Have you ever read verbs like tradurre, proporre, attrarre and thought: “But these don’t end in -ARE, or -ERE, or -IRE — where do they come from?” They are among the most feared verbs in the entire Italian language. But they have a secret that, once understood, makes everything much simpler. In this article you will learn to recognise and correctly conjugate Italian verbs ending in -ORRE, -URRE and -ARRE — the ones that, if you make mistakes with them, immediately make it clear that the speaker is not a native.
Irregular Verbs Ending in -ORRE, -URRE and -ARRE
The Big Secret: They Are -ERE Verbs in Disguise
Here is the revelation that changes everything: verbs ending in -orre, -urre and -arre are in reality verbs of the second conjugation. They officially belong to the group of -ERE verbs — they are simply the “disguised” ones of Italian grammar.
In Latin there were regular verbs such as ponĕre [to place], ducĕre [to lead] and trahĕre [to pull]. Over the centuries, Italian “shortened” these forms, losing some letters along the way:
- ponĕre → porre [to place/put]
- ducĕre → durre [to lead] (which we find in condurre, tradurre, produrre…)
- trahĕre → trarre [to pull/extract]
That is why these verbs behave in such a particular way: they retain the original Latin root in a great many forms of the conjugation. Once this mechanism is understood, everything becomes much simpler.
Group 1: Verbs Ending in -ORRE
The base verb of this group is PORRE [to place/put/deposit], which means mettere [to put], collocare [to place], sistemare [to arrange]. It is used mainly in formal contexts («porre una domanda» [to ask a question], «porre fine» [to put an end]), but its derivatives are very frequent in everyday language: comporre [to compose], proporre [to propose], disporre [to arrange], imporre [to impose], opporre [to oppose], supporre [to suppose], esporre [to expose], deporre [to depose], posporre [to postpone], presupporre [to presuppose]…
The Latin root is PON- in the present indicative:
Conjugation of PORRE in the Present Indicative
| Person | PORRE [to place/put] | PROPORRE [to propose] |
|---|---|---|
| io | pongo | propongo |
| tu | poni | proponi |
| lui/lei | pone | propone |
| noi | poniamo | proponiamo |
| voi | ponete | proponete |
| loro | pongono | propongono |
Note: in the first person singular and in the third person plural a G appears (pongo, pongono). This is not an isolated exception — it is the same phenomenon found in other common verbs such as venire [to come] (io vengo, loro vengono), tenere [to hold/keep] (io tengo, loro tengono) and rimanere [to stay] (io rimango, loro rimangono).
Curiosity: the Word «Posta»
The word «posta» [post/mail] — both the postal service and the past participle of porre — comes directly from the Latin ponere. Letters are «pongono» [placed], «depositano» [deposited] in a specific place. That is why it is called «posta»: it is the place where things are put. Grammar hides in everyday words too.
Group 2: Verbs Ending in -URRE
The base verb of this group is DURRE [to lead], which on its own is barely used in modern Italian, but exists in a great many very common compounds: tradurre [to translate], condurre [to lead/conduct], produrre [to produce], ridurre [to reduce], sedurre [to seduce], introdurre [to introduce], dedurre [to deduce], indurre [to induce], riprodurre [to reproduce]…
The Latin root is DUC- in the present indicative:
Conjugation of TRADURRE in the Present Indicative
| Person | TRADURRE [to translate] | CONDURRE [to lead/conduct] |
|---|---|---|
| io | traduco | conduco |
| tu | traduci | conduci |
| lui/lei | traduce | conduce |
| noi | traduciamo | conduciamo |
| voi | traducete | conducete |
| loro | traducono | conducono |
Completely regular — it is simply a -ERE verb in disguise. The same applies to all the derivatives: io conduco, produco, riduco, seduco, introduco…
Curiosity: «Sedurre» Doesn’t Always Mean What You Think
In Latin seducere literally meant “to lead away, to take to one side”. Over time the meaning… let’s say, evolved. But the etymology reveals that sedurre [to seduce] and condurre [to lead] are close relatives — both from the same root duc-.
