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✍️ Compendium
Grammar
IT
Italiano — spelling of -ciare/-giare verbs
Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare keep a soft c/g sound throughout. Because the letters c and g are already soft before e and i, the i of the stem becomes unnecessary and is dropped: cominci, mangeremo, viaggerò.
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How it works
✓ Rule
When an ending begins with e or i, the i of the stem is dropped, never doubled. So cominciare gives cominci (tu) and comincerò (future), mangiare gives mangeremo, and viaggiare gives viaggerò. Before endings that start with a or o the i stays: comincio, mangiamo.
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Examples
| Infinitive | Form | Tense / person |
|---|---|---|
| cominciare | cominci | present, tu |
| cominciare | comincerò | future, io |
| mangiare | mangi | present, tu |
| mangiare | mangeremo | future, noi |
| viaggiare | viaggerò | future, io |
| lasciare | lascerai | future, tu |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
Do not write two i's: the second-person present is cominci and mangi, not *comincii or *mangii. This differs from -iare verbs where the i is stressed (like inviare → tu invii), which keep both i's.