Learn About the Verb Essere in Italian

"Che ore sono? - Sono le quattro." (What time is it? It is four o'clock). London

Essere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a

predictable pattern of conjugation. Note that the form sono is used with
both io and loro.

GRAMMATICAL NOTES

ESSERE IS USED WITH DI + NAME OF A CITY TO INDICATE CITY OF

ORIGIN (THE CITY SOMEONE IS FROM). TO INDICATE COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN, AN ADJECTIVE OF NATIONALITY IS GENERALLY USED: HE
IS FROM FRANCE + HE IS FRENCH = FRANCESE.
Io sono di Chicago: tu di dove sei?

(I'm from Chicago; where are you from?)

Essere + di + proper name is used to indicate possession. No apostrophe s is

used in Italian to indicate possession: It is Anna's = It is of Anna = di
Anna.
Questa chitarra di Beppino; non di Vittoria. This guitar is Beppino's; it's
not Vittoria's.)

To find out who the owner of something is, ask Di chi + singular or Di chi
sono + plural.

Di chi questo cane? Di chi sono questi cani? (Whose dog is this? Whose dogs
are these?)

Essere is also used as an auxiliary verb in the following cases:

Reflexive verbs: those verbs whose action reverts to the subject, as in

the following examples: I wash myself. They enjoy themselves.
Impersonal form: as in the English equivalents one, you, we,
they, or people + verb. Si mangia bene in Italia - People (They) eat
well in Italy.
Passive voice: in a passive construction the subject of the
verb receives the action instead of doing it, as in the sentence: Caesar
was killed by Brutus.

The present tense (il presente) of essere is as follows:

CONJUGATING THE ITALIAN VERB ESSERE IN THE PRESENT TENSE

SINGOLARE PLURALE
(io) sono I am (noi) siamo we are
(tu) sei you are (fam.) (voi) siete you are (fam.)
(Lei) you are (form.) (Loro) sono you are (form.)
(lui) he is (loro) sono they are (fam.)

The compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the passato prossimo, that
consist of two words. The appropriate tense of avere or essere (called
the auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms
the verb phrase.

When using essere, the past participle always agrees in gender and number
with the subject of the verb. It can therefore have four endings: -o, -a, -i, -e.
In many cases intransitive verbs (those that cannot take a direct object),
especially those expressing motion, are conjugated with the auxiliary
verb essere.

The verb essere is also conjugated with itself as the auxiliary verb.

Some of the most common verbs that form compound tenses

with essere include:

andareto go
to arrive
to fall, to drop
to cost
to grow
to become
to last, to continue
to enter
to die
to be born
to leave, to depart
to stay, to remain
to return
to exit
to come

To Have and Have Not

The Verb Avere in Italian
Avere: 1 to have (got): Ho molti amici. I have many friends; 2 to have, to
own: Ha una villa in campagna. He has a house in the country; 3 to have on,
to wear: Maria ha un vestito nuovo. Maria has on a new dress.

Like the verb essere (to be), avere is used in myriad grammatical and
linguistic situations. Learning the many conjugations and uses of the verb is
crucial to the study of the Italian language.

INTERROGATIVE VERBS

To make a verb interrogative (I have do I have?), add a question mark to the

end of the sentence in writing. In speaking, the pitch of the voice rises at the
end of the sentence.

Avete un buon lavoro.

You have a good job.

Avete un buon lavoro?

Do you have a good job?

If a subject (noun or pronoun) is expressed in the interrogative, it can:

stay at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb
go to the end of the sentence
less frequently go immediately after the verb

Does Mario have an uncle?

Mario ha uno zio?
Ha uno zio Mario?
Ha Mario uno zio?

Avere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a

predictable pattern of conjugation. The present tense (il
presente) of avere is as follows:

CONJUGATING THE ITALIAN VERB AVERE IN THE PRESENT

TENSE

SINGOLARE PLURALE
(io) ho I have (noi) abbiamo we have
(tu) hai you have (fam.) (voi) avete you have (fam.)
(Lei) ha you have (form.) (Loro) hanno you have (form.)
(lui) ha he has (loro) sono they have (fam.)

he compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the passato prossimo, that
consist of two words. The appropriate tense of avere or essere (called the
auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms the
verb phrase.

TRANSITIVE VERBS

In general, transitive verbs are conjugated with avere.

