Peeking on "sta" only reveals that it is a verb that means "is", which is fairly confusing
Why have we been seeing things like 'lo zucchero è nell'acqua' with 'è' instead of 'sta'?
The verb essere (sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono) is usually used for permanent conditions. The verb stare (sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno) is usually used in temporary/non-permanant situations.
Essere literally translates as "to be", and stare literally translates as "to stay", however Italian sometimes uses stare where English would use the verb "to be". This can be confusing for beginners, but it's just one of those things you have to learn as part of learning the language.
This link might also help: http://serenaitalian.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/difference-between-stare-and-essere/
This is the same as spanish. ''I am a man'' permanently, ergo essere. ''I am at home'' at the moment, ergo stare. The english translations do not differ, but the meanings are clearly different.
How do you know when to use sono and when to use sto? They both seem to mean I am.
only "sono "means "I am". "sto" literally means "I'm standing. "Essere" and "stare" aren't synonyms though their use can sometimes overlap
Do you get the different "Ï am" meanings between "I am a man" and "I am at home"? See above.
If it's anything like Spanish, this 'is' would refer to a physical location.
Sono is for permanent attributes (sono un uomo - I am a man). Sto is for temporary ones (sto nel piatto - I am on the plate). Similar to Spanish, yes,
Not exactly, I think I heard people saying "come stai?" - "how are you?". I like the version by dmmaus better.
That is because your health may change tomorrow, but your nationality will not.
I probably don't have this completely right, but I'll take a shot. 'Nel' is used with most masculine singular nouns, the ones that use the article 'il'. 'Nello' is used with the masculine singular nouns that use the article 'lo'. I think they are the ones that begin with the letter s plus a consonant, the letter z, or a vowel. I think there are others as well. Because you say 'il piatto', not 'lo piatto', this example uses 'nel'. :)
Is this actually the way you would convey what we mean in English by 'The ant stays on the plate", which is that the ant remains on the plate, it doesn't leave? Does it also mean 'The ant is on the plate (at present)'?