Last week we looked at the verb “essere” [to be ] but this is not the verb we usually use to ask about someone’s health or to respond.
For this, we use the verb “stare” [to be / to stay]. Mostly we need the second and third person [“you” and “polite you” ] forms of this verb, plus the first person to respond, but today we are going to be brave and learn the whole verb:
To ask a friend or a child how they are you say:
Come stai? [Com-eh sty]
To ask someone you don’t know well how they are you say:
Come sta?
To ask a group of people how they are you say:
Come state?
You can reply:
Sto bene, grazie [ben-eh] - I’m fine, thanks.
Sto molto bene – I’m very well
Sto male [mal-eh] – I’m not well
You can also say:
Non c’è male – [Non chey mal-eh] – Not too bad [Learn this as a separate idiom.]
When you ask someone how they are, you can add:
E tu? And you? [familiar ]
E Lei? And you? [polite]
See if you can fill in the verb forms in this exercise:
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Ciao, Maria. Come _____?
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Ciao, ragazzi! [Hi, you guys!] Come _____ ?
[asking about Giovanni] E Giovanni, come ____.
Giovanni _____ male.
There are other uses of stare, which you’ll learn later.
In the following video: "Come stai" by Italian singer Vasco Rossi:
