A2 · To be and to have
stare — to be placed, to feel
You have the progressive; here it is optional, and that is the hard part.
At a glance
- Remember
- How you are is stare — and the plain present is already now.
- Form
- io stoI am, I feel
- Signal words
- sto
- stai
- sta
- stanno
- -ando
- -endo
- Trap
- Wrong:Come sei? — Sono bene.Right:Come stai? — Sto bene.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending auxiliary verb
| I am, I feel | io sto |
| you are, you feel | tu stai |
| he / she is, he / she feels; you are (formal) | lui / lei / Lei sta |
| we are, we feel | noi stiamo |
| you are, you feel (plural) | voi state |
| they are, they feel | loro stanno |
| I am eating | io sto mangiando |
| you are eating | tu stai mangiando |
| he / she is eating, you are eating (formal) | lui / lei / Lei sta mangiando |
| we are eating | noi stiamo mangiando |
| you are eating (plural) | voi state mangiando |
| they are eating | loro stanno mangiando |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
How somebody is is asked with stare.
Come sta Sua madre? — Sta meglio.How is your mother? — She is better.
stare plus -ando or -endo means right now.
Sto leggendo il giornale.I am reading the paper.
Verbs in -are take -ando, the others -endo.
Sta parlando e sta scrivendo.He is talking and he is writing.
The progressive is emphasis, not an obligation.
Che fai? — Leggo.What are you doing? — I am reading.
Example sentences
Come stai? — Non c’è male, grazie.How are you? — Not bad, thanks.
Stiamo aspettando l’autobus da mezz’ora.We have been waiting for the bus for half an hour.
Stasera sto a casa.This evening I am staying at home.
I bambini stanno dormendo.The children are asleep.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English forces a choice between I read and I am reading, and Italian does not. Translating every English progressive with stare plus the gerund produces sentences that are grammatical and overloaded — sto lavorando qui da tre anni for I have been working here for three years, where an Italian says lavoro qui da tre anni. Reach for it only when now is the point.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno. It covers three things English does with to be, and the first two are quick. How somebody feels: Come stai? — Sto bene. Asking that with essere would not be Italian. And staying somewhere: Sto a casa — I am staying at home.
The third is the progressive, and it is the one to be careful with. stare plus -ando or -endo says that something is going on right now: sto mangiando is I am eating. Verbs in -are take -ando, the rest take -endo.
In English the progressive is compulsory. I eat and I am eating are two different statements, and you cannot say I eat now. In Italian it is optional: mangio already means I am eating, and sto mangiando only underlines it. English speakers therefore reach for sto mangiando far more often than an Italian would, and the result is not wrong so much as insistent.
The safe habit is the reverse of the English one: use the plain present by default, and keep stare plus the gerund for the moments when you really mean at this very moment.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: stare · leggere · essere · fare · parlare · scrivere · aspettare · dormire