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Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide! Topic is solved

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gmads
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Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »

Everything you always wanted to know about Italian pronominal verbs,
but were afraid to ask :D


Table of contents

  • I. Subject, verb, object: a quick review ⇒ read it

  • II. Genre of a verb: transitivity and intransitivity ⇒ read it

  • III. Form of a verb: active, passive, reflexive and impersonal ⇒ read it

  • IV. Personal pronouns

    • IV.a Subject personal pronouns ⇒ read it
    • IV.b Personal pronouns of complement ⇒ read it
    • IV.c "Si" pronouns (reflexive pronouns) ⇒ read it
    • IV.d Personal pronouns: double pronouns ⇒ read it
  • V. Pronominal verbs ⇒ read it

    • V.a "Si" pronominal verbs ⇒ read it
      • V.a1 "Reflexive" verbs ⇒ read it
    • V.b Procomplementary verbs ⇒ read it



:hash:  ㆍitaliano ㆍgrammatica

Last edited by gmads on Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:16 pm, edited 9 times in total.

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »


I. Subject, verb, object: a quick review

The structure of an English clause is typically made up of five main elements: subject, verb, object, adjunct and complement. For the purposes of this post, only the first three will be explained. In the following sentence:

  • Carlo gives Giulia a book

each word has a grammatical value and may have a grammatical role:

  • "Carlo" is a noun, which in this case is working as the subject of the sentence
  • "gives" is a verb
  • "Giulia" is a noun, which in this case is working as the indirect object (or dative object) of the sentence
  • "a book", as a whole, is working as the direct object (or accusative object) of the sentence, where "a" is an article, and "book" is a noun

Basically:

  • A noun identifies a person, animal or thing
  • A verb describes an action, event or state
  • A subject indicates the one doing the action
  • A direct object describes what is affected by the action of the verb
  • An indirect object describes the thing or person that benefits or disbenefits from the action of the verb, that is, it describes the receiver of the direct object

In English, when the indirect object is placed after the direct object it becomes a prepositional phrase, that is, a noun (and possibly other words) introduced by a preposition (which are words like: to, with, for, from), like so:

  • Carlo gives a book to Giulia

In this case, "to" is a preposition that indicates the receiver of the direct object: Giulia will receive the book from Carlo, however, as it is now after a preposition the noun Giulia ceases to be the indirect object of the verb and instead becomes the object of a preposition, in other words, the noun stops being an indirect object of the verb.

There is one last element we need to know about: pronouns. A pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun, but that still fulfills its function. There are many types of pronouns, but we only need to know about personal pronouns.

Personal pronouns indicate the grammatical person, number, gender, and case of the noun being replaced. As a noun can work as the subject or the object of a sentence, personal pronouns can be:

  1. subject personal pronouns, which act as the subject of a clause and are placed before the verb
  2. object personal pronouns, which fulfill the other roles of the noun and go after the verb

In the following sentences each of the three nouns of the previous example will be replaced with its corresponding pronoun:

  • He gives Giulia a book
    → "he" is the subject pronoun that is replacing "Carlo"
  • Carlo gives it to Giulia
    → "it" is the direct object pronoun that is replacing "a book"
  • Carlo gives her a book
    → "her" is the indirect object pronoun that is replacing "Giulia"

What happens when both the direct and the indirect objects are substituted?

  • Carlo gives it to her

As the pronoun "her" is now preceded by the preposition "to," it ceases to be an indirect object pronoun to become a prepositional pronoun, that is, a pronoun introduced by a preposition.


*** Italian grammar

Italian uses the same subjectverbobject sentence structure as English.

  • Carlo regala un libro a Giulia

In a future post Italian personal pronouns will be explained. For now each substitution will be shown, one by one.

