Learn About the Verb Essere (To Be) in Italian

Learn About the Verb Essere (To Be) in Italian Essere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a predictable pattern of conjugation. Note that the form sono is used with both  io and loro. Grammatical Notes Essere is used with di name of a city to indicate city of origin (the city someone is from). To indicate country of origin, an adjective of nationality is generally used: He is from France He is French È francese. Io sono di Chicago: tu di dove sei? (Im from Chicago; where are you from?) Essere di proper name is used to indicate possession. No apostrophe s is used in Italian to indicate possession: It is Annas It is of Anna È di Anna. Questa chitarra à ¨ di Beppino; non à ¨ di Vittoria.  (This guitar is Beppinos; its not Vittorias.) To find out who the owner of something is, ask Di chi à ¨ singular or Di chi sono plural. Di chi à ¨ questo cane? Di chi sono questi cani? (Whose dog is this? Whose dogs are these?) Essere as an Auxiliary Verb Essere is also used as an auxiliary verb in the following cases: Reflexive verbs: those verbs whose action reverts to the subject, as in the following examples: I wash myself. They enjoy themselves.Impersonal form: as in the English equivalents one, you, we, they, or people verb. Si mangia bene in Italia - People (They) eat well in Italy.Passive voice: in a passive construction the subject of the verb receives the action instead of doing it, as in the sentence: Caesar was killed by Brutus. The present tense (il presente) of essere is as follows: Conjugating the Italian Verb Essere in the Present Tense SINGOLARE PLURALE (io) sono I am (noi) siamo we are (tu) sei you are (fam.) (voi) siete you are (fam.) (Lei) you are (form.) (Loro) sono you are (form.) (lui) he is (loro) sono they are (fam.) To Be, or Not To Be?: Compound Tenses The compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the  passato prossimo, that consist of two words. The appropriate tense of  avere  or  essere  (called the  auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms the verb phrase. When using  essere, the past participle always agrees in gender and number with the subject of the verb. It can therefore have four endings:  -o, -a, -i, -e. In many cases intransitive verbs (those that cannot take a direct object), especially those expressing motion, are conjugated with the auxiliary verb  essere. The verb  essere  is also conjugated with itself as the auxiliary verb. Some of the most common verbs that form compound tenses with  essere  include: andare (to go)arrivare (to arrive)cadere (to fall, to drop)costare (to cost)crescere (to grow)diventare (to become)per durare, continuare (to last, to continue)per entrare (to enter)morire (to die)nascere (to be born)lasciare, partire (to leave, to depart)stare, rimanere (to stay, to remain)ritornare (to return)uscire (to exit)venire (to come)