learn the Italian language with Italian culture

Where English uses a universal verb ‘to be’, Italian has two verbs: essere and stare. It also uses the verb avere (have) in some cases.

Essere is used as a main verb to express simple ideas such as ‘the grass is green’- ‘L’erba è verde’ or ‘I’m Italian’ - sono italiano.
It is also used as an auxiliary verb in the past simple of some verbs, eg I went - sono andato, or as an auxiliary in passive forms, eg it’s made in Italy - è fatto in italia.

Essere declines like this:
I am      - (io) sono                        We are   - (noi) siamo
You are - (tu) sei                           You are  - (voi) siete
He is     - (lui) è                            They are - (loro) sono
She is    - (lei) è

Stare is used to describe a person’s feelings or mood. ‘Sto bene’ - ‘I’m fine’, or ‘come sta?’ - ‘how is she/he?’. It is also used in the equivalent of English continuous forms ‘We are dancing’ - ‘stiamo ballando’.
Stare can also be translated as ’stay’ or ‘feel’ in some situations.

Stare declines like this:
I am      - (io) sto                           We are   - (noi) stiamo
You are - (tu) stai                          You are  - (voi) state
He is     - (lui) sta                          They are - (loro) stanno
She is    - (lei) sta

Finally, Italian sometimes uses the verb avere (have) to express ‘be’, for example:
Avere freddo (to ‘have’ cold = to be cold)
Avere sonno (to ‘have’ sleepiness = to be sleepy)
Avere paura (to ‘have’ fear = to be afraid)
Avere (20) anni (to ‘have’ 20 years = to be 20)

The verb avere declines like this:
(io) ho                                          (noi) abbiamo
(tu) hai                                         (voi) avete
(lui) ha                                         (loro) hanno
(lei) ha