How to Say ‘Was’ in Italian
È stato
eh STAH-toh
[eh STAH-toh]
💬 Usage Tip: [È stato] is "was" here because Italian often says "has been" literally where English just says "was." You'll hear the same in [è stato facile] or [è stato breve].
Phrase Breakdown
È
[eh]
it was / has been
Form of essere used here to describe what something was like.
È stato un viaggio molto corto.
It was a very short trip.
stato
[STAH-toh]
been / was
Past participle of essere, used with è to form expressions like it was or has been.
Il percorso è stato semplice.
The route was simple.
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