ESSERE - to be

essere
to be

'ESSERE' is the most commonly used verb!  It is used to describe a plethora of people of places and also occurs in other verb tenses.

It is easy to remember its meaning because it's related to the English word essence — or the intrinsic nature of something— what something REALLY IS.

ESSERE in the Present Tense

It is an irregular verb— meaning it does not follow a predictable pattern of conjugation— but don't worry!  You'll use it so much that you'll have it memorized in no time.

As the number one verb, it's no surprise that it occurs in a multitude of contexts and expressions.  To start with, let's focus on its use in three areas: Describing what it is, what it's like, and where it is.


ESSERE - What it is
ESSERE can be used to describe what something is...

essere… to be…                          

un ragazzo

a boy

una ragazza

a girl

un animale

an animal

una rosa

a rose

È un ragazzo.

He's a boy.

Sei una ragazza.

You're a girl.

L'elefante è un animale.

The elephant is an animal.

Queste sono rose.

These are roses.

ESSERE - What it's like
ESSERE can also be used to describe the physical characteristics or personality traits of the thing in question, as well as it's nationality or place of origin.

essere… to be…                         

alto

tall

basso

short

Sono alta.

I am tall.

La mia amica è bassa.
My friend is short.

essere… to be…                         

intelligente

intelligent
stupido
stupid
ottimista
optimistic
pessimista
pessimistic

Siete stupidi!

You're all dumb!

Perché sei così pessimista?

Why are you so pessimistic?

essere… to be…                          

americano

American
inglese
English
italiano
Italian
spagnolo
Spanish
di Los Angeles
from Los Angeles

di Madrid 

from Spain

Maria e José sono di Madrid—sono spagnoli.

Maria and José are from Madrid, they are Spanish.

Lui è di San Francisco ed io sono di Los Angeles— siamo americani. 

He is from San Francisco and I am from Los Angeles, we are American.

For lots more adjectives and the verb "ESSERE" see: Adjectives of Personality 

For a very complete list of nationalities, see: Adjectives of Nationality 

ESSERE - Where it is
ESSERE can also be used to describe where something is…

essere… to be…  

a Roma.

in Rome.
in Italia.
in Italy.
all'angolo.
on the corner.
sul tavolo.
on the table.

Il Colosseo è a Roma.

The colosseum is in Rome.

Le pizzerie migliori sono in Italia.

The best pizzerias are in Italy.

Il bar è all'angolo.

The bar's on the corner.

Le chiavi sono sul tavolo.

The keys are on the table.

ESSERE vs. STARE
ESSERE is NOT used to describe your current mood… that's the verb STARE which sometimes is translated as "to stay".  Italian uses STARE and not ESSERE, because STARE describes temporary states and ESSERE is used to describe more permanent or lasting ways of being.

Come stai? (STARE)

How are you? (as in your current mood or state)

Come sei? (ESSERE)
What are you like? (as in your general characteristics— either physically or personality-wise)

IO SONO & LORO SONO

Did you notice that the IO (I) and LORO (they) forms are the same?  This might be confusing at first since Italian doesn't always include the pronouns and you'll often just see "SONO" alone, but you can use context to figure it out.

For example, the following nouns and adjectives will be in the SINGULAR for IO and in the PLURAL for LORO.

Sono una persona intelligente.

I am an intelligent person.

Sono intelligenti.

They are intelligent.

È and the subject "it"
In English, we use the pronoun "it" when the subject is an inanimate object or when the subject is an abstract concept:

It is red. (IT= The book)
It is strange that… (IT is abstract)

In both cases, Italian uses no pronoun.  Instead, è is used alone and the "it" is implied:

È rosso.

It's red.

È strano che...

It's strange that...

CI + ESSERE

As we covered in a previous lesson, ESSERE is combined with "CI" to talk about What there is/What there are.  

To review this concept, please see:  C'è & Ci sono.

REVIEW & PRACTICE

As I said, there are MANY ways to use the verb 'ESSERE', which we'll cover more in depth later.   In the meantime, get comfortable with the present tense conjugations and practice what you've learned by printing & completing the exercises on pages 16 & 17 of the Beginner's Italian Workbook*.  
*not currently available on mobile devices!

