Simple Steps for Essere Conjugation To Say ‘To Be’ In Italian

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Essere (“to be” in Italian) is one of those verbs you can’t live without. And no, we’re not talking about Shakespeare’s existential doubt: essere o non essere (to be or not to be). But about an Italian verb you need in your daily life to introduce yourself, say how you feel, and even describe how food tastes! Like in English, essere is also essential to build compound tenses of many other Italian verbs, so you should learn it as soon as you start learning Italian.

Since it’s irregular, conjugating essere requires a bit of study, but this guide makes it easy! We will break down the most used tenses of the essere conjugation into clear charts and many example sentences to repeat aloud in your daily practice. 

What is the verb essere in Italian?

The verb essere means “to be,” and it’s one of the two auxiliary verbs of the Italian language. The other is avere (to have).

It belongs to the -ERE verbs in Italian, which include all verbs ending in “-ere” in their infinitive form. Conjugations are usually a way to fast track your learning, because they provide a set of endings for each subject pronoun and verb tense that apply to all verbs in the same group.

However, essere is irregular. While it sometimes uses typical -ERE ending patterns, its root also changes. Across the essere conjugation, you will find three roots: “es-,” “fu-,” and “sta-“. With just one glance at the chart below, you can immediately see the difference between the present tense of the regular verb credere (to believe) and the irregular essere.

How to conjugate the Italian verb essere

Italian has 21 verb tenses across seven moods, which is a lot! However, many of these tenses are rarely used in everyday conversation, so this guide focuses first on the most important ones and explores the other to help you get familiar with them.

Before you start, there are two key things to know that will help you understand the essere conjugation charts and learn them faster.

1. There are different Italian subject pronouns for “you”: tu (singular, informal), voi (plural), lei (she/formal you). In Southern Italy, voi can also be a formal “you,” an archaic form still used as a sign of respect.
2. Compound tenses in Italian all have the same pattern: Simple tense of the auxiliary verb essere/avere + the past participle (which doesn’t change for subject or tenses). Since essere is its own auxiliary verb, you can easily form any compound tense by learning the simple tenses and adding the participle.

Bookmark this guide to learn the essere verb conjugation and return to it whenever you need a refresher. Let’s start!

Essere in the indicativo presente (present tense)

The present tense in Italian is called presente. It’s the first tense of the mood indicativo (indicative), which is used to talk about facts or actions that are certain, whether they regard the present, occurred in the past, or will happen in the future.

Learning the present tense of essere is an essential first step, because it’s how you introduce yourself, say “my name is” in Italian, and more things yourself. 

• Ciao Laura. Sono Gianna. = Hi, Laura. This is Jen.
  
• Io sono un fotografo. = I am a photographer.
  
• Sono vegetariana. Non mangio carne. = I am a vegetarian. I do not eat meat.
  

Essere in the indicativo passato prossimo (present perfect)

Another tense Italians frequently use is the passato prossimo, which corresponds to the present perfect in English, but it’s often translated with the simple past.

The passato prossimo refers to events in the recent past, such as telling a friend you discovered an excellent place for aperitivo the night before, or explaining to your colleagues all the things to do in Capri after following an unforgettable Italian summer trip. However, Italians actually use passato prossimo to describe any action that occurred within a limited or defined period in the past—even when they talk about their childhood. 

Let’s see the passato prossimo in action.

• Ieri il tempo è stato bello in spiaggia. = Yesterday the weather was good at the beach. 
  
• È stata un’idea molto buona. Grazie. = It was a very good idea! Thank you! 
  
• Siete stati gentili a venire in ospedale. = You were kind to come to the hospital. 
  

Essere in the indicativo imperfetto (imperfect tense)

The imperfetto (imperfect) is another past tense, but this time it describes actions or situations that were habitual in the past, without specifying exactly when or for how long they happened.

It translates the simple past and all the cases where you can say “used to.” 

Memorization tip: The imperfetto tense is easy to recognize because it’s the only tense in the essere verb conjugation starting with “er-.”

