How to conjugate ‘essere’ in Italian: All tenses and moods explained

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‘Presente indicativo’ of ‘essere’ (Present simple)

The essere conjugation in the present tense is used to describe current states and simple facts.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	sono	I am
tu	sei	you are
lui/lei	è	he/she is
noi	siamo	we are
voi	siete	you are
loro	sono	they are

• Io sono* italiano. (I am Italian.)
• Noi siamo* amici. (We are friends.)

* In Italian, you can omit the subject pronoun, since the verb ending infers it. The -amo in eravamo, for instance, tells you the verb is conjugated in the first-person plural and thus refers to the subject pronoun noi. 

‘Passato prossimo’ of ‘essere’ (Present perfect)

The passato prossimo describes recent past actions that still hold relevance in the present. 

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	sono stato/a	I have been
tu	sei stato/a	you have been
lui/lei	è stato/a	he/she has been
noi	siamo stati/e	we have been
voi	siete stati/e	you have been
loro	sono stati/e	they have been

How to use the past participle ‘stato’

The past participle of essere is stato. Its ending changes to match the gender and number of the subject. 

Masculine singular	stato	Tu sei stato in Italia.	You have been to Italy.
Feminine singular	stata	Lei è stata in Italia.	She has been to Italy.
Masculine plural	stati	Loro sono stati in Italia.	They have been to Italy.
Feminine plural	state	Noi siamo state in Italia.	We have been to Italy.

‘Trapassato prossimo’ of ‘essere’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato prossimo indicates what happened before another past event. It adds clarity to your timeline when telling a story.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	ero stato/a	I had been
tu	eri stato/a	you had been
lui/lei	era stato/a	he/she had been
noi	eravamo stati/e	we had been
voi	eravate stati/e	you had been
loro	erano stati/e	they had been

• Io ero già stato lì. (I had been there before.)
• Lei era stata fuori tutto il giorno. (She had been out all day.)

‘Trapassato remoto’ of ‘essere’ (Past perfect)

The trapassato remoto describes actions completed before another past action. Although rarely used in spoken Italian, it appears in historical writing and formal documents.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	fui stato/a	I had been
tu	fosti stato/a	you had been
lui/lei	fu stato/a	he/she had been
noi	fummo stati/e	we had been
voi	foste stati/e	you had been
loro	furono stati/e	they had been

‘Imperfetto’ of ‘essere’ (Past simple/past continuous)

The imperfetto describes repeated or habitual actions in the past. It’s used to set the background in stories and describe recurring situations.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	ero	I was
tu	eri	you were
lui/lei	era	he/she was
noi	eravamo	we were
voi	eravate	you were
loro	erano	they were

• Quando ero bambino, ero timido. (When I was a child, I was shy.)
• Eravamo sempre felici. (We were always happy.)

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‘Passato remoto’ of ‘essere’ (Past simple)

The passato remoto is rarely used in everyday conversation but appears frequently in literature, describing actions or events completed in the distant past.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	fui	I was
tu	fosti	you were
lui/lei	fu	he/she was
noi	fummo	we were
voi	foste	you were
loro	furono	they were

• Fu un giorno importante. (It was an important day.)
• I Romani furono qui molto tempo fa. (The Romans were here a long time ago.)

‘Futuro semplice’ of ‘essere’ (Future simple)

The futuro semplice describes future states or events. It is straightforward and essential for making plans or predictions.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	sarò	I will be
tu	sarai	you will be
lui/lei	sarà	he/she will be
noi	saremo	we will be
voi	sarete	you will be
loro	saranno	they will be

• Sarai a casa domani? (Will you be home tomorrow?)
• Noi saremo felici di aiutarti. (We will be happy to help you.)

‘Futuro anteriore’ of ‘essere’ (Future perfect)

The futuro anteriore describes an action that will be completed before another future event. 

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
io	sarò stato/a	I will have been
tu	sarai stato/a	you will have been
lui/lei	arà stato/a	he/she will have been
noi	saremo stati/e	we will have been
voi	sarete stati/e	you will have been
loro	saranno stati/e	they will have been

‘Condizionale’ of ‘essere’ (Conditional mood)

The condizionale expresses polite requests or desires. It helps you talk about what would happen under certain conditions and make expressions more courteous.

‘Condizionale presente’ of ‘essere’ (Present conditional)

Condizionale presente	English
io sarei	I would be
tu saresti	you would be
lui/lei sarebbe	he/she would be
noi saremmo	we would be
voi sareste	you would be
loro sarebbero	they would be

• Sarei felice di aiutarti. (I would be happy to help you.)

‘Condizionale passato’ of ‘essere’ (Past conditional)

Condizionale passato	English
io sarei stato/a	I would have been
tu saresti stato/a	you would have been
lui/lei sarebbe stato/a	he/she would have been
noi saremmo stati/e	we would have been
voi sareste stati/e	you would have been
loro sarebbero stati/e	they would have been

• Saremmo stati più tranquilli a casa. (We would have been calmer at home.)

