. as tenejje ) parlaje  (pron. as tenejje )

to catch me to cook them to believe in you (plural) to raise (or grow) him / it to lose him / it

prendermi cuocerle credervi crescerlo perderlo

prendeme, or prenneme còcele  (note the contraction of ..uo.. into ...ò...) credeve crescelo perdelo

PRESENT INDICATIVE

he / she jumps I sell you believe he believes you (plural) take

salta vendo credi mangia prendete

sarta ("r" replaces "l") venno ("nn" replaces "nd") credi magna (or maggna) prendete

• The first plural person always takes a ...mo inflection, using the same vowel found in the relevant infinitive tense:
  

  we sleep we fall we look, watch we feel we sit we want

  dormiamo cadiamo guardiamo sentiamo sediamo vogliamo

  dormìmo (infinitive: dormire) cadémo (infinitive: cadere) guardàmo (infinitive: guardare) sentìmo (infinitive: sentire) sedémo (infinitive: sedere) volémo (infinitive: volere)

  
  
• The third plural person generally changes into ...eno, with verbs of either conjugation:
  

  they sleep they sew they look, watch they hear, listen they laugh they write

  dormono cuciono guardano sentono ridono scrivono

  dòrmeno cùceno guàrdeno sènteno rìdeno scrìveno

  
  

• Essere (roman: Èsse) ("to be"):

  I am we are you (plural) are

  sono siamo siete

  so' (with an apostrophe) sémo séte

  
  
• Avere (roman: Ave') ("to have"):

  we have

  abbiamo

  avemo

  
  

MODERN DIALECT

Especially in compound tenses, as an auxiliary verb, the present tense inflection of the verb avere are sometimes contracted into the following forms:

you did we did you (plural) did

hai fatto abbiamo fatto avete fatto

ha' fatto a'mo fatto  also spelt  àmo fatto a'te fatto  also spelt  àte fatto

This contraction is not a rule, but it is becoming more and more used, especially in the spoken language.

• Fare (roman: Fa') ("to do, make"):

  I do we do

  faccio facciamo

  fo  also spelt  fo' famo

  
  
• Piacere (roman: Piacé) ("to be liked"):

  they are liked

  piacciono

  piàceno

  
  
• Potere (roman: Poté) ("to be able to, can"):

  we can, we may they can, they may

  possiamo possono

  potémo pònno

  
  
• Venire (roman: Venì) ("to come"):

  you come he / she comes we come they come

  vieni viene veniamo vengono

  venghi (by phonetic resemblance with vengo, 1st sing. person) viè venìmo vengheno (as for regular verbs)

  
  
• Volere (roman: Volé) ("to want"):

  I want you want he / she wants we want you want they want

  voglio vuoi vuole vogliamo volete vogliono

  vojo (the cluster gl turns into j) vòi (the diphtongue uo is shortened) vòle voléemo volete (the only unchanged inflection) vojono

  
  
• For verbs such as conoscere ("to know"), uscire ("to go out, come out"), etc., the second singular person is often ...schi, merely in order to maintain the guttural sound of the first singular person, ...sco:

  I know him you know him when I come out of the house when you come out of the house

  io lo conosco tu lo conosci quando esco da casa quando esci da casa

  io lo conosco tu lo conoschi quanno esco de casa quanno eschi de casa

  
  
• The first plural person of the verb andare ("to go") is annamo, but it is very often trimmed into 'namo (an elision), although no other sound comes before it. This occurs especially when the verb is used for urging somebody to do something (i.e. "let's go, come on", etc.). This form follows all the rules previously discussed in the phonetic changes section, such as the doubling of the first "n", the elision of the last "o" when followed by preposition a, and so on.
  

  shall we go? we are going home so, are we going? let's go, it's getting late!

  andiamo? andiamo a casa allora andiamo? andiamo, che si fa tardi!

  annamo?,  or  'namo? annam'a ccasa,  or  'nam'a ccasa allora 'nnamo?  (note the double "n") annamo, che sse fa ttardi!, or  'namo, che sse fa ttardi!