 —stay updated with the new lessons & worksheets! {Subscribe here!} 

Buono studio!

TIP: Open the workbook to the desired page(s),
then click the printer icon in the upper left!

All lessons in the Beginner's Italian series:

  (1) How Italian verbs work, (Intro to verbs & grammar terms)

  (2) Italian present tense: -ARE verbs

  (3) Italian present tense: -ERE verbs

  (4) Italian present tense: -IRE verbs

  (5) La negazione - Negation
  (6) Ogni quanto? Quante volte? (Adverbs of frequency)
  (7) C'è & Ci sono (There is & There are)
  (8) Essere - to be  — CURRENT PAGE

Vuoi far parte di Via Optimae?

{Subscribe here!} 

and get social!

C'è , Ci sono…

(There is  ,  There are... in Italian)

You're lounging on a boat… gently cruising through the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean, taking in the many sights and sounds of the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily.  You decide to write a letter describing everything you see. 

image via Turismo Eolie

It's all so beautiful, that only poetic Italian will do, and you start by telling of the volcano in the distance:

"There is… There is…" 

Hmm.  Maybe you'll start with the boats you see behind you?

"There are… There are…"

"Ah! If only I'd studied 'There is' and 'There are' in Italian!" you think to yourself.

You wake suddenly and realize you're not on a boat in the Mediterranean and that knowing "There is" or "There are" isn't the only thing standing between you and poetic greatness in any language.

Still, you're reading an Italian lesson and that's a good start! So you decide to seize the day and learn these invaluable forms so that no matter where you find yourself, you can describe your surroundings in beautifully poetic Italian.

To talk about what there is/there are… Italian uses the pronoun CI and the third person forms of the verb ESSERE:

As you can see, when ci and è are used together, they get contracted into c'è.  C'è (there is) is used when talking about just one thing:

C'è un vulcano.

There is a volcano.

And ci sono (there are) is used when talking about more than one thing:

Ci sono tre barche. 

There are three boats. 

It isn't always necessary to specify the exact number, as long as it's plural, you use Ci sono…

Ci sono barche. 

There are boats. 

Ci sono tante barche. 

There are so many boats. 

Ci sono delle barche.* 

There are some boats. 

Related lessons:

Pluralization, talking about more than one thing… 
* The Partitive Article, how to say "some"

Negation:

You can also add the negation word "Non" before each to describe what isn't there:

Non c'è un vulcano. 

There isn't a volcano.

Non ci sono barche. 

There aren't any boats.

In Questions:

C'è un gatto?

Is there a cat?

No, non c'è un gatto.

No, there isn't a cat.

Quanti gatti ci sono?

How many cats are there?

Ci sono due gatti.

There are two cats.

Ci sono gatti?

Are there cats?

C'è un solo gatto.

There is only one cat.

---

Putting it all to use:

Take a look around where you currently find yourself and practice describing what there is….

C'è un computer. Ci sono libri.

There is a computer. There are books.  

Or instead of just listing, you can ask and then answer your own questions, like: 

(1) Che cosa c'è?
What is there?

C'è un computer. 

There is a computer.

Ci sono dei* libri. 

There are some books.

* Review the The Partitive Article or how to say "some", if desired, or just exclude the partitive and say "Ci sono libri — There are books"

(2) Quanti* [       ] ci sono? (How many [    ] are there?)
*If the noun is feminine, it becomes Quante

C'è un solo computer. 

There is only one computer.

Ci sono quattro libri. 

There are four books.

If you're missing the vocabulary or just want to be reminded— try using Via Optimae's free label pages to label a wide variety of items around your home and use them as a basis for practicing all of the above!

More practice:
Try describing what you see in this picture (another beautiful island off of Sicily— Pantelleria)  Not sure about the vocabulary?  Mouse over the green dots to see words displayed in Italian and English!

---

Hai capito? (Got it?)  

"Like" Via Optimae on Facebook and post your own photos and descriptions of "Che c'è" (What is there?) in your surroundings!

For written practice, print the C'è | Ci sono worksheet on page 14 of the Beginner's Italian Workbook and fill-in both the "notes" section and the quick exercises that follow! 