• Quando ero bambina, giocavo a tennis. = When I was a girl, I played tennis. 
  
• Ora non lavoro, ma ero insegnante. = I do not work now, but I used to be a teacher. 
  
• Eravamo studenti nella stessa università. = We were students at the same college. 
  

Essere in the indicativo futuro semplice (future tense)

Have you booked a table at your favorite restaurant and need to tell your Italian friends that you’ll pick them up at 7:00 p.m.? This is a good opportunity to practice the Italian futuro semplice (simple future), which corresponds to English “will” + verb.

Here are a few examples of how to use it.

• Sarò lì tra cinque minuti. = I will be there in five minutes.
  
• Sarai a casa per cena? = Are you going to be home for dinner?
  
• Un giorno questi alberi saranno molto alti. = Someday these trees will be very tall.
  

Essere in the indicativo passato remoto (simple past)

Italian also has a tense for actions that occurred in the distant past: the passato remoto. Grammatically, it is similar to the English simple past and should be used to describe events or stories that happened long ago and are distant from the present.

However, in spoken Italian, the passato prossimo has almost completely replaced it. As a result, the passato remoto is now primarily used to indicate events that feel entirely disconnected from the present, both chronologically and psychologically.

You can find the passato remoto in novels, history books, and official documents. You may still hear it in everyday verbal communication among native speakers in Tuscany and Sicily, but it’s very rare..

• Dante Alighieri fu un importante scrittore fiorentino. (passato remoto)/Dante Alighieri è stato un importante scrittore fiorentino. = Dante Alighieri was an important Florentine writer.

Other tenses of the indicative mood

The indicativo mood also has three additional compound tenses that are rarely used in spoken Italian, but are important for a complete understanding of essere conjugation.

• trapassato prossimo (past perfect): imperfetto + past participle 
• trapassato remoto (preterite perfect tense): passato remoto + past participle. It is translated as the past perfect in English.
• futuro anteriore (future perfect): futuro semplice + past participle. 

Essere in the condizionale (conditional mood)

The condizionale (conditional mood) is a bit advanced, but very common, and it is key to express politeness, doubts, a possibility, or something that will happen under certain conditions. 

It has two tenses, present and past, but you’ll mostly use the condizionale presente (present), which in English corresponds to verbs with “would.” Match it with the past participle to build the condizionale passato (conditional past).

Want to hear how the conditional present sounds? Listen to the following examples.

• Se tutti imparassero a riciclare di più, la Terra sarebbe più bella. = If everyone would learn to recycle more, Earth would be even more beautiful.
  
• La televisione ha detto che oggi ci sarebbe stato il sole e c’è stato il sole tutto il giorno. = The television said it would have been sunny today and it was sunny all day. 
  

Important: Do not confuse the conditional present with the simple future. They have similar forms for some subjects in the essere conjugation: noi saremo (future “we will be”) vs noi saremmo (conditional “we would be”).

Essere in the congiuntivo (subjunctive mood)

Congiuntivo is even more advanced. It expresses subjectivity, doubt, and uncertainty in subordinate clauses when the main clause contains verbs expressing opinion, will, desire, doubt, fear, or emotion.

If it sounds confusing, you’re not alone. Even many native speakers struggle to understand its rules, which is why the congiuntivo is becoming less and less common in everyday speech. But once you start using it, you will see it is more intuitive than you might think.

A trick to recognize the subjunctive mood in Italian? It’s easy: It’s often introduced by che (that) or se (if).

• Credi che questo profumo sia buono? = Do you believe (that) this perfume smells good?
  
• Tutti credono che sia stata una buona idea. = Everyone believes that it was a good idea.
  
• Se fossi libero vi aiuterei, ma non lo sono. Posso aiutarvi oggi? = If I were free next week, I would help. Can I help today?
  
• Se i pomodori fossero stati maturi, avrei preparato della salsa per la pasta. = If the tomatoes had been ripe instead of rotten, I would have made a sauce for pasta. 
  