FUTURE INDICATIVE

I'll go we'll go they'll go

andrò andremo andranno

anderò anderemo anderanno

I'll be able to we'll be able to they'll be able to

potrò potremo potranno

poterò poteremo poteranno

IMPERFECT INDICATIVE

we went you went we replied you replied we returned you returned

andavamo andavate rispondevamo rispondevate tornavamo tornavate

annavàmo,  or  annàmio annavàte,  or  annàvio risponnevamo,  or  risponnémio risponnevate,  or  risponnévio tornavamo,  or  tornàmio tornavate,  or  tornàvio

CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE USE OF CI

ci riesci? we are not going there he tries that again they live there are you doing that again?

ci riesci? non ci andiamo ci riprova ci abitano lo fate di nuovo? (ci rifate?) [2]

ciarièschi? [1] nun ciannàmo ciaripròva ciàbbiteno ciarifàte?

will you go and fetch    something for us? did you see us? they made us go away we are going there we greet each other we wash our hands we meet each other there we go and have fun (= we go    and enjoy ourselves)

ci andate a prendere    qualcosa? ci avete visti? ci hanno fatto andare via ci andiamo (andiamo lì) ci salutiamo ci laviamo le mani ci vediamo lì ci andiamo a divertire

ciannàte a pijà    quarche ccosa? ciavète visti? cianno fatto annà vvia ciannàmo se salutamo se lavamo le mano se vedemo in piazza s'annàmo a divertì

SIMPLE PAST

he / she died he / she ran I went he / she went

morì corse andai andò

morette, morze corrette, corze  (or corse, without the emphatic "s") aggnedi, annai, annetti aggnede, annò, annette

we saw we went we ran

vedemmo andammo corremmo

vedessimo andassimo corressimo

they went they vanished

andarono sparirono

andonno, or andorno, or agnedero sparinno

Subbito le perzone si slargorno, Che già con Marco Pepe eran venute, E quelle ancor ch'a caso capitorno Da curïosità quì trattenute. Fecer l'istesso quelle, ch'arrivorno, Che da Meo queste cose havean sapute, El campo largo e libero si lassa, E in tel mezzo nisciun proprio ce passa.

Instantly, the people moved sideways; Some of them had come with Marco Pepe, And any other who by chance was passing by Had stopped, interested in what was happening. The same did those who came Having been told by Meo, And the field is now left completely free, And really nobody walks in the center.

(Meo Patacca, IV - 67)

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

(that) they are able (that) they have (that) he / she comes (that) he / she does

(che) possano (che) abbiano (che) venga (che) faccia

(che) pòssino,  or pòzzino (emphatic "s") (che) abbino  (abbiino, but one "i" is dropped) (che) venghi (che) facci

PAST SUBJUNCTIVE

(that) you could (that) you ate

(che) poteste (che) mangiaste

(che) potéssivo (che) magnàssivo

PRESENT CONDITIONAL

I would put I would believe I would give

metterei crederei darei

metterìa crederìa darìa

MODERN DIALECT

In more recent times the first singular person ...ia changed into ...ebbe (as the third singular person in standard Italian): io metterebbe (instead of io metterìa), io darebbe, etc.

IMPERATIVE

When the verb is regular, if the second singular person is followed by pronoun particles ...mi, ...ti, ...lo, ...la, ...ci, ...vi, ...li, ...le, the penultimate vowel of the verb changes into "e" (whereas in Italian it is always either "a" or "i"):

sell it put them change it listen to them wash yourself guide him

vendilo mettile cambiala sentile lavati guidalo

véndelo (o vénnelo) méttele càmbiela sèntele làvete guìdelo

A similar change (i.e. "e" in place of another vowel) occurs in the first plural person when it is used to express an exhortation and has a pronoun particle at the bottom (focus the difference comparing the examples with and without the particle):

let's drink let's drink some wine let's go let's go and tell him let's eat a pizza let's hide it here let's buy her an ice-cream

beviamo beviamoci un po' di vino andiamo andiamo a dirglielo mangiamoci una pizza nascondiamolo qui compriamole un gelato

bevémo bevémese un po' dde vino annàmo annàmejelo a ddì magnamese 'na pizza nasconnémelo cqui compràmeje un gelato

As already mentioned, the roman dialect makes no difference between the Italian ...gli ("him [object], to him"), ...le ("her [object], to her"), loro ("them [object], to them"): they all turn into ...je (the actual equivalent of ...gli, i.e. "him [object], to him").
Therefore, either of the Italian forms scrivigli ("write to him"), scrivile ("write to her") or scrivi loro ("write to them"), in roman dialect are all scriveje.

In the case of reflexive forms, both standard Italian and roman dialect place the pronoun particle at the end of the verb:

dress yourself! bring me the mail! look at him!

vestiti! portami la posta! guardalo!

vèstete! pòrteme la posta! guàrdelo!

