In short

Essere (“to be”) and avere (“to have”) are the two verbs you cannot postpone: both are irregular, so learn the six present forms of each by heart. Watch out for two traps - Italian says ho vent’anni and ho fame where English says “I am”, and “there is / there are” is c’è / ci sono, which changes with the number of the thing.

The rule

Essere - to be

Use essere to say what or how someone or something is: identity, nationality, profession, description, and location.

• Identity and nationality: Marco è italiano.
• Profession - no article before the job: Sono studente.
• Description - with an adjective, which agrees with the subject (step 5): Siamo stanchi.
• Location: Il libro è sul tavolo.

Note that sono does double duty: it is both io (“I am”) and loro (“they are”). The subject or the context tells them apart - sono italiano (“I am Italian”) vs sono italiani (“they are Italian”), where the adjective ending gives it away.

Avere - to have

Use avere for possession - and for a family of everyday states that English builds with “to be”.

• Possession: Ho una macchina. Hai un fratello?
• Age - English “to be … years old”, Italian “to have … years”: Anna ha vent’anni.
• Physical and mental states - avere + noun, with no article: Ho fame. Hai freddo?

Because fame, sete, freddo are nouns, not adjectives, you intensify them with molto, which agrees with the noun: ho molta fame, ho molto sonno. Never sono fame.

All four forms with h - ho, hai, ha, hanno - are silent: the h is not pronounced, but it is compulsory in writing, because it is the only thing separating them from other words (ho vs o “or”, ha vs a “to”, hanno vs anno “year”).

C’è and ci sono - there is / there are

To say that something exists or is present somewhere, Italian uses only the third person: c’è and ci sono. Unlike English “there is/are”, the choice is a real agreement, so make it in two steps.

• Step 1 - look at the noun that follows, not at anything before it. In c’è un problema the verb agrees with un problema.
• Step 2 - pick the number. Singular noun -> c’è; plural noun -> ci sono. Nothing else changes: c’è una sedia, ci sono due sedie.

C’è is written ci + è with an apostrophe, and it keeps the accent on è. Ci sono is two separate words and never takes an apostrophe. To negate either one, put non in front: non c’è, non ci sono.

Do not confuse the existential c’è (“there is”) with è (“he/she/it is”): C’è un ristorante (“There is a restaurant”) vs È un ristorante (“It is a restaurant”).

Forms & patterns

The present indicative of the two verbs - the single most useful table in this path:

States expressed with avere + noun (no article):

The existential, singular vs plural:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Sono venti anni -> Ho vent’anni - age is expressed with avere, never with essere.
• Sono fame -> Ho fame - hunger, thirst, cold and fear are nouns you “have” in Italian, not adjectives you “are”.
• O due fratelli -> Ho due fratelli - the h of ho, hai, ha, hanno is silent but never optional in writing; it separates ho from o (“or”).
• C’è due problemi -> Ci sono due problemi - the existential agrees with the noun that follows: singular c’è, plural ci sono.
• Lui e italiano -> Lui è italiano - è (“is”) always carries its accent; bare e is a different word meaning “and”.

Tips

• Drill both paradigms aloud until they are automatic. Almost everything ahead leans on them, and they are the two most frequent verbs in the language.
• The h-forms are your silent-letter set: ho, hai, ha, hanno. Say them without the h, but never write them without it.
• Rule of thumb for the avere idioms: if English says “I am hungry / cold / sleepy / afraid / right / 20”, Italian almost certainly says “I have”. Translate the idea, not the words.
• C’è has an apostrophe because it is ci + è; ci sono is two clean words. If you can put a number in front of the noun, you want ci sono.