  • He gives Giulia a book → Lui regala un libro a Giulia
  • Carlo gives her a book → Carlo le regala un libro
  • Carlo gives it to Giulia → Carlo lo regala a Giulia
  • Carlo gives it to her → Carlo glielo regala


*** English grammar references

If you want to read more about English grammar concepts the following two should be good references:

  1. dictionary.cambridge.orgnouns, verbs, subjects, objects, prepositions, prepositional phrases, personal pronouns

  2. grammarly.comnouns, verbs, direct objects, indirect objects, personal pronouns, prepositions, prepositional phrase; parts of speech


*** Italian grammatical terms

  • subject: soggetto
  • verb: verbo
  • object: complemento
  • direct object: complemento di oggetto
  • indirect object: complemento di termine
  • accusative: accusativo
  • dative: dativo
  • noun: nome, sostantivo
  • pronoun: pronome
  • personal pronouns: pronomi personali
  • person: persona
  • number: numero
  • gender: genere
  • case: caso
  • subject personal pronouns: pronomi personali di soggetto
  • object personal pronouns: pronomi personali di oggetto
  • article: articolo
  • preposition: preposizione
Last edited by gmads on Fri Jun 02, 2023 6:36 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

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II. Genre of a verb: transitivity and intransitivity

In addition to the four best-known properties of a verb in Italian grammar:

  1. mood: infinitive, participle, gerund, indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative
  2. tense: past (with many forms: present perfect, imperfect etc), present, future (with two forms: simple future, future perfect)
  3. person: first, second, third
  4. number: singular, plural

there are two other important properties that need to be understood before one can work comfortably with Italian pronominal verbs: genre and form. In this post the genre of the verb will be explained.

The grammatical genre of a verb considers its characteristics of transitivity and intransitivity.

*** Transitivity

In the second example of the previous post:

  • Carlo gives a book to Giulia

the verb was followed by a direct object (the book). In these cases it can be said that the action of the subject "transits," so to speak, from the subject to the direct object through the verb. In other words, the direct object is being directly acted upon by the verb: the action flows directly toward the direct object. In Italian the direct object is called complement of object.

A simple and fast way of grasping the role of the direct object is by seeing that it answers either the question "what" or "who." For example:

— Luigi buys…
— What? What does Luigi buy?
— A car: Luigi buys a car

Therefore, "a car" is the direct object: the buying action transits to it because the verb to buy requieres something to be bought.

— Luigi kisses…
— Who? Who does Luigi kiss?
— Beatrice: Luigi kisses Beatrice

Therefore, "Beatrice" is the direct object: the kissing action transits to her because the verb to kiss requieres someone to be kissed.

Verbs that allow or require having a direct object are called transitive verbs.

Up to this point, the same concept applies in Italian.

— Luigi compra…
— Cosa? Cosa compra Luigi?
— Un'automobile: Luigi compra un'automobile

— Luigi bacia…
— Chi? Chi bacia Luigi?
— Beatrice: Luigi bacia Beatrice

As shown in the first example of the previous post:

  • Carlo gives Giulia a book

a transitive verb may also include an indirect object —Giulia in this example— along the direct object. In these cases it could be said that the action of the subject "transits," so to speak, from the subject to the direct object and then to the indirect object, through the verb. In other words, the indirect object is being indirectly acted upon by the verb: the action flows indirectly toward the indirect object. In Italian, the indirect object is called complement of term.

Just as the direct object answers the question "what" or "who," the indirect object answers the question "to/for whom?"

— Luigi writes a letter…
— To whom? To whom does Luigi write a letter?
— To his son: Luigi writes his son a letter

The Italian version would be:

— Luigi scrive una lettera…
— A chi? A chi Luigi scrive una lettera?
— A suo figlio: Luigi scrive una lettera a suo figlio

*** Intransitivity

In English there are verbs that do not allow having neither a direct object nor an indirect object. These verbs are called intransitive verbs. Take for instance the verb "to laugh:" one cannot "laugh someone something/someone." If I say, "Luigi laughs," you cannot ask, "what/who does Luigi laugh?" nor "to whom does Luigi laugh?"

It is at this point that the similarity between English and Italian ends.

