The verb “to be” in Italian is used for many purposes: to express your feelings, to talk about yourself, to describe people or things, and for much more. So it’s important to get familiar with this verb as soon as possible and that’s why this lesson is all about the verb “to be” in Italian.

I’ll focus on the conjugation of the verb tenses most used in conversations and I’ll also give you many practical examples of real-life situations.

THE VERB TO BE IN ITALIAN

“To be” is an auxiliary verb, meaning that it can help to form other verb tenses, moods and voices.

It’s exactly what happens in English as well, where you use “to be” together with other verbs to make specific tenses. For example, the present continuous: “I am having a snack”.

In Italian the main auxiliary verbs are “to be” and “to have”.

So, how do you say “to be” in Italian?

In the infinitive form, you say “ESSERE”.

But in a conversation, you’ll need to conjugate the verb with the subject.

So let’s have a look at the main tenses that you need to memorize for now.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB “TO BE” IN ITALIAN

As already mentioned, we’ll not to give you the whole conjugation of this verb: it will be tedious and pointless.

Instead, we’d like you to focus (for now) on the main verb tenses commonly used in conversations. 

Please note that “to be” is an irregular verb. This means that you cannot really expect a predictable pattern in its conjugation.

It’s nothing to be worried about. You just need to pay a little bit more attention than with regular verbs.

#1 – PRESENTE (INDICATIVO)

You use this tense to talk about the present or a current habit. Sometimes you can also use it for things that will certainly happen in the future.

Here you are its conjugation.

Singular:

• IO SONO = I am
• TU SEI = you are
• LUI/LEI E’ = he/she is

Plural:

• NOI SIAMO = we are
• VOI SIETE = you are
• LORO SONO = they are

Here you are some examples on how to use the present of the verb “to be”:

1. Sono a casa = I’m at home 
2. Perche’ sei felice? = Why are you happy?

#2 – IMPERFETTO

You use the “imperfetto” to talk about a continuous action that happened in the past or a past habit.

Have a look at its conjugation below.

Singular:

• IO ERO = I was 
• TU ERI = you were
• LUI/LEI ERA = he/she was

Plural

• NOI ERAVAMO = we were
• VOI ERAVATE = you were
• LORO ERANO = they were

Here you have some examples:

1. L’esame era facile = The exam was easy
2. Ieri ero stanco = Yesterday I was tired

#3 – PASSATO PROSSIMO

You can use the passato prossimo to talk about the past.

This is different from the “imperfetto” as it doesn’t give the sense of continuity: it refers to actions that were completed in the past.

When talking about the past, people are normally using this tense, ignoring other past tenses like for example the “passato remoto” (that sometimes is even more appropriate based on grammar books).

You can find the conjugation below.

Singular:

• IO SONO STATO = I have been
• TU SEI STATO = you have been
• LUI E’ STATO/LEI E’ STATA = he/she has been

Plural:

• NOI SIAMO STATI = we have been
• VOI SIETE STATI = you have been
• LORO SONO STATI = they have been

And now some examples:

1. Ieri sono stato al mare = Yesterday I’ve been to the beach
2. Sei stato a scuola oggi? = Have you been to school today?

#4 – FUTURO

You use this tense to talk about the future. Sometimes you can also use the present for something that is happening in the future.

Let’s have a look at its conjugation.

Singular:

• IO SARO’ = I will be
• TU SARAI = you will be
• LEI/LUI SARA’ = he/she will be

Plural:

• NOI SAREMO = we will be
• VOI SARETE = you will be
• LORO SARANNO = they will be

Below are some examples on situations where you’ll use the future tense:

1. Come sara’ il tempo domani? = What’s the weather going to be (like) tomorrow?
2. Saro’ la’ tra un’ora. = I’ll be there in an hour

WHEN DO YOU USE THE VERB TO BE IN ITALIAN

So you’ve learnt that the verb to be is an auxiliary verb and you also know how to conjugate it.

Now let’s have a look at some common situations where you’ll have to use it.

#1 – TELL YOUR NAME

When introducing yourself, you normally reply “mi chiamo + [your name]” to the question: “come ti chiami?”.

However, you can also say: 

(Io) sono + [your name]

it’s probably more casual but not incorrect.

You also have to use “to be” to say who you are when giving a brief introduction of you.

#2 – PROFESSIONS

When you talk about your job and what you do in life, you’ll say:

(Io) sono + [your profession]

Examples:

1. (Io) sono ingegnere = I’m an engineer
2. Lui e’ professore = He’s a teacher 

#3 – ORIGINS

When someone asks you “di dove sei?” (Where are you from?), you’ll REPLY:

(Io) sono + [your nationality/your city]

#4 – DESCRIBE SOMEONE/SOMETHING

To describe people, animals or things you’ll use the verb to be.

For example:

1. Mio fratello e’ alto  = My brother is tall
2. Il mio cane e’ nero. = My dog is black
3. Questo albero e’ grande = This tree is big

#5 – FEELINGS

You use the verb to be to talk about your feelings (happiness, sadness, …). Sometimes you use it also to express needs (hunger, thirst,..), but in this case the verb “to have” is more common.

Examples:

1. Sono felice = I’m happy
2. Il cane e’ affamato = The dog is hungry

#6 – LOCATION

To say your location you can use the verb to be, with the meaning of being somewhere.

Examples are:

1. Sono a casa
2. Sono in ufficio

#7 – TO SAY THE TIME

To say what time is, you use the verb to be.

To ask the time you’ll say: “Che ore sono?” and you’ll reply like in the following examples.

1. Sono le 10 di mattina = It’s 10 am
2. Sono le 16:00 = It’s 4 pm

#8 – TO TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER

Also to talk about the weather, you’ll need the verb to be. Look at the examples below:

1. Oggi il tempo e’ bello.
2. Domani il tempo sara’ brutto.

CONCLUSION

Congratulations! You’ve learnt basically all you need to know for now on one of the most important Italian verbs: the verb “to be”.

It was a lot, so let’s just recap very quickly on the main concepts.

#1 – CONJUGATION OF THE VERB “TO BE”

The verb tenses that are generally used in conversations are:

1. Presente: mainly used to talk about the present
2. Imperfetto: when you need to talk about continuous actions in the past 
3. Passato Prossimo: it’s the most common past tense in spoken Italian
4. Futuro: you’ll need it to say about something that will happen in the future

Focus on the conjugation of these verb tenses first. It will allow you to start having basic conversations from today!

#2 – USES OF THE VERB “TO BE” IN ITALIAN

When do you use the verb “to be” in Italian? 

Here you can find some examples of real situations where you’ll have to use it.

1 – Tell your NAME especially when you do a brief introduction on yourself

2 – Say what you do in life and your job (PROFESSIONS)

3 – Tell about yours or someone’s ORIGINS.

4 – When you want to DESCRIBE people, animals or things.

5 – To express FEELINGS

6 – To say where you are, with the meaning of staying (LOCATION) 

7 – To say the TIME 

8 – To talk about the WEATHER 

Hope this helped and remember to leave a comment below if you have any questions!

You can also read:

“Where are you from?” in Italian: the only guide you need.

Learn how to count to 100 in Italian.

How to introduce yourself in Italian in real life.