Transitive verbs express an action that carries over from the subject to the
direct object: The teacher explains the lesson.

The past participle is invariable when the passato prossimo is constructed

with avere.

Oggi Anna non lavora perch ha lavorato ieri.

Today Anna isn't working because she worked yesterday.

The others worked yesterday too.

Anche gli altri hanno lavorato ieri.

PAST PARTICIPLE

When the past participle of a verb conjugated with avere is preceded by the
third person direct object pronouns lo, la, le, or li, the past participle agrees
with the preceding direct object pronoun in gender and number. The past
participle may agree with the direct object pronouns mi, ti, ci, and vi when
these precede the verb, but the agreement is not mandatory.

Ho mangiato la frittata.
I have eaten the omelette.

Lho mangiata.
I have eaten it.

Ho comprato il sale e il pepe.

I bought the salt and pepper.

Li ho comprati.
I bought them.

Ci hanno visto (visti).

They saw us.

In negative sentences, non is placed before the auxiliary verb.

Molti non hanno pagato.

Many didn't pay.

Hai ordinato un aperitivo?

Did you order an aperitif?
No, non ho ordinato un aperitivo.
No, I didn't order an aperitif.

COMPOUND AND VERB TENSES

The compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the passato prossimo, that
consist of two words.

The appropriate tense of avere or essere (called the auxiliary or helping verbs)
and the past participle of the target verb forms the verb phrase.

In general, transitive verbs are conjugated with avere. Transitive verbs

express an action that carries over from the subject to the direct object: The
teacher explains the lesson.

The past participle is invariable when the passato prossimo is constructed

with avere.

Oggi Anna non lavora perch ha lavorato ieri.

Today Anna isn't working because she worked yesterday.

The others worked yesterday too.

Anche gli altri hanno lavorato ieri.

When the past participle of a verb conjugated with avere is preceded by the
third person direct object pronouns lo, la, le, or li, the past participle agrees
with the preceding direct object pronoun in gender and number.

The past participle may agree with the direct object pronouns mi,
ti, ci, and vi when these precede the verb, but the agreement is not
mandatory.

Ho mangiato la frittata.
I have eaten the omelette.

Lho mangiata.
I have eaten it.

Ho comprato il sale e il pepe.

I bought the salt and pepper.

Li ho comprati.
I bought them.

Ci hanno visto (visti).

They saw us.

In negative sentences, non is placed before the auxiliary verb.

Molti non hanno pagato.
Many didn't pay.

Hai ordinato un aperitivo?

Did you order an aperitif?

No, non ho ordinato un aperitivo.

No, I didn't order an aperitif.

Italian Reflexive Verbs

Learn how to use reflexive verbs in everyday
conversation
What is an Italian reflexive verb (verbo riflessivo)?

This can often be a strange topic because, in English, verbs aren't often
thought of as being reflexive, however, in Italian, a reflexive verb is one when
the action carried out by the subject is performed on the same subject. So for
example, I wash myself or I sit myself in the chair. The subject, I, am
doing the washing and the sitting.

Its important to know that not all verbs are reflexive, but there are plenty out
there and each must be memorized.

WHAT DOES A REFLEXIVE VERB LOOK LIKE?

In order to make an Italian verb reflexive, drop the -e of its infinitive ending
and add the pronoun si. For example, pettinare (to comb)
becomes pettinarsi (to comb oneself) in the reflexive. Si is an additional
pronoun, known as the reflexive pronoun, which is needed when conjugating
reflexive verbs.

Note that some reflexive verbs can be used without the reflexive pronouns.

In this case, their meaning changes:

- Alzarsi = to wake up/to get up

Tu ti alzi. (You get up.)

Tu alzi la sedia. (You lift the chair.)

HOW DO YOU CONJUGATE REFLEXIVE VERBS?

Here are some tables of verbs in the present tense so you can get an idea of
how reflexive verbs are conjugated.

