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### The irregular verb "stare"

The verb **stare** is one of the most important verbs in Italian. It generally translates to "to stay," "to remain," or "to feel" (when talking about health). Like *andare*, it is an irregular verb in the present tense.

| Subject pronoun | stare |
| --- | --- |
| **io** | sto |
| **tu** | stai |
| **lui / lei / Lei** | sta |

### Talking about health

While English uses "to be" to describe how you feel (e.g., "I am well"), Italian uses **stare** combined with adverbs like **bene** (well), **male** (unwell), or **così così** (so-so).

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You can use the formal **Lei** with the **sta** form to politely ask someone older or in authority how they are doing.

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To describe a change in health, use words like **meglio** (better) and **peggio** (worse).

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### Physical states and conditions

**Stare** is also used with certain adjectives to describe keeping or staying in a particular physical state, such as being still (**fermo**), keeping quiet (**zitto**), or paying attention (**attento**).

Because these words are adjectives, remember to change their endings to match the gender and number of the person you are describing (e.g., *zitto* for a man, *zitta* for a woman).

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### General health and being alone

To talk about health as a general concept, use the noun **la salute**. When you want to express that someone is staying or living alone, use **stare** with the phrase **da solo**.

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The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Past tense of modal verbs

Question	Answer
to stay, to feel, to be	stare
to be well, to feel good	stare bene
to feel ill, to be unwell	stare male
so, like this	così
How are you? I am so-so.	Come stai? Sto così così.
Why are you like this?	Perché stai così?
Today I am very well, thank you.	Oggi sto molto bene, grazie.
Good morning, ma'am, how are you?	Buongiorno signora, come sta?
better	meglio
My father is unwell, but now he is better.	Mio padre sta male, ma ora sta meglio.
bed	il letto
to go to bed	andare a letto
I am unwell, I am going to bed.	Non sto bene, vado a letto.
worse	peggio
Marco is worse today and stays at home.	Oggi Marco sta peggio e sta a casa.
Today I feel well and I am hungry.	Oggi sto bene e ho fame.
He isn't eating and he is worse.	Lui non mangia e sta peggio.
still, motionless	fermo
You are tired, stay still here.	Tu sei stanco, stai fermo qui.
The child does not stay still.	Il bambino non sta fermo.
careful, attentive	attento
I pay attention to the traffic.	Sto attento al traffico.
The dog is dangerous, you are not paying attention.	Il cane è pericoloso, tu non stai attento.
quiet, silent	zitto
Anna is tired and keeps quiet.	Anna è stanca e sta zitta.
The man is unwell and goes to the hospital.	L'uomo sta male e va in ospedale.
The girl pays attention to the lesson.	La ragazza sta attenta alla lezione.
Today I am better, but I stay quiet in bed.	Oggi sto meglio, ma sto zitto a letto.
alone, lonely	solo
health	la salute
The grandfather sleeps alone for his health.	Il nonno dorme da solo per la salute.
Health is always important when you stay alone.	La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.
happy, glad	contento
Today I am happy.	Oggi sono contento.
I am happy because I feel well.	Sono contento perché sto bene.
angry	arrabbiato
Why are you angry?	Perché sei arrabbiato?
sick, ill	malato
I am sick: I feel bad.	Sono malato: sto male.
Grandpa is sick, but he is feeling better.	Il nonno è malato, ma sta meglio.
serious	serio
My father is a serious man.	Mio padre è un uomo serio.
The problem is serious.	Il problema è serio.
to seem	sembrare
The teacher seems angry.	L'insegnante sembra arrabbiato.
You seem tired today.	Sembri stanco oggi.
The problem seems difficult.	Il problema sembra difficile.
I am going to bed early tonight.	Vado a letto presto stasera.

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