Essere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

essere — to be — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of identity, description, location and time: you use it to say who someone is, what something is like, where someone is and what time it is. It is also the auxiliary verb for the passato prossimo of most verbs of movement and change, and of every reflexive verb, so its own forms do double duty across the language. On this page you will find essere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the essere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the essere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with essere

In the present tense

  • “Io sono a casa ogni giorno.” — “I am at home”
  • “Tu sei a casa ogni giorno.” — “You are at home”
  • “Lui è a casa ogni giorno.” — “He is at home”
  • “Noi siamo a casa ogni giorno.” — “We are at home”
  • “Voi siete a casa ogni giorno.” — “You are at home”
  • “Loro sono a casa ogni giorno.” — “They are at home”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono stato a casa questa settimana.” — “I have been at home”
  • “Tu sei stato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have been at home”
  • “Lui è stato a casa questa settimana.” — “He has been at home”
  • “Noi siamo stato a casa questa settimana.” — “We have been at home”
  • “Voi siete stato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have been at home”
  • “Loro sono stato a casa questa settimana.” — “They have been at home”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io ero a casa una volta.” — “I used to be at home”
  • “Tu sarai a casa domani.” — “You will be at home”
  • “Lui sarebbe a casa un giorno.” — “He would be at home”
  • “È importante che noi siamo a casa.” — “It is important that we be at home”
  • “Sii a casa!” — “Be at home!”

How essere is used

The first thing to know about essere is its core meaning: to be. It is the verb of identity, description, location and time: you use it to say who someone is, what something is like, where someone is and what time it is. It is also the auxiliary verb for the passato prossimo of most verbs of movement and change, and of every reflexive verb, so its own forms do double duty across the language. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company essere keeps. The present io form is sono, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is sono stato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what essere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need sono, never essere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono stato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle stato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Essere in context

Io sono a casa ogni giorno. Tu sei a casa ogni giorno. Lui è a casa ogni giorno. Noi siamo a casa ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of essere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sono, sei, è, siamo — while the meaning stays the same: to be. Io sono stato a casa questa settimana. Tu sei stato a casa questa settimana. Lui è stato a casa questa settimana. Noi siamo stato a casa questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of essere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to be — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io essere a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sono a casa ogni giorno.”

The infinitive essere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form sono.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io sei a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sono a casa ogni giorno.”

sei is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is sono — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io sono a casa ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono stato a casa questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono stato here, not the present sono.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho stato a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sono stato a casa questa settimana.”

essere takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono stato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on essere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of essere in the Present indicative?

    • A) sono
    • B) sei
    • C) è
    • D) siamo

  2. What is the io form of essere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei stato
    • B) è stato
    • C) sono stato
    • D) siamo stato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of essere in the Imperfect?

    • A) ero
    • B) eri
    • C) eravamo
    • D) era

  4. What is the noi form of essere in the Future?

    • A) saremo
    • B) sarò
    • C) sarai
    • D) sarà

  5. What is the tu form of essere in the Conditional?

    • A) sarei
    • B) saresti
    • C) sarebbe
    • D) saremmo

  6. What is the io form of essere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) fosti
    • B) fu
    • C) fui
    • D) fummo

  7. What is the noi form of essere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) sia
    • B) siate
    • C) siano
    • D) siamo

  8. What is the gerund of essere?

    • A) essendo
    • B) stato
    • C) essere
    • D) sono

  9. What is the past participle of essere?

    • A) essendo
    • B) stato
    • C) essere
    • D) sono

  10. What does essere mean in English?

  • A) to have
  • B) to do, to make
  • C) to be
  • D) to say

Answer key

  1. B) sei — the correct form is sei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono stato — the correct form is sono stato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) era — the correct form is era. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) saremo — the correct form is saremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) saresti — the correct form is saresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) fui — the correct form is fui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) siamo — the correct form is siamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) essendo — the correct form is essendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) stato — the correct form is stato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be — the correct form is to be. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does essere mean in English?

essere means “to be”. You use it whenever you talk about to be in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is essere regular or irregular?

essere is irregular. essere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, imperfect, future, conditional, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, past-participle, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of essere?

The gerund is essendo and the past participle is stato. The perfect tenses use essere + stato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of essere?

On the essere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The essere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for essere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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