Conjugation of the verb essere in Italian
If you are starting your journey into the Italian language, one of the very first and most important verbs you will encounter is “essere”.
Conjugation of the verb essere in Italian
If you are starting your journey into the Italian language, one of the very first and most important verbs you will encounter is “essere”. Meaning “to be”, this verb is the cornerstone of Italian grammar. Not only is it used to describe states of being, identity, professions, and emotions, but it also serves as a vital auxiliary (helping) verb to form compound tenses for many other Italian verbs, as well as for its own compound tenses.
Because it stems from Latin verbs that merged over time, “essere” is highly irregular. You cannot rely on standard conjugation rules to predict its forms. To help you master it, this article breaks down the complete conjugation of the verb “essere” across all moods and tenses without using any tables, presenting the information in a clear and detailed format.
A quick note on agreement
Before diving into the conjugations, it is crucial to understand how compound tenses work with “essere”. When “essere” is used as an auxiliary verb—even for itself—the past participle “stato” (been) must agree in gender and number with the subject.
If the subject is a single male, you use “stato”. For a single female, it becomes “stata”. For a group of males or a mixed-gender group, it is “stati”, and for a group of entirely females, you use “state”. In the compound tense lists below, the masculine and feminine singular forms (stato/a) and plural forms (stati/e) are indicated to remind you of this rule.
The indicative mood (Modo indicativo)
The indicative mood is the most common mood in Italian, used to express facts, statements, and objective reality. It contains four simple tenses and four compound tenses.
Simple tenses of the indicative
The simple tenses consist of just one word (the conjugated verb itself).
Present (Presente)
The present tense is used for current states of being, habitual actions, and general truths.
Io sono (I am)
Tu sei (You are, informal)
Lui/lei è (He/she/it is, or formal you)
Noi siamo (We are)
Voi siete (You all are)
Loro sono (They are)
Imperfect (Imperfetto)
The imperfect tense describes ongoing, repeated, or habitual past states and actions. It is often translated as “used to be” or “was/were”.
Io ero (I was)
Tu eri (You were)
Lui/lei era (He/she was)
Noi eravamo (We were)
Voi eravate (You all were)
Loro erano (They were)
Historical past (Passato remoto)
This tense is used mostly in literature, historical texts, and in certain regions of southern Italy to describe events that happened in the distant past and have completely ended.
Io fui (I was)
Tu fosti (You were)
Lui/lei fu (He/she was)
Noi fummo (We were)
Voi foste (You all were)
Loro furono (They were)
Future (Futuro semplice)
The future simple expresses what will be or what will happen in the future. It can also express a probable assumption in the present.
Io sarò (I will be)
Tu sarai (You will be)
Lui/lei sarà (He/she will be)
Noi saremo (We will be)
Voi sarete (You all will be)
Loro saranno (They will be)
Compound tenses of the indicative
Compound tenses are formed by using the conjugated auxiliary verb (in this case, “essere”) plus the past participle of the main verb (”stato”).
Present perfect (Passato prossimo)
This is the most common past tense in spoken Italian, used for specific events that happened in the recent past or still have a connection to the present.
Io sono stato/a (I have been / I was)
Tu sei stato/a (You have been / You were)
Lui/lei è stato/a (He/she has been / He/she was)
Noi siamo stati/e (We have been / We were)
Voi siete stati/e (You all have been / You all were)
Loro sono stati/e (They have been / They were)
Pluperfect (Trapassato prossimo)
This tense translates to “had been” and is used to describe a state in the past that happened before another past action.
Io ero stato/a (I had been)
Tu eri stato/a (You had been)
Lui/lei era stato/a (He/she had been)
Noi eravamo stati/e (We had been)
Voi eravate stati/e (You all had been)
Loro erano stati/e (They had been)
Preterite perfect (Trapassato remoto)
This is a very rare literary tense used to express an action that happened immediately before another action expressed in the historical past.
