Stare translates loosely as "to stay," but that single English word badly underrepresents what the verb actually does. Across modern Italian, stare carries at least four distinct duties: it expresses state of being (come stai? — sto bene), it locates someone or something in a place (sto a Roma), it functions as the auxiliary of the progressive (sto mangiando) and the imminent future (sto per uscire), and it overlaps with essere in fixed expressions (stare zitto, stare attento, stare seduto).
The conjugation is irregular but not chaotic. Most tenses run on the regular stem st- with predictable -are endings (imperfetto stavo, futuro starò, condizionale starei, participio stato). The presente, the passato remoto, the congiuntivo presente, the congiuntivo imperfetto, and the imperativo are where the irregularities cluster — and they cluster in patterns that rhyme almost exactly with dare, the other -are verb of similar shape.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | sto |
| tu | stai |
| lui / lei / Lei | sta |
| noi | stiamo |
| voi | state |
| loro | stanno |
The pattern is irregular but mirrors dare (do, dai, dà, diamo, date, danno) almost exactly — the only differences are the initial consonant cluster and the absence of a written accent on sta (whereas dà carries a grave accent to disambiguate it from the preposition da; with stare there is no homonym to worry about).
Come stai oggi? — Sto benissimo, grazie.
How are you today? — I'm doing great, thanks.
Mio fratello sta a Berlino da tre anni.
My brother has been living in Berlin for three years.
Stiamo organizzando una festa a sorpresa per Anna.
We're organising a surprise party for Anna.
Ragazzi, state attenti quando attraversate la strada.
Kids, be careful when you cross the street.
I bambini stanno dormendo, parla piano.
The kids are sleeping, speak quietly.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | stavo |
| tu | stavi |
| lui / lei / Lei | stava |
| noi | stavamo |
| voi | stavate |
| loro | stavano |
Fully regular -are imperfetto. The imperfetto of stare is the workhorse of the past progressive: stavo facendo, stavi dicendo, stavamo per uscire. You'll meet it constantly in narrative.
Stavo per chiamarti quando hai suonato alla porta.
I was about to call you when you rang the doorbell.
Da bambina stavo molto dai miei nonni in campagna.
As a girl I used to stay a lot at my grandparents' in the countryside.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | stetti |
| tu | stesti |
| lui / lei / Lei | stette |
| noi | stemmo |
| voi | steste |
| loro | stettero |
Another 1-3-3 pattern, with the io/lui/loro forms taking a doubled -tt- (stetti, stette, stettero) and tu/noi/voi taking the regular short stem (stesti, stemmo, steste). This double-consonant marker rhymes neatly with dare (diedi/dette → dettero) and is a common signature of strong Italian preterites.
Quell'estate stetti due mesi in Sicilia da uno zio.
That summer I stayed two months in Sicily at an uncle's place.
Stettero in silenzio per un lungo momento.
They remained silent for a long moment.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | starò |
| tu | starai |
| lui / lei / Lei | starà |
| noi | staremo |
| voi | starete |
| loro | staranno |
Fully regular: stem star- (the infinitive minus -e) plus the standard future endings. No contraction, no surprise.
Domani starò a casa tutto il giorno a riposarmi.
Tomorrow I'll stay at home all day to rest.
Starete bene da soli per qualche ora?
Will you guys be okay on your own for a few hours?
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | starei |
| tu | staresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | starebbe |
| noi | staremmo |
| voi | stareste |
| loro | starebbero |
Note again the double m in staremmo versus single-m staremo (future). Same trap, same rule: the conditional always doubles the m in the noi form.
Starei volentieri ancora un po', ma devo proprio andare.
I'd gladly stay a little longer, but I really have to go.
Staresti meglio se dormissi un po' di più.
You'd feel better if you slept a bit more.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | stia |
| (che) tu | stia |
| (che) lui / lei | stia |
| (che) noi | stiamo |
| (che) voi | stiate |
| (che) loro | stiano |
The three singular forms collapse into stia. The forms parallel dare (dia, dia, dia, diamo, diate, diano) tooth-for-tooth.
Spero che tu stia meglio oggi.
I hope you're feeling better today.
È strano che stiano ancora dormendo a quest'ora.
It's strange they're still sleeping at this hour.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | stessi |
| (che) tu | stessi |
| (che) lui / lei | stesse |
| (che) noi | stessimo |
| (che) voi | steste |
| (che) loro | stessero |
This is the one tense where stare really departs from the standard -are pattern. A regular -are verb would give stareste, starebbero — but stare uses the short stem st- plus the -essi/-esse endings, identical in shape to the congiuntivo imperfetto of dare (dessi, desse). Memorise the pair together.
Se stessi più tempo all'aria aperta, ti sentiresti meglio.
If you spent more time outdoors, you'd feel better.
Pensavo che stessero ancora in vacanza.
I thought they were still on vacation.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | sta' |
| Lei (formal) | stia |
| noi | stiamo |
| voi | state |
| loro (formal pl.) | stiano |
The tu imperative sta' is one of the five "short imperatives" written with an apostrophe (alongside di', va', da', fa'). When a clitic attaches, the initial consonant doubles:
| Imperative + clitic | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sta' + mi | stammi | stay (with) me / be (for) me |
| sta' + ci | stacci | stay there / be (in) it |
| sta' + ne | stanne | stay (out of) it |
Stammi vicino, ho un po' paura.
