iamo

Iamo is the first-person plural ending used in the present tense forms of many Italian verbs. It appears in the present indicative for regular verbs across three conjugations (-are, -ere, -ire) and, for many verbs, also in the present subjunctive. In practice, it contributes to forms like parliamo, crediamo, and dormiamo, which correspond to “we speak,” “we believe,” and “we sleep.”

Origin and usage

The ending -iamo derives from Latin andam or -āmus, the Latin first-person plural ending of the present indicative, which evolved into the modern Italian pattern. In contemporary Italian, the noi form of regular verbs typically ends in -iamo: parl-iamo, cred-iamo, dorm-iamo. This pattern helps distinguish the subject in conjugation and is foundational to sentence construction with subject pronouns often omitted.

Examples by conjugation

-are verbs: parlare → parliamo (we speak)

-ere verbs: credere → crediamo (we believe)

-ire verbs: dormire → dormiamo (we sleep)

Some -ire verbs that include stem changes or -isc- in certain forms still use -iamo for the noi form (capire → capiamo).

Irregularities

While -iamo is common, several highly frequent verbs do not follow the regular pattern and may alter the stem or fuse with the subject in irregular ways. Examples include essere (siamo), avere (abbiamo), andare (andiamo), and venire (veniamo). These irregular forms illustrate that -iamo is typical but not universally applicable to every Italian verb.

See also

Italian grammar, verb conjugation, present tense, subjunctive mood.