The Verb Essere in Italian: Sono, Sei, È (All 6 Forms, Explained Simply)
A0 · Lesson 11 · The verb essere
Six little words, and you can say who you are, where you are from and how you feel.
Quick answer
The Italian verb essere means to be. The six forms are: io sono (I am), tu sei (you are), lui / lei è (he / she is), noi siamo (we are), voi siete (you all are), loro sono (they are). Italians usually drop io and tu: just say Sono Anna.
I am, you are, he / she is: sono, sei, è
Start with the three “one person” forms. Learn them as sounds first.
io sono
EE-oh SOH-noh
I am
Metu sei
too SAY
you are (one friend)
Informallui / lei è
LOO-ee / LAY EH
he is / she is
Him / her💡 In simple words
sei sounds exactly like English “say”. And è is just “eh”, short and open, like in “get”.
Fun fact: sei is also the number 6. Sei stanco? = Are you tired? · Sei caffè! = Six coffees! The sentence tells you which.
We are, you all are, they are: siamo, siete, sono
Now the “more than one person” forms.
noi siamo
noy SYAH-moh
we are
Usvoi siete
voy SYEH-teh
you all are (two or more people)
You allloro sono
LOH-roh SOH-noh
they are
Themsono = I am and they are. Same word, two meanings.
The rest of the sentence tells you which:
Sono Anna. SOH-noh AHN-nah
I am Anna. (one name = one person = me)
Sono amici. SOH-noh ah-MEE-chee
They are friends. (amici = plural)
siete is for a group: two friends, your whole family, a table of colleagues. Think of it as Southern “y’all”.
The whole verb essere in one table
Here are all six together. Read them out loud, top to bottom, three times.
io · I
sono
SOH-noh · I am
tu · you
sei
SAY · you are
lui / lei · he / she
è
EH · he / she is
noi · we
siamo
SYAH-moh · we are
voi · you all
siete
SYEH-teh · you all are
loro · they
sono
SOH-noh · they are
Tip: sono · sei · è · siamo · siete · sono. Say it like a little song, it sticks.
Drop io and tu: the verb already says who
In English you always need “I” or “you”. In Italian, the verb ending already tells you who is speaking.
💡 In simple words
Io sono Anna. → Sono Anna.
Tu sei stanco? → Sei stanco?
Both are correct. Without io and tu it sounds natural. With them, it sounds like you are stressing it: “I am Anna (not her!)”.
Sono Anna. SOH-noh AHN-nah
I am Anna.
Sei stanco? SAY STAHN-koh
Are you tired? (to a man)
Siamo a casa. SYAH-moh ah KAH-zah
We are at home.
è (is) or e (and)? One tiny accent
è
EH
is · Marco è felice.
Marco is happy.
e
eh
and · Marco e Anna
Marco and Anna
They sound almost the same. In writing, the accent changes everything.
Marco e Anna sono amici. MAHR-koh eh AHN-nah SOH-noh ah-MEE-chee
Marco and Anna are friends.
Marco è stanco e Anna è felice. MAHR-koh EH STAHN-koh eh AHN-nah EH feh-LEE-cheh
Marco is tired and Anna is happy.
No accent on your keyboard? Type e’ (e + apostrophe). In the exercises on this page it counts as è. On a phone, hold down the e key.
Lei è: “you are”, the polite way
With a stranger, a shopkeeper or someone older, Italians use Lei (polite “you”). And Lei takes è, the same form as “he / she”.
Sei americano?
SAY ah-meh-ree-KAH-noh
Are you American? (to a friend)
tu · informalLei è americano?
LAY EH ah-meh-ree-KAH-noh
Are you American? (to a stranger)
Lei · politeSame rule as the greetings: would you hug this person? sei. Would you shake hands? Lei è. More in the lesson tu vs Lei.
What you use essere for (right now)
At the beginning, essere does six jobs. Swap the teal words and you have hundreds of sentences.
Sono Anna.
SOH-noh AHN-nah
I am Anna.
Your nameSono americano.
SOH-noh ah-meh-ree-KAH-noh
I am American. (a woman says americana)
NationalitySono di Boston.
SOH-noh dee BOS-ton
I am from Boston.
Your citySono stanco.
SOH-noh STAHN-koh
I am tired. (a woman says stanca) · Sono felice = I am happy.
FeelingsSono medico.
SOH-noh MEH-dee-koh
I am a doctor. No “a” in Italian! A woman says Sono medico too (the standard form; medica is also accepted).
Your jobSono a casa.
SOH-noh ah KAH-zah
I am at home. · Sono in vacanza = I am on vacation.