‘Congiuntivo’ of ‘essere’ (Subjunctive mood) 

The congiuntivo expresses doubts, wishes, emotions or hypothetical scenarios, and it’s usually introduced by che (that).

‘Congiuntivo presente’ (Present subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	sia	(that) I am
(che) tu	sa	(that) you are
(che) lui/lei	sia	(that) he/she is
(che) noi	siamo	(that) we are
(che) voi	siate	(that) you are
(che) loro	siano	(that) they are

• Spero che tu sia felice. (I hope you are happy.)
• È importante che noi siamo puntuali. (It is important that we are on time.)

‘Congiuntivo passato’ (Present perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	sia stato/a	(that) I have been
(che) tu	sia stato/a	(that) you have been
(che) lui/lei	sia stato/a	(that) he/she have been
(che) noi	siamo stati/e	(that) we have been
(che) voi	siate stati/e	(that) you have been
(che) loro	siano stati/e	(that) they have been

• Spero che tu sia stato sincero con me. (I hope you have been honest with me.)
• Dubito che loro siano stati al museo. (I doubt that they have been to the museum.)

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‘Congiuntivo imperfetto’ (Past subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	fossi	(that)I were
(che) tu	fossi	(that) you were
(che) lui/lei	fosse	(that) he/she were
(che) noi	fossimo	(that) we were
(che) voi	foste	(that) you were
(che) loro	fossero	(that) they were

• Se fossi ricco, viaggerei molto. (If I were rich, I would travel a lot.)
• Se lei fosse qui, sarebbe felice. (If she were here, she would be happy.)

‘Congiuntivo trapassato’ (Past perfect subjunctive)

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
(che) io	fossi stato/a	(that) I had been
(che) tu	fossi stato/a	(that) you had been
(che) lui/lei	fosse stato/a	(that) he/she had been
(che) noi	fossimo stati/e	(that) we had been
(che) voi	foste stati/e	(that) you had been
(che) loro	fossero stati/e	(that) they had been

• Se fossi stato più attento, non avresti fatto quell’errore. (If you had been more careful, you wouldn’t have made that mistake.)
• Dubitavo che loro fossero stati al concerto. (I doubted that they had been at the concert.)

‘Imperativo’ of ‘essere’ (Imperative mood)

The imperativo is used to give commands, requests or advice. It can express encouragement, instructions or expectations, depending on the context.

Subject pronoun	Italian	English
tu	sii	you be
noi	siamo	let’s be
voi	siate	you be

• Sii coraggioso! (Be brave!)
• Siamo sempre onesti. (Let’s always be honest.)

‘Gerundio’ of ‘essere’ (Gerund)

Gerundio describes actions that happen simultaneously with or as a result of another action.

The present gerund of essere is essendo (being). It’s used for current or ongoing states.

The past gerund of essere is essendo stato/a (having been). It’s used for completed actions that influence a second action.

• Essendo ammalato, sono rimasto a casa. (Being sick, I stayed home.)
• Essendo stato gentile, è stato apprezzato da tutti. (Having been kind, he was appreciated by everyone.)

‘Participio’ of ‘essere’ (Participles)

The participio presente, essente (being), is found in very technical or poetic contexts, and rarely seen in everyday language.

The participio passato, stato (been), is used in tenses like the passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo. It must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.

• Sono stata a Roma. (I have been to Rome.)
• Siamo stati al museo. (We have been to the museum.)

Essential expressions with ‘essere’: ‘C'è’ and ‘Ci Sono’

C’è (there is) and ci sono (there are) are used to describe the presence of people, objects or situations. For example:

• C’è un libro sul tavolo. (There is a book on the table.)
• Ci sono molti turisti in città. (There are many tourists in the city.)

FAQs

What's the difference between essere and stare?

Essere means “to be” in terms of identity, states and descriptions, whereas stare means “to be” or “to stay” in a temporary condition or location.

What is an example of essere in a sentence?

Lui è un insegnante. (He is a teacher.)

How do you tell if a verb is essere or avere?

Essere is used for movement verbs (e.g. andare, partire), reflexive verbs and changes of state (e.g. nascere, morire). Avere is used for most other verbs, especially those with direct objects (e.g. mangiare, leggere).

‘Essere’ conjugation, ‘approvato!’

Essere is one of the most important verbs in Italian and a key to mastering the language, as you’ll constantly rely on its different tenses and moods. Practicing its conjugations is a must if you want to feel confident and natural in conversation!

If you’re ready to take your Italian to the next level, check out Lingoda’s Italian courses. Our native instructors and small group classes guarantee you’ll have everything you need to converse in real-life situations.

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