Episode 88: ESSERE vs. STARE: How to Tell the Difference between these Two Verbs

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Joy of Languages

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🗓️ 14 February 2023

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

In Italian, there are two verbs that mean “to be”: essere and stare. When should you use each one? Find out in this simple guide!

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Today's Italian words:
Sono felice = I'm happy
Sono italiano = I'm Italian (m)
Sono alto = I'm tall (m)
Sono qui = I'm here
Sto bene = I’m well
Sto male = I’m not well, literally “I’m bad”
Sto meglio = I’m better
Stare con le persone = to spend time with people, literally “to stay with people”
Stare con la famiglia = to spend time with the family, literally “to stay with the family”
Stare zitto = to be quiet, to shut up
Stare fermo = to stay still
Stare attento = to pay attention, literally “to stay attentive”
Stare calmo = to stay calm

Transcript

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0:00.0	Should I use Eser or stare?
0:04.3	If you've been learning Italian for a little while,
0:06.8	you might have come across these two important verbs
0:09.6	and found yourself wondering which one to use.
0:13.3	That's because in English they can both be translated as to be,
0:18.0	but be careful because they're not always interchangeable.
0:22.2	So what's the difference?
0:23.7	Find out in this episode.
0:36.6	Hi everyone and welcome to learn Italian with joy of languages. I'm Katie.
0:43.8	And I'm Mateo. Ciao. To be or not to be. In today's case, maybe the question should be to be or to stay. We're talking about the difference between
0:56.6	Esere, which means to be, and stare, which literally means to stay. But it's not quite that
1:05.6	simple because in practice, they're both used when we would normally use B in English.
1:13.1	So, how do we know when to use which one?
1:17.3	Luckily, there's a secret to make things a lot simpler, and that is, when in doubt, use Esere.
1:25.2	It's the verb that breaks down into different forms like I am.
1:30.8	Sono. And you are. Say. She, he, it is. This is the same for the formal you are.
1:43.8	We are. We are. And?
1:45.3	We are.
1:46.4	Siamo.
1:50.7	You are, the plural, when speaking to two or more people.
1:52.2	Sieter.
1:53.7	They are.
	...

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