Innamorarsi - To fall in love

Mi innamoro - I fall in love Ci innamoriamo - We fall in love

Ti innamori - You fall in love Vi innamorate - You (all) fall in love
Si innamora - He/she falls in love Si innamorano - They fall in love

Sedersi - To sit oneself/To take a seat

Mi siedo - I sit (myself) Ci sediamo - We sit (ourselves)

Ti siedi - You sit (yourself) Vi sedete - You (all) sit (yourselves)
Si siede - He/she sits (him/herself) Si siedono - They sit (themselves)

Divertirsi - To enjoy oneself/to have fun

Mi diverto - I have fun Ci divertiamo - We have fun

Ti diverti - You have fun Vi divertite - You (all) have fun
Si diverte - He/she has fun Si divertono - They have fun

WHAT ABOUT WITH THE PAST TENSE?

When you conjugate reflexive verbs in the past tense, you must use essere as
your auxiliary verb. Heres an example using the verb svegliarsi - to wake
up.

Svegliarsi - To wake up

Mi sono svegliato/a - I woke up Ci siamo svegliati/e - We woke up

Ti sei svegliato/a - You woke up Vi siete svegliati/e - You all woke up
Si svegliato/a - He/she woke up Si sono svegliati/e - They woke up

Notice how the last letter of svegliato changes. Thats because the ending
must agree in gender and number with the subject.

A LIST OF COMMON REFLEXIVE VERBS IN ITALIAN

accorgersi (di) to notice

addormentarsi to fall asleep
to get up
arrabbiarsi to get angry
chiamarsi to be named
to cover oneself
divertirsi to have fun, to enjoy oneself
farsi il bagno to bathe oneself
farsi la doccia to take a shower
farsi male to get hurt, hurt oneself
innamorarsi (di) to fall in love with
lavarsi to wash oneself
laurearsi to graduate
mettersi to put (clothing) on
pettinarsi to comb one's hair
radersi to shave
sedersi to sit down
sentirsi to feel
 to undress
sposarsi (con) to get married
svegliarsi to wake up
vestirsi to get dressed

ESEMPI

Le ragazze si sono sedute. - The girls are sitting down.

Sto cercando un posto dove sedermi un attimo. - Im looking for
a spot where I can sit for a while.

Ci siamo innamorati due anni fa e ci siamo sposati un anno

fa. - We fell in love two years and we got married one year ago.
Mi sono svegliato/a alle 7. - I woke up at 7.
Marco fa sempre molta fatica a svegliarsi la mattina. - Marco
always has to struggle to wake up in the morning.
Chiara impiega tantissimo tempo a vestirsi! - Chiara takes a very
long time to get dressed!
Tutti a lavarsi le mani prima di pranzo! - Everybody wash your
hands before lunch!
Mykonos un posto ideale per divertirsi. - Mykonos is the
perfect destination to have fun.
Mio padre mi ha insegnato a radermi. - My dad taught me how to
shave.
Per avere una bella pella bisogna sempre struccarsi prima di
andare a letto. - In order to maintain a good skin you always have to
take your makeup off before going to bed.
Mi sono laureata un anno fa. - I graduated one year ago.

Ho proprio bisogno di farmi un bagno! - I really need to take a

hot bath!
Copriti bene che fuori fa freddo! - Cover yourself up because its
cold outside!
Non ho capito come ha fatto a farsi male. - I didnt understand
how he managed to hurt himself.

27 Ways to Use the Verb Fare in Italian

Common idioms, phrases, and proverbs using the
verb fare
The verb fare is one of the most diverse verbs in Italian. You can use it to ask
how the weather is and to talk about an upcoming trip youre taking. You can
use it to tell someone youre going on a walk and that youre waiting in line. In
short, you can express yourself in a lot of ways using the verb fare.

Since the verb fare is derived from facere, a Latin verb of the second
conjugation, its considered an irregular second conjugation verb.

It doesnt follow the regular pattern of conjugation (infinitive stem + endings).

HOW TO CONJUGATE FARE

Fare (to do, to make) is conjugated in the present tense as follows:

io faccio noi facciamo

tu fai voi fate
lui, lei, Lei fa loro, Loro fanno

Fare also has an irregular past participle: fatto.

Ways to Use the Verb Fare

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS USING FARE

fare i compiti to do one's homework

fare il biglietto to purchase a ticket
fare la fila / la coda stand on line / wait on line
fare la spesa to go grocery shopping
fare le spese to go shopping
fare forca to play hookey
fare vedere to show someone something
fare una domanda to ask a question
fare una fotografia to take a picture
fare una passeggiata to take a walk
fare colazione to have breakfast
fare un viaggio to take a trip
fare un capello in quattro to split hairs
farsi la barba to shave
farsi coraggio to take heart
fare castelli in aria to daydream
fare fingere to pretend, make believe
fare male to be painful, to ache
farsi in l to step to one side
fare di tutto to do everything possible
fare del proprio meglio to do one's best
farsi degli amici to make friends
fare alla romana to split the check
fare il pieno to fill up the gas tank
fare passare to let through

THE WEATHERIL TEMPO

The verb fare is used in many expressions relating to the weather.