Essere in the imperativo (imperative mood)

The imperative is usually for commands, requests, or prayers. But don’t be afraid to sound rude. In Italian, it can also be used for polite requests, with Lei (formal “you”) or wishes.

• Sii felice! = Be happy.
• Siate buoni. = Be good.

When to use essere in Italian and when not to?

Here are some common mistakes to watch out for when trying to decide when you need to use the verb essere or not.

Essere vs. avere

Follow these rules to know when to use essere (to be) and when avere (to have).

Introducing yourself or others:

• Use essere for names, nationalities, and professions.
  • Sono Lucia, piacere di conoscerti. = I’m Lucia, nice to meet you.
  • Lui è americano. = He is American.
    
  • Sono direttore di un ristorante. = I am a manager of a restaurant.
    
• Use avere for the age.
  • Io ho trentacinque anni. = I am thirty-five years old.
    

Describing people or things:

• Use essere with Italian adjectives.
  • Questi gioielli sono cari. = This jewelry is expensive.
    
  • Il cielo è azzurro. = The sky is blue.
    
• Use avere with Italian nouns.
  • Hai i capelli lunghi e bellissimi. = Your long hair is beautiful. 
    
  • Questi uomini hanno la barba. = These men have beards.
    

Expressing feelings:

• Use essere for emotions.
  • Siamo felici. = We are happy.
    
• Use avere for physical feelings or needs.
  • Ho fame e ho trovato qualcosa che mi piace in frigorifero. = I am hungry and I found something I want to eat in the refrigerator.
    

Essere vs. stare (to be/to stay)

Even native Italians mix them up sometimes essere (to be) and stare (to be/to stay), mainly due to the influence of Italian dialect. However, there are rules you can follow to get them right.

Use essere for:

• Conditions or qualities of an object.
  • Il cielo è azzurro. = The sky is blue.
    
• A person’s mood.
  • Sono felici perché sono in spiaggia. = They are happy because they are at the beach.
    
• Locations (in the South they may use stare)
  • La pasticceria è in via Consoli. = The bakery is on Consoli Street.
    
• Presence (there is/there are) with the pronominal verb esserci (essere + ci).
  • Ci sono sette giorni in una settimana. = A week has seven days. 
    

Use stare for:

• The position of someone/something, when stare means “to stay” or “to fit.”
  • Stanno nel nostro albergo. = They are staying at our hotel. 
    
• Temporary conditions (often with adverbs) when stare means “to feel” or “to suit.”
  • Questi occhiali ti stanno bene. = These glasses suit you.
  • Sta male. Ha mal di testa. = He’s not feeling well. He has a headache.
• Temporary behavior.
  • State attenti mentre attraversate la strada. = Be careful when crossing the street.

Essere vs. avere as auxiliary verbs

One thing that often makes students wonder whether Italian is hard to learn is figuring out which auxiliary verb to choose. The good news is that there is a rule you can follow.

The trick is to ask yourself: Does the verb have a direct object to influence?

If a direct object follows the verb (transitive use), the auxiliary will be avere (to have). Otherwise, if there is no direct object (intransitive use), the auxiliary will be essere (to be).

• Sono saltato giù dal letto. = I jumped off the bed.
  
• Ho saltato la staccionata. = I jumped over the fence.
• Il cameriere ha rovesciato la zuppa. = The waiter spilled the soup. 
  
• Il vaso è rovesciato. Sei stato tu? = The vase is upside down. Was it you?

Key takeaways for the essere conjugation

Essere is a core Italian verb, and mastering its conjugation is essential for communicating accurately.

• Pay special attention to essere‘s roots (“es-,” “fu-,” and “sta-“), and how they change across conjugation.
• Don’t focus too much on suffixes; try to learn the entire form, instead.
• Start by learning the presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, and futuro: You will use them mostly.
• Understand when to use essere (and when not to) instead of translating sentences from English word by word.
• Reaching real-life proficiency levels in a second language takes time: Dedicate enough of it to study and practice. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method can help you get there a step at the time.