Log inSign up

La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.

La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.
Health is always important when you stay alone.
From Lesson 40:The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)·Italian

Questions & Answers about La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.

Why do we use stai instead of sei here?
Stai is the informal 'you' form of the irregular verb stare. While the verb essere means 'to be', stare is used to mean 'to stay' or 'to remain'. It is also the verb you use for states of health, like asking come stai?. In this sentence, stai da solo translates to 'you stay by yourself' or 'you remain on your own'.
Why is there a La before salute? The English translation just says 'Health'.
In Italian, you almost always need to use definite articles (il, la, etc.) before abstract nouns or when talking about a broad, general concept. Because you are talking about 'health' in a general sense, it must be La salute.
What does the da do in the phrase da solo?
Adding da before solo creates a very common expression that means 'by yourself' or 'on your own'. While you can sometimes just say solo to mean 'alone', da solo emphasizes the state of being by yourself.
Would da solo change if the sentence is directed at a woman?
Yes! Even in the expression da solo, the word solo acts like an adjective and must match the gender of the person it describes. If you are saying this directly to a woman, it changes to quando stai da sola.

Learn La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →