Stare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

stare — to stay — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to stay and to be in a place, and it is also the verb of the progressive construction stare plus gerund, the Italian way of saying what someone is doing right now. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present and passato remoto are irregular. On this page you will find stare 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 stare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the stare passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with stare

In the present tense

  • “Io sto a casa ogni giorno.” — “I stay at home”
  • “Tu stai a casa ogni giorno.” — “You stay at home”
  • “Lui sta a casa ogni giorno.” — “He stays at home”
  • “Noi stiamo a casa ogni giorno.” — “We stay at home”
  • “Voi state a casa ogni giorno.” — “You stay at home”
  • “Loro stanno a casa ogni giorno.” — “They stay at home”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono stato a casa questa settimana.” — “I have stayed at home”
  • “Tu sei stato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home”
  • “Lui è stato a casa questa settimana.” — “He has stayed at home”
  • “Noi siamo stato a casa questa settimana.” — “We have stayed at home”
  • “Voi siete stato a casa questa settimana.” — “You have stayed at home”
  • “Loro sono stato a casa questa settimana.” — “They have stayed 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 stavo a casa una volta.” — “I used to stay at home”
  • “Tu starai a casa domani.” — “You will stay at home”
  • “Lui starebbe a casa un giorno.” — “He would stay at home”
  • “È importante che noi stiamo a casa.” — “It is important that we stay at home”
  • “Stai a casa!” — “Stay at home!”

How stare is used

The first thing to know about stare is its core meaning: to stay. It means to stay and to be in a place, and it is also the verb of the progressive construction stare plus gerund, the Italian way of saying what someone is doing right now. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present and passato remoto are irregular. 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 stare keeps. The present io form is sto, 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 stare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need sto, never stare. 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.

Stare in context

Io sto a casa ogni giorno. Tu stai a casa ogni giorno. Lui sta a casa ogni giorno. Noi stiamo a casa ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of stare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sto, stai, sta, stiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to stay. 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 stare 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 stay — 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 stare a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sto a casa ogni giorno.”

The infinitive stare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form sto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io stai a casa.”

✓ Right: “Io sto a casa ogni giorno.”

stai is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is sto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io sto 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 sto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho stato a casa.”

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

stare 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 stare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

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

    • A) sto
    • B) stai
    • C) sta
    • D) stiamo

  2. What is the io form of stare 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 stare in the Imperfect?

    • A) stavo
    • B) stavi
    • C) stavamo
    • D) stava

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

    • A) staremo
    • B) starò
    • C) starai
    • D) starà

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

    • A) starei
    • B) staresti
    • C) starebbe
    • D) staremmo

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

    • A) stesti
    • B) stette
    • C) stetti
    • D) stemmo

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

    • A) stia
    • B) stiate
    • C) stiano
    • D) stiamo

  8. What is the gerund of stare?

    • A) stando
    • B) stato
    • C) stare
    • D) sto

  9. What is the past participle of stare?

    • A) stando
    • B) stato
    • C) stare
    • D) sto

  10. What does stare mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) stai — the correct form is stai. 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) stava — the correct form is stava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) staremo — the correct form is staremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) staresti — the correct form is staresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) stetti — the correct form is stetti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) stiamo — the correct form is stiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) stando — the correct form is stando. 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 stay — the correct form is to stay. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does stare mean in English?

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

Is stare regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of stare?

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

Where can I see the full conjugation of stare?

On the stare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The stare 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 stare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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