What are Modal Verbs in Italian and How Do You Use Them?

The Two-Verb Trick: Mastering Italian Modal Verbs for Beginners

Modal verbs in Italian are the verbs that express a kind of “modality” to the action being talked about, meaning that they express concepts such as desire, possibility, probability, and obligation. English and Italian both use modal verbs in a very similar way, so the concept is relatively easy to grasp.

Just like in English, Italian uses modal verbs in two-verb constructions, where you have the modal verb conjugated for the appropriate Subject, followed by the main verb in its Infinitive form.

The four most common Italian modal verbs that you absolutely need to know how to use as a beginner are:

• VOLERE – to want
• POTERE – to be able to / can
• DOVERE – to have to / must
• SAPERE – to know / can

These modal verbs, like most very common verbs in Italian, are all irregular, so you will need to learn their particular conjugations by memory. You will notice, however, that for each of these modal verbs the 2nd Person Plural (VOI – ‘you guys’) form is always regular, so that makes life a bit easier!

VOLERE – to want

To say what you or other people want to do is one of the most common things that we express in our daily lives. The verb VOLERE is essentially used in the exact same way as it is in English: to express that you want ‘something’ or that you want ‘to do something’.

The conjugation for the verb VOLERE is laid out in the table below.

io voglio – I want

tu vuoi – you want

lui/lei/Lei vuole – he wants/she wants/you want (polite)/it wants

noi vogliamo – we want

voi volete – you (guys/all) want

loro vogliono – they want

To use the modal verb VOLERE with other verbs to say that someone wants ‘to do something’, you use the following structure:

[VOLERE] + INFINITIVE

VOGLIO MANGIARE ➙ I want to eat

VUOI PRENDERE ➙ you want to take

LEI VUOLE DORMIRE ➙ she wants to sleep

VOGLIAMO FARE ➙ we want to do

VOLETE SCEGLIERE ➙ you guys want to choose

VOGLIONO FINIRE ➙ they want to finish

POTERE to be able to / can

Although the verb POTERE translates to “able to” and “can”, it is not used in every situation that we use “can” in English. The two main scenarios in which POTERE is used in Italian are:

• Expressing ability or possibility of doing something in a given moment
  For example:
  We can ask him if he wants to come
  What can I do to help?

• Expressing permission to do something, synonymous with “may”
  For example:
  Can/may I please go now?
  You can/may take three of these

The other very common scenario that we use “can” in English but which POTERE is NOT used in Italian is to express ability or skill, in the sense that you know how to do something.
For example:
I can speak five languages
Marco can play the piano
Can they read and write? The verb POTERE is NOT used for this “can” scenario. The verb used in this case is SAPERE, which we address soon.

The conjugation for the verb POTERE is laid out in the table below.

io posso – I can
tu puoi – you can
lui/lei/Lei può – he can/she can/you can (polite)/it can
noi possiamo – we can
voi potete – you (guys/all) can
loro possono – they can

To use the modal verb POTERE with other verbs to say that someone ‘can do something’, you use the following structure:

[POTERE] + INFINITIVE

POSSO MANGIARE ➙ I can eat

PUOI PRENDERE ➙ you can take

LEI PUÒ DORMIRE ➙ you sir/ma’am can sleep

POSSIAMO FARE ➙ we can do

POTETE SCEGLIERE ➙ you guys can choose

POSSONO FINIRE ➙ they can finish

DOVERE to have to / must

The modal verb DOVERE expresses obligation. While “to have to” and “must” are used in slightly different scenarios and contexts in English, both of these meanings are covered by the verb DOVERE in Italian.

The conjugation for the verb DOVERE is laid out in the table below.

io devo – I have to
tu devi – you have to
lui/lei/Lei deve – he has to/she has to/you have to (polite)/it has to
noi dobbiamo – we have to
voi dovete – you (guys/all) have to
loro devono – they have to

To use the modal verb DOVERE with other verbs to say that someone ‘has to do something’, you use the following structure:

[DOVERE] + INFINITIVE

DEVO MANGIARE ➙ I have to eat

DEVI PRENDERE ➙ you have to take

LUI DEVE DORMIRE ➙ he has to sleep

DOBBIAMO FARE ➙ we have to do

DOVETE SCEGLIERE ➙ you guys have to choose

DEVONO FINIRE ➙ they have to finish

SAPERE to know / can

As explained before, there are two ways to express the concept of “can” in Italian. SAPERE on its own simply means “to know”, but when used as a modal verb, it expresses the ability or skill of doing something, in other words, knowing how to do something.

The conjugation for the verb SAPERE is laid out in the table below.

io so – I know
tu sai – you know
lui/lei/Lei sa – he knows/she knows/you know (polite)/it knows
noi sappiamo – we know
voi sapete – you (guys/all) know
loro sanno (they know)

To use the modal verb SAPERE with other verbs to say that someone ‘can do something’, you use the following structure:

[SAPERE] + INFINITIVE

SO PARLARE ➙I can speak

SAI APRIRE➙ you can open

LUI SA TOGLIERE ➙ he can remove

SAPPIAMO FARE ➙ we can do

SAPETE COSTRUIRE ➙ you guys can construct

SANNO PULIRE ➙ they can clean