Stare – to be, to stay

Stare - Italian verb to be
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Being an Italian Verb

Stare literally means "to stay," but it’s also one of two Italian verbs that can mean "to be"* when talking about

1) Health

Per esempio…

Come stai, Nico? How are you, Nico?
Sto bene, grazie. I’m fine, thanks.

2) Permanent or habitual location

L’Italia sta in Europa.   Italy is in Europe.
Stai sempre al computer! You’re always at the computer!

Stare per + infinitive = very near future

Stare is also used with the gerund to form progressive tenses (lessons coming soon).

Stare present tense conjugations

Stare is an irregular –are verb:

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

* The other is essere. We’ll compare the two in detail in a future lesson.

 Related lessons

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Stare - Italian verb

Virtual Italian Teacher at Lawless Languages | Website | + posts

Ciao! I’m Laura K Lawless, creator, writer, editor, and CLO (Chief Lawless Officer) of this free online Italian learning site. Lawless Italian is an official Lawless Languages site.