  • intransitive verbs in English cannot have neither a direct object nor an indirect object
  • intransitive verbs in Italian cannot have a direct object but they may or may not be accompanied by an indirect object, that is, they may be used in an absolute way (without an indirect object) or with an indirect object

The following table clearly shows the differences.

Language

Transitive verbs

Intransitive verbs

Englishthey need to have a direct object, though it may be implicit in some cases
– John eats a hamburger
– John eats
they cannot have neither a direct nor an indirect object
– John runs
   
 they may also have an indirect object, but that cannot be in itself, that is, one cannot have an indirect object unless there is also a direct object
– *John gives Mary
– John gives Mary a book
 

Italianthey need to have a direct object, though it may be implicit in some cases
– Enzo mangia una pizza
– Enzo mangia
they cannot have a direct object, but they may have an indirect object
– Enzo corre
– Enzo telefona a Lucia
   
 they may also have an indirect object, but that cannot be in itself, that is, one cannot have an indirect object unless there is also a direct object
– *Enzo regala a Lucia
– Enzo regala un libro a Lucia
 


*** Important notes

1. In some transitive verbs the complement of object (direct object) must be made explicit to make sense, but not in others. Compare the following two sentences, where in both the complement of object has been left implicit. The first one leaves the listener wondering what Luigi is buying: the statement feels incomplete. This doesn't happen in the second one: the statement sounds perfectly acceptable even when the direct object has been omitted.

  1. Luigi compra (Luigi buys)
  2. Luigi mangia (Luigi eats)

Since the verb in the second sentence can work perfectly fine without a direct object, the verb is acting like an intransitive verb because the action stops on the verb itself.

The most important aspect to keep in mind from this is that it is better to understand transitivity as a way in which a verb can be used, rather than an inherent feature of a verb. Depending on the verb and on the situation, a verb may be used only in a transitive way, only in an intransitive way, or in either of them.

  1. il Papa benedice la folla di fedeli ⇐ the verb benedire can only be used in a transitive way
  2. il treno parte ⇐ the verb partire can only be used in an intransitive way
  3. Luigi mangia pizza ⇐ the verb mangiare is being used in a transitive way
  4. Luigi mangia ⇐ the verb mangiare is being used in an intransitive way

2. On the one hand, the Italian complement of object (direct object) acts as a complement to the verb in a direct way, that is, without the need of a preposition. On the other hand, the complement of term (indirect object) acts as a complement to the verb in an indirect way, that is, it does it through the preposition "a." When the Italian complement of the verb is preceded by other prepositions (e.g. "con"), it is then called indirect complement.

  1. Marco chiama Veronica (= complement of object)
  2. Marco telefona a Veronica (= complement of term)
  3. Marco balla con Veronica (= indirect complement)
  4. Marco lavora per Veronica (= indirect complement)
  5. Marco parla di Veronica (= indirect complement)
  6. Marco compra dei fiori a Veronica (= complement of term)


*** Italian grammatical terms

  • mood: modo
  • infinitive: infinito
  • participle: participio
  • gerund: gerundio
  • indicative: indicativo
  • subjunctive: congiuntivo
  • conditional: condizionale
  • imperative: imperativo
  • tense: tempo
  • present: presente
  • present perfect: passato prossimo
  • imperfect: imperfetto
  • past perfect: trapassato prossimo
  • remote past: passato remoto
  • preterite perfect: trapassato remoto
  • simple future: futuro semplice
  • future perfect: futuro anteriore
  • first person: prima persona
  • second person: seconda persona
  • third person: terza persona
  • singular: singolare
  • plural: plurale
  • genre: genere
  • form: forma
  • transitivity: transitività
  • intransitivity: intransitività
  • transitive verb: verbo transitivo
  • intransitive verb: verbo intransitivo
  • direct object: complemento di oggetto
  • indirect object: complemento di termine
  • indirect complement: complemento indiretto
Last edited by gmads on Fri Jun 02, 2023 7:03 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

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III. Form of a verb: active, passive, reflexive and impersonal

In this post the form of the verb will be explained.

