Learn the Italian verbs Essere and Stare

These two little verbs can cause a lot of confusion to Italian learners because the can mean the same thing in English but in Italian they are not always interchangeable.

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When do we use ESSERE?

You will need to use essere to talk about:

• yourself and your nationality: sono Giulia e sono italiana
• your job: sono un’insegnante di italiano e una traduttrice
• origins: sono di Milano
• your physical appearance and personality: sono bassa e sono simpatica

Essere also indicates the state of being and is used to:

• describe locations: Milano è una grande città.
• describe objects: la mia macchina è blue e vecchia
• stating where objects are located: dove sono le chiavi di casa? Sono sul tavolo!

Very often you will see the verb Essere with CI to say that somebody or something exists… the English equivalent of there is / there are.

• C’è un gatto nero in giardino – there is a black cat in the garden
• Ci sono due bimbi in giardino – there are two children in the garden

Now let’s look at how to use STARE:

STARE is very often used in idiomatic sentences and for this reason it needs to be understood and used in a specific context. Grammatically speaking it will be used to talk about location, health and how people look. 

STARE can also be translated with the very to stay or to remain because when you use it to talk about a location you can also use the verb RIMANERE to remain 

• Oggi sto in piscina tutto il giorno - Today I will stay / remain at the pool all day

The most common way to use STARE is when you talk about health… so when somebody or you are feeling good or bad…

Starting with how you say How are you? --> Come stai?

The answer to that can be

• sto bene – I’m good 
• sto male – I’m not feeling good 
• sto meglio – I’m better 
• potrei star meglio - I could be better

When you are talking about how you or other people look you will also use the verb STARE

STO bene and sto male…these two could also be translated into

Sto bene —I look good

Sto male —I look bad

• Questa gonna mi sta benissimo – this skirt looks really good on me!
• Questo cappotto ti sta male – that coat doesn’t look good on you! 

Here is a list of idiomatic sentences that I believe you should know and remember when so as not to make mistakes between ESSERE and STARE:

In this list STARE will be mainly translated with the English verb TO BE:

• Stare in piedi – to be standing/to stand 
• Stare seduto – to be seated 
• Stare zitto/a – to be quiet / shut up (a bit rude!!)
• Stare attento – to pay attention
• Stare calmo – to stay calm 
• Stare a cuore – to have at heart 
• Stare con – to be with someone
• Stare al fresco - to stay in a cool (temperature) place // to do time (jail)
• Lasciar stare - to let go (forget about it...)
• Stare con le mani in mano - to sit and do nothing
• Stare allo scherzo - to play along (with a joke)
• Stare sulle spine - to anxiously wait for something / somebody

In some cases ESSERE and STARE can be interchanged. The meaning does change a tiny little bit.

For example

• Sono in piedi
• Sto in piedi 

 Both mean to stand… but the second one implies that you choose to stand rather while the first one simply describes the fact that you are standing. 

Now… the other place where you will use the verb STARE is with The Present Continuous. In Italian the present continuous is formed by the present tense of the verb stare plus the gerund. 

• Sto guidando – I am driving
• Sto guardando la tv - I’m watching TV

Last but not least you can also use STARE with PER and an infinitive. 

In this case you are talking about a future action. I'm talking super near future! :)

• Sto per uscire - I’m about to go out
• Sto per ordinare la pizza - I’m about to order pizza

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