Stay close to me, I'm a bit scared.
Sta' zitto un secondo, voglio sentire cosa dicono.
Be quiet a second, I want to hear what they're saying.
State tranquilli, è tutto sotto controllo.
Relax (you guys), everything's under control.
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | stare |
| Infinito passato | essere stato/a/i/e |
| Gerundio presente | stando |
| Gerundio passato | essendo stato/a/i/e |
| Participio passato | stato/a/i/e |
The participle stato is shared with essere — the most famous instance of borrowed morphology in the Italian verb system. Because stare takes essere as its auxiliary, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Stando così le cose, non ci resta che aspettare.
Things being as they are, all we can do is wait.
Compound tenses
Stare takes essere as its auxiliary, so the participle stato agrees with the subject.
| Tense | io (m.) | io (f.) | noi (m.) | noi (f.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | sono stato | sono stata | siamo stati | siamo state |
| Trapassato prossimo | ero stato | ero stata | eravamo stati | eravamo state |
| Futuro anteriore | sarò stato | sarò stata | saremo stati | saremo state |
| Condizionale passato | sarei stato | sarei stata | saremmo stati | saremmo state |
| Congiuntivo passato | sia stato | sia stata | siamo stati | siamo state |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | fossi stato | fossi stata | fossimo stati | fossimo state |
Sono stata male tutta la settimana scorsa.
I (fem.) was unwell all last week.
Se fossimo stati più attenti, non sarebbe successo.
If we had been more careful, it wouldn't have happened.
Stare as auxiliary: the progressive and the imminent future
This is where stare does some of its most important work. Italian doesn't have a dedicated progressive form like English's -ing construction; instead it builds one analytically with stare + gerundio:
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| stare + gerundio | action in progress right now | Sto leggendo un libro. |
| stare per + infinito | action about to happen | Sta per piovere. |
Cosa stai facendo? — Sto guardando una serie.
What are you doing? — I'm watching a series.
Stavamo cenando quando hanno chiamato.
We were having dinner when they called.
Sta per uscire, vuoi che gli dica qualcosa?
He's about to leave, do you want me to tell him something?
Stavo per dirti la stessa cosa!
I was just about to tell you the same thing!
Stare vs. essere — the most useful distinction
For physical and emotional state, Italian uses stare (not essere) when asking or reporting how someone feels:
- Come stai? — How are you? (NOT come sei?, which means "what are you like?")
- Sto bene / male / così così. — I'm well / unwell / so-so.
For permanent or defining qualities — identity, profession, nationality, character — Italian uses essere:
- Sono italiano. — I'm Italian. (identity)
- È simpatico. — He's nice. (character)
The line between them blurs in fixed expressions: stare zitto (be quiet), stare attento (be careful), stare seduto (be seated). Treat these as idioms.
Sto male da ieri, credo di avere l'influenza.
I've been feeling unwell since yesterday, I think I have the flu.
Sono stanco morto dopo questa giornata.
I'm dead tired after this day. (state described with essere when using an adjective like stanco)
Common mistakes
❌ Come sei? — Sono bene.
Incorrect — for asking how someone feels, Italian uses stare, not essere.
✅ Come stai? — Sto bene.
Correct — stare for state-of-being.
❌ Sto a Roma. (meaning 'I am Italian by origin')
Misleading — sto a Roma means 'I'm staying/living in Rome currently,' not nationality.
✅ Sono di Roma.
Correct for origin — essere di + city.
❌ Stami vicino.
Incorrect — sta' + mi must double the consonant.
✅ Stammi vicino.
Correct — stammi with double m.
❌ Noi staremo a casa stasera.
Incorrect for a hypothetical — this is the simple future, 'we will stay.'
✅ Noi staremmo a casa stasera, ma c'è una festa.
Correct as a conditional — staremmo (double m) is 'we would stay.'
❌ Penso che stai meglio.
Incorrect — penso che triggers the subjunctive.
✅ Penso che tu stia meglio.
Correct — stia is the congiuntivo presente.
Key takeaways
Stare is a high-frequency verb whose forms split between regular -are patterns and a handful of irregular cells that mirror dare. Three points to lock in:
Stare splits its meaning across state, location, progressive auxiliary, and imminent future. Of these, the progressive (sto facendo) and the Come stai? construction are by far the most common — drill them first.
The imperative tu is sta' with an apostrophe, and clitics double its initial consonant: stammi, stacci, stanne. Same rule as di', va', da', fa'.
Stare borrows its participle from essere: stato/stata/stati/state. The compound tenses look identical, and stare itself takes essere as its auxiliary. Agreement with the subject is required.
The conjugation rhymes with dare at almost every irregular cell — learning the two as a pair will halve your memorisation load.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Essere: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of essere (to be) across every tense and mood — the most irregular and one of the two most-used verbs in Italian.
- Avere: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of avere (to have) across every tense and mood — the most-used verb in Italian and the auxiliary for the majority of compound tenses.
- Dare: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of dare (to give) — short and irregular, with two competing passato remoto forms and a long list of idioms.