Depending on the particular relationship between the verb on the one hand, and both the subject and the direct object on the other, four different forms are defined: active, passive, reflexive and impersonal. In other words, the form of a verb essentially allows us to know if the subject performs an action, undergoes it or both, and also lets us know if it is unknown or non-existent.

*** The active form

In the active form, the subject performs the action, and the direct object receives the action.

– Lucia lava il vestito (Lucia washes the dress)

In this example we can see that the subject (Lucia) is the one doing the action. In other words, in the active form:

  • the subject is the agent performing some action to the direct object

  • the direct object is the patient undergoing the action from the subject

*** The passive form

In the passive form, the subject receives the action, and the direct object performs the action.

– il vestito è lavato da Lucia (the dress is washed by Lucia)

In this example we can see that the direct object (Lucia) is the one doing the action. In other words, in the passive form:

  • the subject is the patient undergoing some action from the direct object

  • the direct object is the agent performing the action to the subject

*** The reflexive form

In Italian some transitive verbs allow having what is called the reflexive form.

In the reflexive form, the subject performs and receives the action at the same time.

– Lucia si lava (Lucia washes herself)

In this example we can see that subject is both the agent and the patient. In other words, in the reflexive form:

  • the subject performs and undergoes the action simultaneously

*** The impersonal form

In the impersonal form, the subject either does not exist or it cannot be determined —either because it is unknown or because it is irrelevant. In other words, in the impersonal form the action cannot be attributed to any particular subject.

– piove un sacco (it rains a lot)

In this example one may see that there isn't an actual subject performing the action: who or what is performing the raining action?

– si parla ovunque sul presidente (there is talk everywhere about the president)

In this other example one may see that the subject is unknown: who has been doing the talking?

In other words, in the impersonal form:

  • the subject basically may be non-existent, unknown, or irrelevant


*** Italian grammatical terms

  • active form: forma attiva
  • passive form: forma passiva
  • reflexive form: forma riflessiva
  • impersonal form: forma impersonale

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

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IV.a Subject personal pronouns

Given the particular name of the verbs to be explained (i.e. pronominal verbs), one can begin to deduce that they are somehow related to pronouns, which is correct. These types of verbs are related to personal pronouns and more specifically, to the unstressed forms of the personal pronouns of complement.

Italian personal pronouns can be classified into two main groups: subject and complement. Let's briefly review the first before we get to the heart of the matter.

Subject personal pronouns indicate:

  1. the person who speaks: first person, singular and plural → I, we

  2. the person who listens: second person, singular and plural → you, you

  3. the person, animal, thing or abstract entity being spoken about: third person, singular { masculine, feminine, animals/objects/abstracts }, and plural → he, she, it, they

All of these pronouns answer the question, "who/what does the action?"

The table below lists the Italian subject personal pronouns.

Person

Number

Gender

Subject personal pronoun

1st Singular   io
2nd       tu
3th     Masculine lui, egli (esso)
        Feminine lei, ella (essa)

1st Plural   noi
2nd       voi
3th     Masculine loro (essi)
        Feminine loro (esse)

The third person singular pronouns { egli, ella } are used in high register spoken language, in literature, in scientific writings, and so on. The third person singular and plural pronouns { esso, essa, essi, esse } are used when talking about animals or inanimated things, and they are also used in high register language —for informal language demonstrative pronouns are preferred.

Examples.

I walkio cammino
you eattu mangi
he writeslui scrive
she driveslei guida
it (the dog) barksesso abbia
we dancenoi balliamo
you workvoi lavorate
they studyloro studiano
they (the cows) grazeesse pascolano



*** Italian grammatical terms

  • unstressed forms: forme non accentate
  • subject personal pronouns: pronomi personali soggetti
  • personal pronouns of complement: pronomi personali complemento

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

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IV.b Personal pronouns of complement

Personal pronouns of complement replace the complement (object) to the verb. They have two forms: an atone, weak or unstressed form, and a tonic, strong or stressed form.