Che tempo fa? - How is the weather?

Fa bel tempo. - The weather is nice.
Fa cattivo tempo. - The weather is bad.
Ha fatto caldo. - It has been warm.
Qui fa sempre freddo. - It's always cold here.
In primavera fa sempre fresco. - In spring, it's always cool.

Note!: In the preceding examples, it is an impersonal subject and is not

translated into Italian.
The verb fare expresses the basic idea of doing or making, as in fare gli
esercizi - to do exercises and fare il letto - to make the bed, but is is also
used in many idioms.

PROVERBS WITH FARE

Besides idiomatic expressions, the verb fare is used in a number of

proverbs.

Fare e disfare tutt'un lavorare.It's all go, it's a hard life.

Chi la fa l'aspetti.You will get as good as you gave.
Chi fa da s fa per tre.If you want something done, do it yourself.
Non fare agli altri ci che non vorresti fosse fatto a te.Do as
you would be done by.
Tutto fa brodo.Every little bit helps.
Chi non sa fare, non sa comandare. A bad worker is a bad
master.
Il Gerundio
Il gerundio (the gerund) refers to the use of a verb in its
ing form. For example I am writing, I was thinking, he is
talking, etc. In Italian il gerundio (the gerund) is characterised
by the following endings:
Verbs ending in are = ando e.g. mangiando (eating) from the
verb mangiare (to eat)
Verbs ending in ere and ire = endo e.g. cuocendo (cooking) from the
verb cuocere (to cook), pulendo (cleaning) from the verb pulire (to clean).
Now lets look at the most common uses of il gerundio in Italian:
1. Presente Continuato (Present Continuous)
The gerund is used with the present tense of verb stare (to be/to stay) to form
the present continuous:
stiamo mangiando = we are eating
Giovanni sta riposando = Giovanni is resting
cosa state facendo? = what are you doing? (you plural)
stai lavorando? = are you working? (you singular, informal)
sto pulendo le finestre = Im cleaning the windows
le patate stanno cuocendo = the potatoes are cooking
N.B. The present continuous is not considered an official Italian tense, and
when I was a child we were not allowed to use it in writing, we had to use the
simple present instead. Nowadays the present continuous is interchangeable
with the simple present to describe what is happening in this exact moment,
e.g.:

cosa state facendo or cosa fate? = what are you doing? (literally: what do
you do?)
stai lavorando? or lavori? = are you working? (literally: you work?)
sto pulendo le finestre or pulisco le finestre = Im cleaning the windows
(literally: I clean the windows)
2. Passato Continuato (Past Continuous)
To use the gerund in the past we need the imperfect tense of the
verb stare (to be/to stay). This form is known as the past continuous:
stavamo mangiando = we were eating
Giovanni stava riposando = Giovanni was resting
cosa stavate facendo? = what were you doing? (you plural)
stavi lavorando? = were you working? (you singular, informal)
stavo pulendo le finestre = I was cleaning the windows
le patate stavano cuocendo = the potatoes were cooking
3. The gerund can be used on its own to express when or how
something happens:
ieri, tornando a casa, ho incontrato Maria = yesterday, when I was going
back home, I met Maria
entrando in cucina ho sentito odore di bruciato = when I was entering the
kitchen I smelt something burning
sbagliando simpara = one learns by making mistakes
leggendo attentamente mi sono accorta che mancava una parola =
reading carefully I realised that a word was missing
volendo, potremmo fermarci a Milano = if we wanted , we could stop in
Milan (literally: wanting to, we could stop in Milan)
ripensandoci, sarebbe meglio partire presto = thinking about it again, it
would be better to leave early

Choosing the Auxiliary Verb in Italian

In Italian, an auxiliary verbeither avere or essereis used whenever
forming compound tenses. The auxiliary (or helping) verb, in combination
with another, gives a particular meaning to the conjugated verb form.

