Learn Italian: La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo. - Health is always important when you stay alone.

La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.

Health is always important when you stay alone.

Breakdown of La salute è sempre importante quando stai da solo.

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?