  1. atone pronouns are unstressed in their pronunciation, they are the most used forms, and they can be placed in front of the verb (la aiuto), or as a suffix at the end (aiutala)

  2. tonic pronouns are stressed in their pronunciation, they are used to emphasize what we are saying or to emphasize a preference over others, and they are placed after the verb (aiuto lei)

The following table lists most of the Italian personal pronouns of complement.


Personal pronouns of complement

Subject

Atone form

Tonic form

io mi = =   me =
tu ti = =   te =
lui lo gli si ne lui (esso)
lei la le si ne lei (essa)
noi ci = =   noi =
voi vi = =   voi =
loro (masc.) li gli ​(loro) si ne loro (essi)
loro (fem.) le gli ​(loro) si ne loro (esse)

Please keep in mind the following key aspects regarding these pronouns.

  1. the form of the atone pronouns { mi, ti, ci, vi }, along with their tonic equivalents, doesn't change even when their function (usage) does

  2. the third person pronouns { si, } are only used to create the so-called pronominal verbs

  3. apart from being an atone personal pronoun the ci particle can fulfill other roles (e.g. as an adverb)

  4. the atone pronoun ne only exists for the third person, and can play the role of different indirect complements (e.g. complement of specification, complement of argument), therefore, the particle ne can be used in place of { di lui/lei/loro; da lui/lei/loro } (= of him/her/them; from him/her/them), for example

  5. all the monosyllabic unstressed pronouns: { mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le, gli, si, ne }, are also known as clitic pronouns or pronominal particles, and are the basis of pronominal verbs

Italian personal pronouns of complement can be divided in three groups depending on the type of complement substituted:

  1. of object
  2. of term
  3. indirect


*** Pronouns of object

These pronouns replace the complement of object (direct object) of transitive verbs. Both the complement of object and the tonic pronouns of object are never preceded by a preposition.

– Margherita chiama suo figlio → Margherita lo chiama → Margherita chiama lui


Pronouns of object (direct object)

Subject

Atone form

Tonic form

io mi me
tu ti te
lui (m.) lo lui (esso)
lei (f.) la lei (esso)
noi ci noi
voi vi voi
loro (m.) li loro (essi)
loro (f.) le loro (esse)

The third person singular and plural tonic pronouns { esso, essa, essi, esse } are used when the direct object is an animal or an inanimated thing.

Examples.

he calls melui mi chiamalui chiama me
she loves youlei ti amalei ama te
they admire himloro lo ammiranoloro ammirano lui
you admire hervoi la ammiratevoi ammirate lei
I paint it (the landscape)io lo disegnoio disegno esso
he sees uslui ci vedelui vede noi
I ask youio vi chiedoio chiedo voi
you know them (m.)tu li conoscitu conosci loro
you know them (f.)tu le conoscitu conosci loro
he builds them (the houses)lui le costruiscelui costruisce esse



*** Pronouns of term

These pronouns replace the complement of term (indirect object) of transitive or intransitive verbs. Both the complement of term and the tonic pronouns of term are always preceded by the preposition "a."

– Margherita telefona a suo figlio → Margherita gli telefona → Margherita telefona a lui


Pronouns of term

Subject

Atone form

Tonic form

io mi a me
tu ti a te
lui (m.) gli a lui
lei (f.) le a lei
noi ci a noi
voi vi a voi
loro (m.) gli ​(loro) a loro
loro (f.) gli ​(loro) a loro

Examples.

he calls melui mi telefonalui telefona a me
she gives you a shirtlei ti dà una camicialei dà una camicia a te
I bring him the newspaperio gli porto il giornaleio porto il giornale a lui
I bring her the newspaperio le porto il giornaleio porto il giornale a lei
you offer us a coffeetu ci offri un caffètu offri un caffè a noi
he writes you a letterlui vi scrive una letteralui scrive una lettera a voi
she follows them (m.)lei gli seguelei segue a loro
she follows them (f.)lei gli seguelei segue a loro



*** Indirect pronouns

These pronouns only have the tonic form and they are always preceded by a preposition different than "a": { con, da, di, per }. They answer the question: { with, from, by, for } { whom, what }?