 —be the first to know about new lessons & worksheets! {Subscribe here!} 

{Additional practice:  The final exercise of the Partitive Article Worksheet features C'è and Ci sono and can be found on page 15 of the Italian Basics digital workbook} 

Happy Studying / Daydreaming! 

These final weeks of summer and my mind is on Italian island hopping.  Check out Conde Nast Traveller's Guide to the Aeolian Islands for your own travel inspiration!

Panarea, Isole Eolie

All lessons in the Beginner's Italian series:

  (1) How Italian verbs work, (Intro to verbs & grammar terms)

  (2) Italian present tense: -ARE verbs

  (3) Italian present tense: -ERE verbs

  (4) Italian present tense: -IRE verbs 

  (5) La negazione - Negation
  (6) Ogni quanto? Quante volte? (Adverbs of frequency)
  (7) C'è & Ci sono — CURRENT PAGE

Potrebbe pure interessarti….

ITALIAN: The Basics Series, starting with:
(01) Indefinite Articles (How to say "A/AN" in Italian

The Partitive Article

(how to say "some" in Italian)

Sometimes, you'll want to refer to a thing without being specific about the quantity. This could be because the noun isn't easily countable (like water) or because it's plural but the amount is irrelevant.

In both instances, in English, you use the word "some":

some water (uncountable, singular)

some books (countable, plural)

In Italian, you use the Partitive Article. Don't be fooled by the complicated sounding name— it's easy!  

It follows the same logic and patterns as the Definite Article…. So print pages 14 & 15 of the BASICS Digital Workbook and let's get started!

(New to this series?… You may want to start with…)

|

|

\/

 ITALIAN BASICS:  
   (1) Indefinite Articles, (How to say "A/AN")
   (2) Definite Articles (singular), (How to say "THE")
   (3) Pluralization, (How to make singular nouns plural)
   (4) Definite Articles (plural), ("THE" for more than one thing)

A little word mash-up...

The partitive article is what happens when you take the preposition "di" and combine it with the Definite Articles:

As you can see, the "i" of "di" goes to "e", the two words get squished together, and if the original article starts with "l" that "l" gets doubled.  The same is true for the plural forms:

All of the forms, including when to use each, can be summed up in the following chart:

---

Using with singular nouns...

Not all singular nouns can take the partitive article, it only works with "uncountable nouns."  We'll save the difference between countable and uncountable for another day, but many liquids are considered "uncountable" and some food items can be as well. Here are a few: 

l'acqua (water), il burro (butter), il latte (milk), il pane (bread), il riso (rice), il vino (wine), lo zucchero (sugar)

The difference in meaning between the definite and the partitive article is very similar from English to Italian. Consider these sentences:

l'acqua  vs.  dell'acqua

the water                     some water  

Ho versato l'acqua nel bicchiere.

I poured the water in the glass.

Ho versato dell'acqua nel bicchiere.

I poured some water in the glass.

Both are fine sentences, but the first one seems to refer to previously mentioned water or specific water, whereas the second sentence, in both English and Italian, makes it clear that we're referring to an unspecified amount of no particular water.

Using with plural nouns...

Almost any plural noun can take the partitive article, as long as what we mean is an unspecified number.  It can be useful when we don't know how many exactly, or when it doesn't matter how many:

i libri  vs.   dei libri

the books         some books    

—Ho comprato i libri.

I bought the books.

—Tutti i tre?

All three?

—Sì.

Yes.

—Ho comprato dei libri.

I bought some books.

—Sei andato da Feltrinelli?

You went to Feltrinelli bookstore?

—Sì.

Yes.

Facile, no? (Easy, right?) 

If you haven't done so already, fill-in the "Notes" section of the Partitive Articles worksheet on page 14 of the Italian Basics digital workbook and then complete the quick exercises on page 15! (Submit your answers by email for free corrections!)

  —be the first to know about new lessons & worksheets! {Subscribe here!} 

Previous lessons in this series…
(01) Indefinite Articles (How to say "A/AN" in Italian
(02) Definite Articles, singular (How to say "THE" in Italian)
(03) Pluralization, (How to make singular nouns plural)
(04) Definite Articles, plural ("THE" for more than one thing)

 Potrebbe pure interessarti….

  The Beginner's Italian Grammar Series, starting with:

     

How Italian Verbs Work