Conjugation of essere (to be) in Italian
Exercises
The verb essere (to be) is one of the most used verbs in Italian.
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Uses of the verb essere in Italian
- 2.Conjugation of essere
- 2.1.Indicative
- 2.1.1.Presente (Present Simple)
- 2.1.2.Passato Prossimo (Present Perfect)
- 2.1.3.Imperfetto (Imperfect)
- 2.1.4.Trapassato Prossimo (Past Perfect)
- 2.1.5.Passato Remoto (Absolute Past)
- 2.1.6.Trapassato Remoto (Preterite Perfect)
- 2.1.7.Futuro Semplice (Future Simple)
- 2.1.8.Futuro Anteriore (Future Perfect)
- 2.2.Subjunctive
- 2.2.1.Presente (Present)
- 2.2.2.Passato (Past)
- 2.2.3.Imperfetto (Imperfect)
- 2.2.4.Trapassato (Past Perfect)
- 2.3.Conditional
- 2.3.1.Presente (Present)
- 2.3.2.Passato (Past)
- 2.4.Imperative
- 2.5.Infinitive
- 2.6.Participle
- 2.7.Gerund
Uses of the verb essere in Italian
Essere has two main important usages:
- it is an independent verb, with its own meaning (to be);
- it is one of the main auxiliary verb, fundamental to form compound tenses of intransitive, reflexive and impersonal verbs.
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| Io sono molto stanca oggi. | I am really tired today. |
| Tu sei andato al cinema ieri? | Did you to the cinema yesterday. |
| Mi sono appena lavata le mani. | I've just washed my hands. |
Conjugation of essere
The conjugation of essere is directly linked with the original Latin conjugation.
For this reason, it is not possible to integrate it in the general classification of the three conjugation in Italian.
Indicative
Presente (Present Simple)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sono* |
| Tu | sei |
| Egli / ella | è |
| Noi | siamo |
| Voi | siete |
| Essi / esse | sono* |
*
Careful! As you can notice, the first singular form and the third plural form of the simple present is the same. You can disambiguate them thanks to the agreement between the subject (and its adjectives) and the verb itself. Moreover, it's easier to understand which is the subject in the compound tenses due to the endings of the past participle.
e.g. Io sono felice. (I am happy) - Io sono venuto con voi ieri. (I came with you yesterday);
Loro sono felici. (They are happy). - Loro non sono venuti con voi ieri. (They didn't come with you yesterday)
Passato Prossimo (Present Perfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sono stato |
| Tu | sei stato |
| Egli / ella | è stato |
| Noi | siamo stati |
| Voi | siete stati |
| Essi / esse | sono stati |
Imperfetto (Imperfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | ero |
| Tu | eri |
| Egli / ella | era |
| Noi | eravamo |
| Voi | eravate |
| Essi / esse | erano |
Trapassato Prossimo (Past Perfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | ero stato |
| Tu | eri stato |
| Egli / ella | era stato |
| Noi | eravamo stati |
| Voi | eravate stati |
| Essi / esse | erano stati |
Passato Remoto (Absolute Past)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | fui |
| Tu | fosti |
| Egli / ella | fu |
| Noi | fummo |
| Voi | foste |
| Essi / esse | fossero |
Trapassato Remoto (Preterite Perfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | fui stato |
| Tu | fosti stato |
| Egli / ella | fu stato |
| Noi | fummo stati |
| Voi | foste stati |
| Essi / esse | furono stati |
Futuro Semplice (Future Simple)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sarò |
| Tu | sarai |
| Egli / ella | sarà |
| Noi | saremo |
| Voi | sarete |
| Essi / esse | saranno |
Futuro Anteriore (Future Perfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sarò stato |
| Tu | sarai stato |
| Egli / ella | sarà stato |
| Noi | saremo stati |
| Voi | sarete stati |
| Essi / esse | saranno stati |
Subjunctive
Presente (Present)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| (Che) io | sia |
| (Che) tu | sia |
| (Che) egli / ella | sia |
| (Che) noi | siamo |
| (Che) voi | siate |
| (Che) essi / esse | siano |
Passato (Past)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| (Che) io | sia stato |
| (Che) tu | sia stato |
| (Che) egli / ella | sia stato |
| (Che) noi | siamo stati |
| (Che) voi | siate stati |
| (Che) essi / esse | siano stati |
Imperfetto (Imperfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| (Che) io | fossi |
| (Che) tu | fossi |
| (Che) egli / ella | fosse |
| (Che) noi | fossimo |
| (Che) voi | foste |
| (Che) essi / esse | fossero |
Trapassato (Past Perfect)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| (Che) io | fossi stato |
| (Che) tu | fossi stato |
| (Che) egli / ella | fosse stato |
| (Che) noi | fossimo stati |
| (Che) voi | foste stati |
| (Che) essi / esse | fossero stati |
Conditional
Presente (Present)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sarei |
| Tu | saresti |
| Egli / ella | sarebbe |
| Noi | saremmo |
| Voi | sareste |
| Essi / esse | sarebbero |
Passato (Past)
| Essere | |
|---|---|
| Io | sarei stato |
| Tu | saresti stato |
| Egli / ella | sarebbe stato |
| Noi | saremmo stati |
| Voi | sareste stati |
| Essi / esse | sarebbero stati |
Imperative
| Present | |
|---|---|
| Io | - |
| Tu | sii |
| Egli / ella | sia |
| Noi | siamo |
| Voi | siate |
| Essi / esse | siano |
Infinitive
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| essere | essere stato |
Participle
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| (ènte, essènte) | stato |
Gerund
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| essèndo | essendo stato |
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
Italian teacher and translator
I teach: Italian
Hello EverybodyMy name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students Since... 1994, I have dedicated myself to translating and teaching thanks to my travels, abroad studies, foreign reading and writing. I provide fun and customized lessons based on the student's goals. I also triy to minimize English speaking during the lessons. I give homework exercises, and my lessons are intermixed with grammar, conversation, customs and traditions. My goal is to make certain that each student finds learning Italian exciting.I am available for any explanations also via e mail Read more
It@lian, English and Spanish with Daniela
I teach: English, Italian, Spanish
Hi everyone!My name is Daniela and I am a qualified Italian language teacher! I teach Italian and English at school, and Spanish and French... as a freelancer. I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!See you online! Read more
Very experienced teacher!
Pick me!
I teach: English, Italian
Hello! just some info to better understand my method:I carry out an accurate needs analysis during the 0 lesson to find out the learner's... level, background, learning habits and style, hobbies and interests and their needs. I prepare a course design to be discussed with the learner with the major points I think should be covered in the course, on the basis of the needs analysis mentioned aboveI use articles, videos and tools such as kahoot, padlet, quizlet, TED talks and so on to make my lessons varied and dynamicI provide clear examples and explanations of the target language As I said in the video, I teach English and Italian for all levels + business English/Italian, exam preparation classes, business skills and English/Italian for Specific Purposes (logistics, HR, pharma...). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or requests.Looking forward to hearing from you! :) Read more