For example, compound tenses such as the passato prossimo are formed with
the present indicative of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past
participle(participio passato).
When forming the passato prossimo, which auxiliary verb should be used
avere or essere?

How do you decide?

TRANSITIVE VERBS TAKE AVERE

Avere: 1 to have (got): Ho molti amici. I have many friends; 2 to have, to

own: Ha una villa in campagna. He has a house in the country; 3 to have on,
to wear: Maria ha un vestito nuovo. Maria has on a new dress.

Like the verb essere (to be), avere is used in myriad grammatical and
linguistic situations. Learning the many conjugations and uses of the verb is
crucial to the study of the Italian language.

Transitive verbs are those that take a direct object. For instance:

Io ho mangiato una pera. (I ate a pear.)

Loro hanno gi studiato la lezione. (They already studied the lesson.)
Non ho mai visto Genova. (I've never visited Genoa.)

The compound tense of a transitive verb is formed with the present indicative
of the auxiliary verb avere and the past participle (participio passato). The
past participle is invariable and ends in -ato, -uto, or -ito.

In phrases with a transitive verb, the direct object of the verb may be
expressed explicitly or implied. For example: Io ho mangiato tardi. (I ate
late.)

INTRANSITIVE VERBS TAKE ESSERE

Essere: 1 to be: La bambina piccola The child is small; Chi ? - Sono io Who
is it? - It's me; Siamo noi it's us 2 to be: Che ore sono? - Sono le quattro What
time is it?

It is four o'clock.
Essere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a
predictable pattern of conjugation. Note that the form sono is used with
both io and loro.

GRAMMATICAL NOTES

Essere is used with di + name of a city to indicate city of origin (the city
someone is from). To indicate country of origin, an adjective of nationality is
generally used: He is from France + He is French = francese.

Simply put, intransitive verbs are those that do not take a direct object. These
verbs usually express movement or a state of being. The auxiliary
verb essere plus the past participle is used to form the passato prossimo and
other compounds of almost all intransitive verbs (and the past participle must
agree in number and gender with the subject.) The table below contains
conjugations of arrivare, crescere, and partire in the passato prossimo.

CONJUGATING VERBS IN THE PASSATO PROSSIMO WITH ESSERE

PRONOUN ARRIVARE(TO CRESCERE(TO PARTIRE(TO LEAVE, TO

ARRIVE) GROW) DEPART)
io sono arrivato(-a) sono cresciuto(-a) sono partito(-a)
tu sei arrivato(-a) sei cresciuto(-a) sei partito(-a)
lui/lei/Lei arrivato(-a) cresciuto(-a) partito(-a)
noi siamo arrivati(-e) siamo cresciuti(-e) siamo partiti(-e)
voi siete arrivati(-e) siete cresciuti(-e) siete partiti(-e)
loro/Loro sono arrivati(-e) sono cresciuti(-e) sono partiti(-e)

Italian Grammar Lesson:

The Present Progressive
Note that this tense form is used less frequently in Italian than in English.

Its normal to hear the simple present used instead of the progressive form
were studying here.

For example: Vado, ciao! (Im going, bye!) rather than Sto andando, ciao!,
which would sound rather fussy.

Nevertheless, the progressive present form is used to specify/emphasise that

an action that is taking place at the time of speaking, for example:

Lisa sta leggendo.

I bambini stanno giocando.
Sto facendo la fila.

The tense form is constructed using the verb stare as an auxiliary, along with
the present participle (gerundio) form of the base verb.

Stare conjugates like this:

io sto
tu stai
lui/lei sta
noi stiamo
voi state
loro stanno

And what about the present participle? No worries. As in English, its easy.

Verbs ending in -are form the present participle by adding the suffix -ando to
the root of the verb. For example:

lavorare-lavorando
giocare-giocando
guidare-guidando

Verbs ending in -ere/-ire form the present participle by adding the suffix -endo
to the root of the verb, as in these examples:

leggere-leggendo
tenere-tenendo
venire-venendo
dormire-dormendo

The following three verbs are the only irregular ones:

fare-facendo
dire-dicendo
bere-bevendo

Here are some more examples of the Italian Present Progressive form:

Sto aspettando il mio turno.

Alessandra sta giocando a carte.
Elena sta mangiando un gelato.
Stiamo bevendo una spremuta al bar. Vuoi raggiungerci?