They were, they have been (m) in Italian 🇮🇹

loro sono stati info.

Verb: essere
• Explanation: “Loro sono stati” is the compound past (passato prossimo) form of the verb essere. It translates as “they have been” or “they were” when referring to a masculine (or mixed) group. The auxiliary verb “sono” (they are) combines with the past participle “stati,” which agrees in gender and number with “loro.”

• Tip to remember: Recall that “essere” is an irregular verb—its forms are unique. Practice the form “sono” for “loro” in the present, then remember that the past participle “stati” must agree with the subject (masculine plural here). An easy mnemonic is to think “loro sono… state (feminine) versus stati (masculine)!” Also, many Italian compound past tenses of motion or state verbs use “essere” as the auxiliary.

• Other expressions with similar meaning:
 – “Loro erano” (imperfect form, “they were”) can be used when emphasizing a state in the past.
 – In some contexts, you might hear “loro han fatto da testimoni” to mean they acted as if they had been [something], but for the simple idea of “being,” “sono stati” is the standard.

• Infinitive and Conjugations of essere:

 Infinitive: essere  (“to be”)

 Present tense:
  io sono   (“I am”)
  tu sei   (“you are”)
  lui/lei è  (“he/she is”)
  noi siamo  (“we are”)
  voi siete  (“you [plural] are”)
  loro sono  (“they are”)

 Passato Prossimo (using essere as auxiliary):
  io sono stato/a  (“I have been/was”)
  tu sei stato/a
  lui è stato    (masculine; “he has been/was”)
  lei è stata    (feminine)
  noi siamo stati/e  (“we have been/were”; choose ending according to gender)
  voi siete stati/e
  loro sono stati/e  (“they have been/ were”; “stati” for masculine or mixed; “state” for all-feminine)

 Imperfect:
  io ero
  tu eri
  lui/lei era
  noi eravamo
  voi eravate
  loro erano

 Future:
  io sarò
  tu sarai
  lui/lei sarà
  noi saremo
  voi sarete
  loro saranno

 Conditional:
  io sarei
  tu saresti
  lui/lei sarebbe
  noi saremmo
  voi sareste
  loro sarebbero

 Subjunctive Present:
  che io sia
  che tu sia
  che lui/lei sia
  che noi siamo
  che voi siate
  che loro siano

• Example sentences:
 1. Italian: "Dopo la festa, loro sono stati molto allegri."
  English: "After the party, they were very happy."

 2. Italian: "Loro sono stati a Roma l'anno scorso."
  English: "They have been (or were) in Rome last year."

 3. Italian: "So che loro sono stati coinvolti nel progetto."
  English: "I know that they have been involved in the project."

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