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The base verb of this group is TRARRE [to pull/extract/draw], which means tirare fuori [to take out], estrarre [to extract], ricavare [to obtain]. It is typical of written and formal language, but very frequent in everyday expressions: trarre in inganno [to deceive], trarre vantaggio [to take advantage], trarre conclusioni [to draw conclusions], trarre profitto [to profit]. Its derivatives are also widely used: attrarre [to attract], contrarre [to contract], distrarre [to distract], estrarre [to extract], sottrarre [to subtract], protrarre [to prolong], ritrarre [to portray], astrarre [to abstract], detrarre [to deduct]…
The Latin root is TRA-, with a double G that appears in some persons:
Conjugation of TRARRE in the Present Indicative
| Person | TRARRE [to pull/extract] | ATTRARRE [to attract] |
|---|---|---|
| io | traggo | attraggo |
| tu | trai | attrai |
| lui/lei | trae | attrae |
| noi | traiamo | attraiamo |
| voi | traete | attraete |
| loro | traggono | attraggono |
Tip: the double G appears only in the first person singular (io) and in the third person plural (loro). The other persons have only the straightforward and regular root tra-. The same pattern repeats identically in all the derivatives: io sottraggo, loro sottraggono; io contraggo, loro contraggono.
What About the Other Verb Tenses?
Once you understand that these verbs are -ERE verbs in camouflage, the other tenses also become more accessible. Here is a quick summary:
Imperfetto [Imperfect]
The Latin root is used — and it is completely regular:
- io ponevo [I was placing], io traducevo [I was translating], io traevo [I was drawing/extracting]
Passato Remoto [Remote Past]
Here the verbs become more irregular and change form:
- io posi [I placed], io tradussi [I translated], io trassi [I drew/extracted]
Participio Passato [Past Participle]
Latin root + ending — they come directly from Latin without disguise:
- posto [placed/put], tradotto [translated], tratto [drawn/extracted]
Futuro Semplice [Simple Future]
You start from the original infinitive and add the normal endings — with the characteristic double R:
- porrò [I will place], tradurrò [I will translate], trarrò [I will draw/extract]
Tip: always remember that porre = ponere, durre = ducere and trarre = trahere. Reconstructing the Latin root always allows you to find the correct form, especially for the past participle. Latin is your best ally with these verbs.
Summary: the Three Groups Compared
| Group | Base verb | Latin root | Examples of derivatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ORRE | porre [to place/put] | PON- | proporre [to propose], comporre [to compose], disporre [to arrange], imporre [to impose] |
| -URRE | durre [to lead] | DUC- | tradurre [to translate], condurre [to lead], produrre [to produce], ridurre [to reduce] |
| -ARRE | trarre [to pull/extract] | TRA- | attrarre [to attract], distrarre [to distract], sottrarre [to subtract], estrarre [to extract] |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do Verbs Ending in -ORRE, -URRE and -ARRE Seem so Strange?
Because they are second conjugation (-ERE) verbs that over the centuries underwent a contraction: Italian “shortened” the original Latin forms, losing some letters. The result is an infinitive that does not resemble any of the three standard conjugations, but which in reality works exactly like a -ERE verb — you just need to use the Latin root.
How Can I Remember the Correct Root?
The most effective way is to memorise the three fundamental pairs: porre = ponere (root PON-), durre = ducere (root DUC-), trarre = trahere (root TRA-). Once these three roots are fixed in your mind, all the derivatives automatically follow the same pattern — no other rules need to be memorised.
When Does the Double G Appear in the Conjugation?
The double G appears in two specific situations: in the first person singular (io) and in the third person plural (loro). In -ORRE verbs you have pongo / pongono; in -ARRE verbs you have traggo / traggono. -URRE verbs do not have this doubling. In the other persons (tu, lui/lei, noi, voi) the root remains unchanged.
Do Derived Verbs Follow the Same Rules as the Base Verb?
Yes, exactly. All the derivatives of porre [to place] (proporre, comporre, disporre…), of durre [to lead] (tradurre, condurre, produrre…) and of trarre [to pull/extract] (attrarre, distrarre, sottrarre…) follow the exact same pattern as the base verb. Learning one verb per group well means being able to conjugate all its derivatives automatically.
What Is the Past Participle of These Verbs?
The past participles come directly from Latin and are among the most irregular forms: posto [placed/put] (from porre), tradotto [translated] (from tradurre), tratto [drawn/extracted] (from trarre). The derivatives follow the same pattern: proposto [proposed], composto [composed], condotto [led/conducted], prodotto [produced], attratto [attracted], distratto [distracted]. Memorising them in groups is the most effective method.
Want to finally have a complete picture of Italian verbs? Dive deeper with the article dedicated to all Italian moods and tenses.
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