The verb "essere" (to be: sono, sei, è...)

Io sono Marco. Sono di Milano.I'm Marco. I'm from Milan.

essere is Italian's verb "to be." It is irregular, so its forms have to be learned as they are, and it is the verb you'll use to introduce yourself, say where you're from, and describe people and things.

Quick shortcut: sono (I am), sei (you are), è (he / she / it is, and formal you are), siamo (we are), siete (you all are), sono (they are).

Conjugation

Two things to notice:

• sono is both "I am" and "they are." Context (and the rest of the sentence) tells them apart, and the pronoun is usually dropped anyway (see Subject pronouns).
• è carries a written accent. Without it, e means "and": Marco e Anna sono amici (Marco and Anna are friends) vs. Marco è italiano (Marco is Italian).

Formal Lei takes the same form as lei: Lei è di Roma? (Are you from Rome?). More in Formal address with Lei.

What essere is used for

essere says who or what someone or something is, where they're from, and what they're like:

• Identity: Sono Marco. / Lei è mia sorella. (I'm Marco. / She is my sister.)
• Profession: Sono insegnante. / Lui è medico. (I'm a teacher. / He is a doctor.) After essere, Italian usually leaves out the article before a profession, as in these examples.
• Origin and nationality: Sono di Napoli. / Siamo italiani. (I'm from Naples. / We are Italian.) Nationalities are written with a small letter.
• Characteristics: La casa è grande. / Sei molto gentile. (The house is big. / You are very kind.)
• Location: Sono a casa. / Dov'è la stazione? (I'm at home. / Where is the station?)

Some English "to be" expressions use a different verb in Italian. When talking about people, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, age and fear go with avere ("to have"): Ho fame (I'm hungry), Ho vent'anni (I'm twenty). They have their own lesson: The verb "avere".

Adjectives agree with the subject

After essere, adjectives agree with the subject in gender and number:

• Marco è stanco. / Anna è stanca. (Marco is tired. / Anna is tired.)
• Marco e Luca sono stanchi. / Anna e Maria sono stanche. (Marco and Luca are tired. / Anna and Maria are tired.)
• A group with at least one man takes the masculine plural: Marco e Anna sono stanchi.

Adjectives ending in -e have one form for both genders (gentile, intelligente) and change only in the plural (gentili, intelligenti). The details are in Adjective agreement.

Questions and negatives

• Questions keep the same word order. Yes/no questions use a rising tone, and questions with a question word keep the order too: Sei italiano? / Di dov'è Maria? (Are you Italian? / Where is Maria from?)
• Negatives put non right before the verb: Non sono stanco. / Marco non è italiano. (I'm not tired. / Marco isn't Italian.) More in Negation with non.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Io sei stanco. → ✅ Io sono stanco. (sei goes with tu, sono with io)
• ❌ Lui e italiano. → ✅ Lui è italiano. (è needs its accent; e means "and")
• ❌ Noi siamo stanco. → ✅ Noi siamo stanchi. (the adjective agrees with the plural subject)
• ❌ Sono fame. → ✅ Ho fame. ("I'm hungry" uses avere, not essere)
• ❌ Marco sono italiano. → ✅ Marco è italiano. (a singular "he" needs è, not sono)

Quick check

Fill in the correct form of essere.

1. Noi ____ amici.
2. Maria ____ di Napoli.
3. Voi ____ studenti?
4. Io ____ stanca. (a woman speaking)
5. Tu ____ italiano?
6. Loro ____ medici.

Key takeaways

• essere is irregular: sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono.
• sono means both "I am" and "they are"; the context and the rest of the sentence tell them apart.
• è (is) always has the accent; e (no accent) means "and".
• Use essere for identity, profession, origin, characteristics and location; adjectives after it agree with the subject in gender and number.
• For people, hunger, thirst, cold, heat and age go with avere, not essere.