The Ultimate Guide to Italian Pronominal Verbs (Verbi Pronominali)

What ‘s a pronominal verb in Italian? 

A pronominal verb is a type of verb in which a pronoun is used as an integral part of the verb. In Italian, a pronominal verb is a combination of a basic verb and one or more pronouns, which together create a new verb with a different meaning than the basic verb alone. For example, let’s take the verb “andare” which means “to go”. If we add the pronouns “si” and “ne” to “andare”, we create the pronominal verb “andarsene” which means “to go away” or “to leave”.

Me ne vado

I’m leaving, I’m going away

The pronouns attached to the infinitive of the verbs slightly or entirely change the original meaning of the verb. For example, the verb “sentire” means “to hear” in Italian. But if you add the reflexive pronouns “si” and “la” to it, as in “sentirsela”, it becomes “to feel like” or “to have the courage of doing something”.

Scusa, ma non me la sento di scalare quella montagna

Sorry, but I don’t feel like climbing that mountain

Pronominal verbs are vastly used in conversational Italian, especially in everyday speech and informal situations. As with any language, it’s important to be aware of context and the level of formality when using pronominal verbs in Italian.

Examples of pronominal verbs used in Italian slang.

Non ce le faccio più	I’m exhausted
Me ne frego	I don’t care
Me la spasso	I’m having a blast

How to conjugate a pronominal verb in Italian

Pronominal verbs are easy to conjugate, yes they are. When conjugating pronominal verbs in Italian, it’s important to separate the pronouns from the infinitive form of the verb. After doing so, you can conjugate the verb as you normally would, placing the pronouns before the verb. For example, let’s take the verb “andarsene”. To conjugate it, separate the pronouns from the infinitive (in this case, “se” and “ne”), and then conjugate the verb “andare” as you normally would, placing the pronoun before the verb.

FARCELA (to manage) = FAR(E) + CE + LA

Io	ce la faccio
Tu	ce la fai
Lui/Lei	ce la fa
Noi	ce la facciamo
Voi	ce la fate
Loro	ce la fanno

In the conjugation of pronominal verbs, the attached pronouns ce, ne, la do not change. However, when it comes to the pronominal verbs incorporating “se” onto the infinitive (e.g., sentirsela, bersela, andarsene), you will need to decline the “se”, which stands for the reflexive pronoun, into me, te, se, ce, ve, se. Like in the verb “andarsene” 

ANDARSENE (to leave, to go away) = ANDAR(E) + SI + NE

Io	me ne vado
Tu	te ne vai
Lui/Lei	se ne va
Noi	ce ne andiamo
Voi	ve ne andate
Loro	se ne vanno

Most common Italian pronominal verbs list 

Pronominal Verbs with ‘CI’

Entrarci con	To have to do with something	Questo non c’entra con la discussione.
Entrarci in	To fit in something	Questo vestito ci entra perfettamente.
Volerci	To take time (impersonal, no subject)	Ci vuole tempo per imparare l’italiano.
Metterci	To take time (with a subject)	Ci metto un’ora a cucinare la cena.
Arrivarci	To understand	Non ci arrivo con questo problema.

Pronominal Verbs with ‘NE’

Non poterne più

Can’t put up with something or someone anymore

Non ne posso più di questa situazione.

Pronominal Verbs with ‘SELA’

Sentirsela di	To have the courage to do something or to feel like	Oggi non me la sento di lavorare.
Cavarsela in/a	To be good at something or at doing something	Mi cavo bene in cucina.
Prendersela con	To be irritated with someone	Perché te la prendi con me?
Passarsela bene o male	To be good or bad	Ci siamo passati bene alla festa.
Spassarsela	To have a blast	Ci siamo spassati alla festa.
Sbrigarsela	To sort out a situation in a short time	Me la sono sbrigata con il lavoro.
Cavarsela	To come out of difficult situations easily	Sei bravo a cavartela nelle situazioni difficili.
Tirarsela	To show off	Non mi piace quando ti tiri troppo la tua bravura.

Pronominal Verbs with ‘CELA’

Mettercela tutta	To do one’s best	Devi mettercela tutta per vincere.
Avercela con	To be upset with someone	Perché ce l’hai con me?

Pronominal Verbs with ‘SENE’

Fregarsene di	To not care about something or someone	Me ne frego di quello che pensano gli altri.
Andarsene	To go away somewhere	Voglio andarmene in vacanza.

3 things you should know about the pronominal verbs

1. In Italian, pronominal verbs that end in “-sela” or “-sene” always require the auxiliary verb “essere” in compound tenses. Consequently, the past participle agrees with the pronoun or subject, as shown in the following examples. For example “Non me la sono sentita (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)” or “Me ne sono andata (agreement with the feminine subject)”.
2. If the pronominal verb ends in -ci, -ne, -cela, -cena the auxiliary verb to use in compound tenses is ‘avere‘. For example, “non ce l’ho fatta  (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)” or “me la sono presa (agreement with the feminine pronoun la)”.
3. Some verbs are always matched with fixed prepositions, for example:

• Farcela a  – to manage 
• Sentirsela di – to have the courage to do something 
• Avercela con – to be upset with someone 
• Riuscire a – to be able to 
• Smetterla di  – to stop doing something 

What else?

Pronominal verbs are commonly used in informal and colloquial Italian speech. Using them can make your Italian sound more natural. Here are a few examples of colloquial Italian sentences that use pronominal verbs:

Passarsela	To fare (well/badly)	Come te la passi? – How are you doing?
Fregarsene	Not to give a damn about something	Me ne frego di quello che pensi. – I don’t care about what you think.
Farcela (Positive)	To manage (positively)	Ce la facciamo a finire questo lavoro entro oggi? – Can we manage to finish this work within today?
Arrivarci	To understand something (colloquial)	Me lo puoi ripetere? Non ci arrivo. – Can you repeat it? I don’t get it.
Farcela (Negative)	To be fed up, to be exhausted or to be unable to cope with something	Non ce faccio più! – I am exhausted!
Spassarsela	To have a blast	Ce la siamo spassata l’altra sera. – We had a blast the other night.

Italian pronominal verbs and the imperative tense

When using the imperative tense to give commands or advice in Italian, a general rule of thumb is to place the pronouns after the verb and attach them 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!