Comparison of Italian and Spanish

Simple Tenses

In both languages, there are three main conjugations. The infinitive endings are -are, -ere and -ire in Italian, and -ar, -er and -ir in Spanish.

Present:

	Parlare	Vendere	Partire
1st pn sg.	parlo	vendo	parto
2nd pn sg.	parli	vendi	parti
3rd pn sg.	parla	vende	parte
1st pn pl.	parliamo	vendiamo	partiamo
2nd pn pl.	parlate	vendete	partite
3rd pn pl.	parlano	vendono	partono

The equivalent is Spanish is:

	Hablar	Vender	Partir
1st pn sg.	hablo	vendo	parto
2nd pn sg.	hablas	vendes	partes
3rd pn sg.	habla	vende	parte
1st pn pl.	hablamos	vendemos	partimos
2nd pn pl.	habláis	vendéis	partís
3rd pn pl.	hablan	venden	parten

Again, there are obvious similarities. The main difference is that all Italian finite forms end in a vowel, but in Spanish this does not hold.

Imperfect:

	Parlare	Vendere	Partire
1st pn sg.	parlavo	vendevo	partivo
2nd pn sg.	parlavi	vendevi	partivi
3rd pn sg.	parlava	vendeva	partiva
1st pn pl.	parlavamo	vendevamo	partivamo
2nd pn pl.	parlavate	vendevate	partivate
3rd pn pl.	parlavano	vendevano	partivano

Spanish is similar, except that it involves the addition of 'b' in the first conjugation and 'í' in the second and third conjugations:

	Hablar	Vender	Partir
1st pn sg.	hablaba	vendía	partía
2nd pn sg.	hablabas	vendías	partías
3rd pn sg.	hablaba	vendía	partía
1st pn pl.	hablábamos	vendíamos	partíamos
2nd pn pl.	hablabais	vendíais	partíais
3rd pn pl.	hablaban	vendían	partían

Note that Spanish does not make a distinction between the first and third person singular here.

Simple past:

	Parlare	Vendere	Partire
1st pn sg.	parlai	vendei	partii
2nd pn sg.	parlasti	vendesti	partisti
3rd pn sg.	parlò	vendé	partì
1st pn pl.	parlammo	vendemmo	partimmo
2nd pn pl.	parlaste	vendeste	partiste
3rd pn pl.	parlarono	venderono	partirono

The regular forms in Spanish are:

	Hablar	Vender	Partir
1st pn sg.	hablé	vendé	partí
2nd pn sg.	hablaste	vendiste	partiste
3rd pn sg.	habló	vendió	partió
1st pn pl.	hablamos	vendimos	partimos
2nd pn pl.	hablasteis	vendisteis	partisteis
3rd pn pl.	hablaran	vendieron	partieron

There are some clear similarities in the verb endings. However, in both languages there are many irregularities, and in the case of Italian there are even alternative forms for some verbs. The usage of the simple past also differs from one language to another. In the North of Italy, it is rarely used, and is reserved mainly for formal written language. Northern Italians tend to prefer the perfect tense (see below). In Spanish, however, it is used extremely frequently, as indeed in English. For example, 'I did the shopping yesterday' would be ho fatto la spesa ieri (perfect tense) in (Northern) Italian, but fui de compras ayer (simple past tense) in Spanish.

Future:

	Parlare	Vendere	Partire
1st pn sg.	parlerò	venderò	partirò
2nd pn sg.	parlerai	venderai	partirai
3rd pn sg.	parlerà	venderà	partirà
1st pn pl.	parleremo	venderemo	partiremo
2nd pn pl.	parlerete	venderete	partirete
3rd pn pl.	parleranno	venderanno	partiranno

The basic idea is to add an appropriate (stressed) ending to the infinitive. The same idea applies in Spanish, but the endings are slightly different:

	Hablar	Vender	Partir
1st pn sg.	hablaré	venderé	partiré
2nd pn sg.	hablarás	venderás	partirás
3rd pn sg.	hablará	venderá	partirá
1st pn pl.	hablaremos	venderemos	partiremos
2nd pn pl.	hablaréis	venderéis	partiréis
3rd pn pl.	hablarán	venderán	partirán

Both languages use the future tense less frequently than in English, with a preference for the present tense.

Care must be taken when producing statements such as 'when you come, I will pay you'. Here, English uses the present tense for the first clause and the future for the second. In Italian, the two tenses must be the same; either both present (quando vieni, ti pago) or both future (quando verrai, ti pagherò). Spanish on the other hand follows English, except that the first verb must be in the subjunctive: cuando vengas, te pagaré.

Conditional:

	Parlare	Vendere	Partire
1st pn sg.	parlerei	venderei	partirei
2nd pn sg.	parleresti	venderesti	partiresti
3rd pn sg.	parlerebbbe	venderebbe	partirebbe
1st pn pl.	parleremmo	venderemmo	partiremmo
2nd pn pl.	parlereste	vendereste	partireste
3rd pn pl.	parlerebbero	venderebbero	partirebbero

As with the future tense, the basic idea is to add an appropriate ending to the infinitive. The same idea applies in Spanish, but the endings in Spanish are easier to remember because they resemble the imperfect endings:

.

	Hablar	Vender	Partir
1st pn sg.	hablaría	vendería	partiría
2nd pn sg.	hablarías	venderías	partirías
3rd pn sg.	hablaría	vendería	partiría
1st pn pl.	hablaríamos	venderíamos	partiríamos
2nd pn pl.	hablaríais	venderíais	partiríais
3rd pn pl.	hablarían	venderían	partirían

Last updated December 2016 by Adam N. Letchford.