Italian Beginners · Term 1 Week 1A · Lesson 2

Come stai? Come sta?

Draft for the class teacher to check.

By the end of this lesson you can

Hear the words

Tap ▶, listen, then say it.

Come stai?How are you? (to a friend)
Come sta?How are you? (polite)
Sto bene.I am well.
benissimovery well
così cosìso-so
Non sto bene.I am not well.
graziethank you
signoramadam · Mrs
signoresir · Mr
professoressateacher (female)

Say it in a sentence

Say the Italian first, then open the meaning.

Ciao Luca, come stai?

Hi Luca, how are you?

Bene, grazie. E tu?

Well, thanks. And you?

Buongiorno, signora. Come sta?

Good morning, madam. How are you?

Bene, grazie. E Lei?

Well, thank you. And you? (polite)

Grammar: Stare and the polite form Lei

Stare is used for how you are: sto bene.

With people you do not know well, and with teachers, use Lei. It takes the same verb form as lui and lei: Come sta?

iostoI am
tustaiyou are (friend)
lui · lei · Leistahe · she is, you are (polite)

Sto benissimo, grazie. I am very well, thank you.

Signora, come sta? Madam, how are you?

Marco sta male. Marco is not well.

91Grammar practice: sto, stai or sta?

Io ___ bene.
Ciao Luca, come ___?
Buongiorno, professore, come ___?
Anna ___ così così.

On your own

Work through these with headphones while the other group is with the teacher. Your typing saves on this device.

1Tu or Lei?

Your cousin
Your friend's grandmother
A shop assistant
A new student in your class
Your Italian teacher

2Put the conversation in order

Number the lines 1 to 4 in the order they are said.

Benissimo, grazie. E tu?

Così così.

Ah, mi dispiace!

Ciao Anna, come stai?

3Fill the gap

Type the missing word, then check.

Buongiorno, professoressa. Come ?

Ciao Marco, come ?

Bene, grazie. E ? (to a friend)

Bene, grazie. E ? (polite)

Exit ticket

Ask your teacher how she is.

Ask a friend how they are.

Say you are so-so.