Essere and Stare: The Difference.

In Italian, there are two verbs that have just one equivalent in English: stare and essere. They are not interchangeable, though. 

The good news is that in 95% of the cases, the verb to use is essere. So, when in doubt, use essere! However, there are cases where use stare is expected and mandatory. 

In this article, I clarify when to use essere and especially when it is necessary to use stare. 

How to use ESSERE

You should use essere to talk about:

Yourself and Your Nationality:

Sono Serena e sono italiana

I am Serena and I am Italian

Describing oneself and nationality

Your Job:

Sono un’insegnante di italiano per stranieri

I am a teacher of Italian for foreigners

Describing one’s profession

Origins:

Sono di Milano

I am from Milan

Describing one’s place of origin

Your Physical Appearance and Personality:

Sono alta e sono simpatica

I am tall and I am friendly

Describing physical appearance and personality

Essere also indicates the state of being and is used to:

Describe Locations:

Roma è una bella città.

Rome is a beautiful city.

Describing the location of Rome

Describe Objects:

La mia casa è grande e luminosa.

My house is large and bright.

Describing the characteristics of one’s house

Locate Objects:

Dove è la mia borsa? E’ sulla sedia.

Where is my bag? It’s on the chair.

Inquiring about the location of an object (bag) and providing the location (on the chair)

Essere is also widely used in combination with “ci” in the verb esserci (c’è/ci sono, in English, there is/there are). Esserci states the existence of someone or something. 

C’è un bambino nuovo a scuola.

There is a new kid in the school.

Describing the presence of a new student in the school

Ci sono quattro sedie in cucina.

There are four chairs in the kitchen.

Indicating the number of chairs in the kitchen

How to use STARE

Stare has a variety of uses, some of which are idiomatic expressions. We can generally say that stare indicates location, health, and appearances. It is also used in a good number of idiomatic expressions and with the present continuous tense.

Location

In this case, stare means rimanere (to remain or to stay in English).

Oggi sto a casa

Today I’m staying home

Health

Come stai?	How’re you?
Sto bene	I’m good
Sto male	I’m not good
Sto meglio	I’m better

Appearance

Stare bene and stare male mean that something (e.g. a piece of clothing) looks great on you or not. In English you would say “it suits me/you, etc”.

Questa giacca mi sta benissimo	This jacket looks great on me!	Describing how something suits someone
Quel cappello ti sta male	That hat does not suit you	Describing how something doesn’t suit someone

Idioms 

Stare means to be in a variety of idiomatic expressions, as in the following examples:

Stare in piedi	To be standing/To stand
Stare seduto	To be seated
Stare zitto/a	To be quiet
Stare attento	To pay attention
Stare calmo	To stay calm
Stare a cuore	To have at heart
Stare con	To be in a relationship with someone

Stare vs. Essere 

In some of the above expressions, stare and essere are interchangeable. There is a subtle difference between them, though. Essere states a quality or a statement, while stare implies a voluntariness in the action described.

sono in piedi	I stand	Describing the state of standing
sto in piedi	I voluntarily stand	Emphasizing the voluntary nature of standing
sono seduto	I’m seated	Describing the state of being seated
sto seduto	I’m voluntarily seated	Emphasizing the voluntary nature of being seated
sei calmo	You are calm	Describing the quality of being calm
stai calmo!	Please, try to stay calm	Encouraging someone to remain calm voluntarily

The Present Continuous with STARE 

The present continuous describes an action that is happening at the moment that you speak, right now. The present continuous in Italian is expressed by the present tense of the verb stare plus the gerund. 

Sto cucinando	I am cooking	Describing the ongoing action of cooking
Sto parlando al telefono con Maria	I am on the phone with Maria	Describing the ongoing action of talking on the phone with Maria

Stare + Per + Infinitive 

When stare appears in combination with per and an infinitive, it describes an action that will happen in the near future.

Italian Sentence	English Translation	Context/Explanation
La lezione sta per finire	The lesson is about to finish	Indicating that the lesson is reaching its end
Sto per uscire	I am leaving at any moment	Expressing the imminent action of leaving