But turning them into their respective negatives, in standard Italian two different forms are allowed (either of the two is correct), while in roman dialect the second one is preferred, i.e. the one in which the pronoun comes before the verb:

don't dress yourself! don't bring me the mail! don't look at him!

non vestirti! non ti vestire! non portarmi la posta! non mi portare la posta! non guardarlo! non lo guardare!

nun vestitte!  (seldom) nun te vestì! nun portamme la posta  (seldom) nu' mme pòrtà la posta nun guardallo!  (seldom) nu' lo guardà!

It is useful to check again the changes concerning the word nun when it is followed by the pronouns me, lo and la, in the ELISIONS AND SHORTENINGS paragraph.


Also irregular verbs usually follow the standard Italian imperative inflections (eventual changes may be merely due to phonetic reasons). The exceptions are few, and among the ones commonly encountered are vieni ("come") which turns into viè, and both second persons of the Italian verb essere ("to be"): Italian sii ("be" [singular]) and siate ("be" [plural]), change into èssi, and séte (seldom used), respectively:

come here, don't go away! be kind, lend me the pen

vieni qua, non andare via! sii gentile, prestami la penna

viè cquà, nun annà via! èssi ggentile, prèsteme la penna

PAST PARTICIPLE

It is very important, not because of its use alone but because it is used for forming compound tenses, in particular the present perfect, which in roman dialect is frequently used, especially in the dialect's modern version.
There are no substantial changes, except for the verb "andare" (to go), whose past participle is ito (with the relevant feminine and plural forms: ita, iti, ite), although in the modern dialect the regular form annàto (i.e. andato) is becoming more and more common:

I have gone (I went) you have gone (you went) you had gone we had gone

sono andato siete andate eri andata eravamo andati

so' ito (modern form: so' annato) séte ite (modern form: séte annate) eri ita (modern form: eri annata) erimo iti (modern form: eravamo annati)

A few contractions are also known, but they are scarce: for instance, creduto (believed) may often turn into créso.


The roman dialect uses the gerund more sparingly than standard Italian does, often expressing the same concept by using different tenses, thus lengthening the sentence, and making an emphatic use of the conjunction che. These forms will be discussed in paragraph 10, SYNTAX NOTES.
The phonetic changes that the gerund undergoes usually consist in the change of ...ndo into ...nno, as already discussed in CHANGES OF LETTERS AND CLUSTERS, but since this is not a strict rule both versions may exist:

walking drinking eating laughing crying

camminando bevendo mangiando ridendo piangendo

camminànno  but also camminando bevènno  but also bevendo maggnànno  but also maggnando ridènno  but also ridendo piaggnènno  but also piaggnendo

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REFLEXIVE FORMS

In forming the reflexive (in Italian: lavarsi, to wash oneself; vestirsi, to dress oneself; etc.) the roman dialect drops the "r", and doubles the "s" if the verb has a truncated infinitive. Remember that the pronoun si turns into se, as already discussed in CHANGES OF LETTERS AND CLUSTERS.
Beware that many Italian reflexive verb are not reflexive in English:

to comb oneself to lie down to get dressed to wash oneself to get lost to believe to be to dye (one's hair, clothes, etc)

pettinarsi sdraiarsi vestirsi lavarsi perdersi credersi tingersi

pettinasse sdraiasse vestisse lavasse pèrdese crédese tìgnese (note the ngàgn change)

This is the same kind of change already for the pronoun particles (see again INFINITIVE).

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VERBS THAT EXPRESS REITERATION
(AND OTHER CHANGES)

In front of verbs expressing a repeated action, which in Italian usually start with ri... (i.e. rivedere = to see again; ricominciare = to start again; etc.), the roman dialect very often adds an "a":

to take again, start again to recognize to repeat to rebound to recur

riprendere riconoscere ripetere rimbalzare ricorrere

ariprende ariconosce aripète arimbarzà aricóre

This also happens to a number of verbs which in standard Italian have a similar first part (ri..., re... or ra...), but do not really express a reiteration:

to reply to tell (a story) to pick up to remember

rispondere raccontare raccogliere ricordare

arisponne ariccontà ariccoje aricordà

Other changes may take place in the root of the verb, but in this case thay are not classifiable. They are usually due to the origin of the word, or to its common use, rather than to mere phonetic changes:

to transport to drink

trasportare bere

straportà béve   (after the Latin and early Italian bevere)

In these cases the inflections do not undergo particular changes, and follow the schemes discussed so far.

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Introduction to the ROMAN DIALECT
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |



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