Language/Italian/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be
Essere / To be
Tempo Presente / Present Tense
| Io sono | I am | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tu sei | You are | ||
| Egli* è | He is | ||
| Noi siamo | We are | ||
| Voi siete | You are | ||
| Essi** sono | They are |
*The plural 3rd person subject pronoun egli has been considerably dropped out of usage. In everyday Italian people usually refer to the 3rd person with object pronoun form, lui. The 3rd person female object pronoun form is lei. Grammar books still widely report the subject form, especially in conjugation tables.
** Likelywise, in today spoken Italian native speakers tend to prefer the 3rd person plural object form loro.
Mind the difference!
è - 3rd person form, "is" VS e - conjuction "and"
The items are slightly different in prononciation too. 3rd person form è is a voiced open sound, you should feel a breath stop which strikes on the lower part of your voice box. Conjunction e tends to be more silent as a liaison sound.