9 THINGS ABOUT THE ITALIAN PRONOMINAL VERBS 

1.  Pronominal verbs mean “related to a pronoun”

in fact, the Italian pronominal verbs are a combination of a basic verb and one or two pronouns, for instance, the verb andarsene is a combination of  andare+se+ne.

 

2. The pronouns are joined onto the infinitive of the verb

and slightly or entirely change the original meaning of the verb. That’s why sentirsela (to feel like, to have the courage) is different from sentire (to hear) or sentirsi (to feel)

 

3. Pronominal verbs are vastly used in conversational Italian and sometimes in slang

 

4. They are difficult to translate into your native language

as they don’t have a sole translation, and the meaning can slightly vary from one context to the next.  Let’s take the example of the verb farcela (which is a combination of fare+ce+la). It has two principal meanings: to manage and not to manage

5. They are easy to conjugate verbs, yes they are!  

How to conjugate a pronominal verb in Italian? First of all, make sure to separate the pronouns from the infinite. Then, conjugate the verb as usual. Place the pronouns before the verb.  Lest’ use the verb FARCELA as an example: 

FARCELA = FAR(E) + CE + LA

Ce la faccio

Ce la fai

Ce la fa

Ce la facciamo

Ce la fate 

Ce la fanno

The pronouns CE, NE, LA do not change. However, when it comes to a pronominal verb including SE (sentirsela, bersela, andarsene), you will need to decline the reflexive pronouns in its double pronouns version (me, te, se, ce, ve, se)

ANDARSENE= ANDAR(E) + SI + NE

Me ne vado

Te ne vai

Se ne va

Ce ne andiamo

Ve ne andate

Se ne vanno

6. The Italian pronominal verbs ending in -sela or -sene use “essere” as an auxiliary verb in compound tenses. As a consequence, the past participle agrees with the pronoun or subject, like in the examples

non me la sono sentita (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)

me ne sono andata (agreement with the feminine subject) 

7. If the pronominal verb ends in –ci, –ne, -cela, -cena the auxiliary verb to use in compound tenses is “avere”

non ce l’ho fatta  (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)

me la sono presa (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)

8. Some verbs are matched with fixed prepositions 

Farcela A

Sentirsela DI

Avercela CON

 9.  Using the Italian pronominal verbs will make you sound more natural.

Let’s see a few examples of colloquial Italian sentences using pronominal verbs:

Passarsela means “stare (bene/male)”

• Come te la passi? – how are you doing?

Fregarsene means “not to give a damn about something”

• Me ne frego di quello che pensi – I don’t care about what you think

Farcela (positive) means “to manage”

• Ce la facciamo a finire questo lavoro entro oggi? – Can we manage to finish this work within today? 

Arrivarci means “to understand something (colloquial)”

• Me lo puoi ripetere? Non ci arrivo – Can you repeat it? I don’t get it 

Farcela (negative) means “to be fed up, to be exhausted or to be unable to cope with something”

• Non ce faccio più! – I am exhausted! 

Spassarsela means “to have a blast”

• Ce la siamo spassata l’altra sera-  we had a blast the other night

 

Most common Italian pronominal verbs

 

Italian pronominal verbs with “CI”

• ENTRARCI CON – to have to do with something
• ENTRARCI IN – to fit in something  
• VOLERCI – to take time (with no subject, impersonal
• METTERCI – to take time (with a subject)
• ARRIVARCI – to understand

 

Italian pronominal verbs with “NE”

• NON POTERNE PIÙ – can’t put up with something or someone anymore

 

Italian pronominal verbs with “SELA”

• SENTIRSELA DI – to have the courage of doing something
• CAVARSELA IN + nome / A + infinito – to be good enough in something
• PRENDERSELA CON – to be irritated with someone 
• PASSARSELA (bene/male) – to be good or bad 
• SPASSARSELA – to have a blast 
• SBRIGARSELA – to sort out a situation in a short time
• CAVARSELA – to come out of difficult situations, easily 
• TIRARSELA – to show off

 

Italian pronominal verbs with “CELA”

• METTERCELA TUTTA –  to do one’s best 
• AVERCELA CON – to be upset with someone

 

Italian pronominal verbs with “SENE”

• FREGARSENE DI – to not care about something or someone
• ANDARSENE – to go away somewhere

 

Italian pronominal verbs and the imperative tense

The rule of thumb is that, when it comes to giving a command or piece of advice (imperative tense), the pronouns follow the verb and are joint to it.

• Smettila! – enough!
• Metticela tutta! – do your best!
• Vattene! – go away!
• Non andartene! – don’t go!
• Non avercela con me! – don’t be mad at me