Where you are
How old are you? Careful: age does not use essere in Italian. It uses avere (to have). That is a whole lesson: the verb avere.
In real life: Piacere! – Piacere mio!
A party in Rome. Two strangers meet. Spot every sono, sei and è.
Marco
at the party
Ciao! Sono Marco. E tu?
Hi! I’m Marco. And you?
you
Sono Kate. Sono di Boston.
I’m Kate. I’m from Boston.
Marco
at the party
Piacere!
Nice to meet you!
you
Piacere mio!
The pleasure is mine!
Giulia
Marco’s sister
Siete amici?
Are you (two) friends?
Marco
at the party
Sì! Lei è Kate. È americana!
Yes! This is Kate. She’s American!
🤝 Gli italiani dicono…
Piacere! (pyah-CHEH-reh) = Nice to meet you! Say it with a handshake the first time you meet someone.
The answer: Piacere mio! (pyah-CHEH-reh MEE-oh) = The pleasure is mine!
👋 Lei è… / Lui è…
To introduce someone, point with your eyes and say Lei è Kate (this is Kate) or Lui è Marco (this is Marco). Literally: “she is Kate”.
Common mistakes (and how to say “I am not”)
Common mistakes English speakers make
Io sono, io sono, io sono… → Sono…
Drop the io. The verb already says “I”.
Marco e felice. → Marco è felice.
Without the accent, e means “and”. “Marco and happy” makes no sense.
Sono un medico. → Sono medico.
With jobs, Italian drops the “a”.
No sono stanco. → Non sono stanco.
“Not” is non, and it goes right before the verb.
That last one in a nutshell: Non sono americano (nohn SOH-noh…) = I am not American. Saying “no” has its own complete lesson: Italian negative sentences.
Sono bellissimo. Sono elegante. Sono anche un po’ modesto. (I’m gorgeous. I’m elegant. I’m also a bit modest.)
Step 10 · Practice
🍕 Your turn
Start with a quick warm-up, then press Check. Want more? Open the extra exercises below. Mistakes are part of it. No pressure.
Warm-up · 5 questions
Choose the right form of essere.
1. Io ___ Anna.
2. Tu ___ stanco?
3. Marco ___ di Roma.
4. Noi ___ a casa.
5. Voi ___ americani?
See more exercises · 42 questions ▾Hide the extra exercises ▴
1 · Sono, sei, è, siamo or siete?
Choose the form that matches the person.
1. Loro ___ amici.
2. Giulia ___ felice.
3. Io e Marco ___ in vacanza.
4. Tu e Anna ___ di Boston?
5. (io) ___ medico.
6. Lei ___ americana. (she)
7. Tu ___ a casa?
8. Marco e Giulia ___ stanchi.
9. Signora, Lei ___ di Milano? (polite you)
10. Noi ___ felici!
2 · è or e?
Is it “is” (è) or “and” (e)?
1. Anna ___ Marco sono amici.
2. Anna ___ stanca.
3. Sono di Boston ___ sono medico.
4. Lui ___ di Chicago.
5. Pizza ___ vino, per favore!
6. Giulia ___ in vacanza.
7. Lei ___ americana? (polite: are you American?)
8. Tu ___ io siamo amici.
3 · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct?
1. Sono Kate.
2. Marco e felice.
3. Siamo a casa.
4. Sono un medico.
5. Voi siete di Boston?
6. No sono stanco.
7. Loro sono in vacanza.
8. Tu è americano?
4 · What do you say?
Choose the best sentence for the situation.
1. You meet someone and want to say your name is Kate.
2. Someone says “Piacere!” to you. You answer:
3. You want to say you are from Boston.
4. You ask an older lady (polite) if she is Italian.
5. You ask two friends if they are tired.
6. You introduce your friend Marco.
5 · Write it in Italian
Type the sentence. Capital letters and punctuation don’t matter. No accent key? Type e’ for è.
1. I am Anna.
2. I am from Boston.
3. We are at home.
4. She is happy.
5. Are you tired? (to a friend, man)
6. I am a doctor.
7. They are friends.
8. You all are on vacation.
9. Marco is American.
10. Nice to meet you! – The pleasure is mine!
New here? Try a 25-minute lesson for $25: book a trial. Not sure about your level? Take the free level test.
Ci vediamo la prossima settimana! – Sì, alla prossima lezione! Ciao!
See you next week! – Yes, see you at the next lesson! Bye!
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Written by Luciana
Native Italian teacher, CEDILS certified, 10,000+ lessons since 2020.
