There is no shortage of opportunities to confuse verbs while learning a new language, though I stumbled upon a particularly embarrassing way.
While visiting Italy during a heat wave, I had taken the English phrase “I am hot” and translated it, word for word, into Italian. I used the verb essere (to be), and therefore, I announced to an old man: “I am horny.”
If I had used the verb avere to say that “I have heat,” I would have been understood, even though that statement doesn’t make sense in English.
Italians rarely make such ridiculous mistakes in their own tongue, but in the course of my travels, I did hear native speakers choose the wrong verb only to be corrected by another native speaker. When it comes to choosing the correct Italian verb, there are as many exceptions as there are rules.
Essere, Italian Verb #1
Essere is the most used verb in the Italian language. It means “to be” or “to exist,” and it has fundamental uses, both in spoken and written language:
Establishing identity — “I am John,” for example.
Linking subject and predicate — The window is open.
Additionally, essere is the most commonly used auxiliary verb, a so-called “helper verb” that is paired with another verb to form a compound tense. The trick is knowing the situations when essere is the correct helper verb to use:
With intransitive verbs…sometimes — Verbs that are used intransitively will sound silly, or they won’t make sense, when they are followed by a description of who or what. For example, “The man had died…a death.” That last part is unnecessary because “to die” is a verb that is used intransitively. Some intransitive verbs form compound tenses with essere, many do not.
With verbs of movement…often — Many verbs of movement (e.g. to fall, to arrive, etc.) form compound tenses with essere. The same is true for verbs that indicate a change in form (e.g. to grow, to shrink, etc.). There are exceptions. “To run” forms compound tenses with the helper verb avere (to have).
With transitive verbs in the passive voice…almost always — To make a sentence passive, the subject and the predicate are flipped around: “The stranger killed the man” becomes “The man was killed by the stranger.” In this case, “was” is formed using the helper verb essere. Other Italian verbs are sometimes used as passive voice helpers: The verbs venire (to come) and andare (to go) are two examples. These exceptions are found in formal language, like a legal document. It’s worth noting that passive voice is more poetic, common and tolerable in the Italian language than it is in English.
With impersonal verbs…almost always — In the Italian language, any verb in the finite mood can also be used impersonally (i.e. without specifiying a subject). For example, “One does not order wine at a beer garden.” (The action of the verb is performed by an unknown subject, “one,” and the verb is conjugated using the third person singular.) Italians use this construction as a non-judgmental way to express a custom, and when this construction calls for a helper verb, it always uses essere. On the other hand, atmospheric verbs like piovere (to rain) and nevicare (to snow) are impersonal and they accept essere or avere as the auxiliary verb.
With reflexive verbs…always — A verb is used reflexively when the action performed by the subject(s) falls upon the subject(s). For example, “I dressed myself this morning,” or “We met last summer.” These reflexive constructions always form compound tenses using essere as the helper verb. When the action of the verb falls mutually upon multiple subjects…meeting, falling in love, etc…it is called a reciprocal reflexive.
With dusk and dawn verbs…always — The verbs albeggiare (to dawn) and imbrunire (to fall into night) use essere to make compound tenses.
With transitive verbs in the active voice…almost never — 99.9% of the time, avere is the helper verb that is paired with transitive verbs used in the active voice. For example, “He had eaten the hamburger.” However, there is a rare exception where essere is used as the helper verb (along with a personal pronoun) to emphasize the significance of the action. For example, if the hamburger in question had weighed five pounds, an Italian might exclaim: “Ti sei mangiato quell’hamburger!”
With servile verbs…it depends on the master verb — “I must attend. I want to go. I can depart now.” The verbs in italics serve the master verbs that follow, hence, they are servile verbs. When the master verb calls for essere in a compound tense, the servile verb goes along with the master.
Avere, Italian Verb #2
Avere is arguably the second most important verb in the Italian language. It means “to have” or “to possess,” yet it is often used to indicate a temporary state of being. Here are some fundamental ways that the verb is used:
Establishing age — “I am 40 years old,” for example, is expressed in Italian as “I have 40 years.”
Indicating feelings — “He was afraid,” on the other hand, is translated into Italian as “He had fear.” To feel hungry is “to have hunger,” etc.
Additionally, avere is the second-most used auxiliary verb, i.e. a verb that is paired with another verb to form a compound tense. Here are situations when avere is the correct helper verb to use:
With verbs of movement…sometimes — Some of the most commonly used verbs of movement (e.g. “to walk,” “to run” and “to drive”) use avere as their helper verb, even though many others form compound tenses with essere.
With intransitive verbs…often — Verbs that are used intransitively do not specify a direct object. For example, “He had coughed.” No object is implied because coughing is a standalone action. (On the other hand, if “he had coughed…smoke,” the verb is now being used transitively.) Many intransitive verbs form compound tenses with avere, others do not.
With weather verbs…often — In Italian, it is acceptable to use essere or avere as a helper verb in constructions like “it has rained,” or “it has snowed.” The helper verb avere seems to be used around 60% of the time.
With transitive verbs in the active voice…almost always — If the action of a verb falls upon a direct object, even if that object is merely implied, the verb is being used transitively. For example, “I ate…the candy bar.” It’s clear that I ate something, even if I don’t specify what it was. All transitive verbs form compound tenses using avere as the auxiliary verb. (In the rarest of circumstances, the verb essere is paired with a transitive verb to emphasize the significance of what just happened.)
With reflexive verbs…never — A verb is used reflexively when the action performed by the subject(s) falls upon the subject(s). For example, “I had washed myself,” or “We had seen each other.” Reflexive verbs always use essere to form compound tenses (even though they are transitive and active).
With transitive verbs in the passive voice…never — A transitive verb uses essere, not avere, to form compound tenses in the passive voice.
With itself…always — The verb avere is used to form a compound tense with itself. For example, “I had had enough.”
With servile verbs…it depends on the master verb — “I must leave. I want to stay. I can exit now.” These italicized verbs are in service to the master verb that follows, hence, they are servile verbs. When the master verb calls for avere in a compound tense, the servile verb goes along with the master.