Io fui stato/a (I had been)
Tu fosti stato/a (You had been)
Lui/lei fu stato/a (He/she had been)
Noi fummo stati/e (We had been)
Voi foste stati/e (You all had been)
Loro furono stati/e (They had been)
Future perfect (Futuro anteriore)
This tense describes an action that will have been completed in the future before another future action, or it expresses an assumption about the past (e.g., “He must have been”).
Io sarò stato/a (I will have been)
Tu sarai stato/a (You will have been)
Lui/lei sarà stato/a (He/she will have been)
Noi saremo stati/e (We will have been)
Voi sarete stati/e (You all will have been)
Loro saranno stati/e (They will have been)
The subjunctive mood (Modo congiuntivo)
The subjunctive mood is used to express doubt, uncertainty, hopes, fears, and subjectivity. It is almost always introduced by the conjunction “che” (that).
Simple tenses of the subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente)
Che io sia (That I be / am)
Che tu sia (That you be / are)
Che lui/lei sia (That he/she be / is)
Che noi siamo (That we be / are)
Che voi siate (That you all be / are)
Che loro siano (That they be / are)
Imperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo imperfetto)
Che io fossi (That I were)
Che tu fossi (That you were)
Che lui/lei fosse (That he/she were)
Che noi fossimo (That we were)
Che voi foste (That you all were)
Che loro fossero (That they were)
Compound tenses of the subjunctive
Past subjunctive (Congiuntivo passato)
Che io sia stato/a (That I have been)
Che tu sia stato/a (That you have been)
Che lui/lei sia stato/a (That he/she has been)
Che noi siamo stati/e (That we have been)
Che voi siate stati/e (That you all have been)
Che loro siano stati/e (That they have been)
Pluperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo trapassato)
Che io fossi stato/a (That I had been)
Che tu fossi stato/a (That you had been)
Che lui/lei fosse stato/a (That he/she had been)
Che noi fossimo stati/e (That we had been)
Che voi foste stati/e (That you all had been)
Che loro fossero stati/e (That they had been)
The conditional mood (Modo condizionale)
The conditional mood is used to express what “would” happen or what “would be” under certain conditions.
Present conditional (Condizionale presente)
Io sarei (I would be)
Tu saresti (You would be)
Lui/lei sarebbe (He/she would be)
Noi saremmo (We would be)
Voi sareste (You all would be)
Loro sarebbero (They would be)
Past conditional (Condizionale passato)
Io sarei stato/a (I would have been)
Tu saresti stato/a (You would have been)
Lui/lei sarebbe stato/a (He/she would have been)
Noi saremmo stati/e (We would have been)
Voi sareste stati/e (You all would have been)
Loro sarebbero stati/e (They would have been)
The imperative mood (Modo imperativo)
The imperative is used to give commands, orders, or strong advice. Because you cannot give a command to yourself or to a third party who isn’t present, the imperative only exists for specific pronouns. Note that the formal “Lei” and “Loro” forms are borrowed from the present subjunctive.
Present imperative (Imperativo presente)
Tu sii (Be!)
Lui/lei/Lei sia (Let him/her be! / Be! - formal singular)
Noi siamo (Let’s be!)
Voi siate (Be! - plural)
Loro siano (Let them be! / Be! - formal plural)
Non-finite moods (Modi indefiniti)
Non-finite moods do not change based on the person (I, you, he, etc.). They only have a present and a past tense.
Infinitive (Infinito)
The infinitive is the base dictionary form of the verb.
Present: essere (to be)
Past: essere stato/a/i/e (to have been)
Participle (Participio)
The past participle is essential for forming compound tenses. The present participle exists but is very rarely used in modern Italian.
Present: essente (being - rarely used)
Past: stato, stata, stati, state (been)
Gerund (Gerundio)
The gerund is used to express continuous action, often translating to “-ing” forms in English.
Present: essendo (being)
Past: essendo stato/a/i/e (having been)
Conclusion
Learning the conjugation of “essere” is a mandatory step in mastering Italian. Because it acts as both a primary verb of state and an essential building block for other tenses, the forms of “essere” will appear constantly in everything you read, hear, and say in Italian. Although its irregularity can seem daunting at first, frequent repetition and daily practice will soon make these conjugations feel entirely natural.