Subject

Indirect pronouns

io prep. me
tu prep. te
lui (m.) prep. lui
lei (f.) prep. lei
noi prep. noi
voi prep. voi
loro (m.) prep. loro
loro (f.) prep. loro

Examples.

Francesca dances with meFrancesca balla con me (con chi balla Francesca? con me)
Giulia forgets about youGiulia si dimentica di te
Andrea works for himAndrea lavora per lui
Luca talks with herLuca parla con lei
Matteo is here for usMatteo è qui per noi
I'm coming with you to the partyvengo con voi alla festa
Alessia talks about themAlessia parla di loro
we gladly dine with themceniamo molto volentieri da loro



*** The particles "ci" and "ne"

*** The particle "ci"

Apart from functioning as an unstressed personal pronoun of complement, the "ci" particle can have many other grammatical values and meanings depending on the context in which it is used. One of its most common roles is as an adverbial particle of place, where it has a locative value, that is, it can perform the function of adverb of place or of some indirect complements of place, therefore, it can mean { lì/là, [di] qui/qua, a/in/per questo/quel luogo }, that is, { here/there, [of] here/there, to/in/for this/that place }.

– mamma ci ha detto di non andarci (mom told us not to go there)

*** The indirect pronoun "ne"

The particle "ne" can function either as an adverbial particle of place or as a pronominal particle. In this last case it can replace many different types of indirect complements (e.g. of argument, introduced by the prepositions, di, su, sopra, circa), being the most common one the complement of specification: an indirect complement that can be preceded by the preposition "di" or "da." In this particular case it can function as:

  1. a third person (singular and plural) personal pronoun to mean { di/da lui/lei/loro } for persons, and { di/da esso/essa/essi/esse } for things (= of/from him/her/them; it)

  2. a demonstrative pronoun to mean { di/da questo/questa/questi/queste [che], di questa/quella cosa, etc } (= of/from this/that etc)

  3. a partitive pronoun to mean { di ciò, di questa o di quella cosa }, and used to express that we are speaking of a null quantity or part of a total; in this case it can appear alone or with a quantifier (the most common situation), like a number, a unit of measurement, an indefinite adjective or pronoun (e.g. alcuni, qualcuno, pochi, molti), etc

— Hai paura dei lupi? (are you afraid of wolves?)
— No, non ne ho paura = non ho paura di loro (no, I'm not afraid of them)

— Sai del nuovo cinema? (do you know about the new cinema?)
— No, non ne so niente = non so niente di esso (no, I don't know anything about it)

– non ne capisco la ragione = non capisco la ragione di quello (I don't understand the reason for that)

– ho comprato tre mele, ne ho mangiate due = ho mangiato due di tutte le mele (I ate two of all the apples)



*** Italian grammatical terms

  • personal pronouns of complement: pronomi personali di complemento
  • atone form: forma atona
  • tonic form: forma tonica
  • atone pronouns: pronomi atoni
  • tonic pronouns: pronomi tonici
  • pronominal verbs: verbi pronominali
  • complement of specification: complemento di specificazione
  • complement of argument: complemento di argomento
  • clitic pronouns: pronomi clitici
  • pronominal particles: particelle pronominali
  • complement of object: complemento oggetto
  • complement of term: complemento di termine
  • indirect complement: complemento indiretto
  • pronouns of object: pronomi di oggetto
  • direct object pronoun: pronome di complemento di oggetto
  • indirect object pronoun: pronome di complemento di termine
  • indirect complement pronoun: pronome di complemento indiretto
  • adverbial particle of place: particella avverbiale di luogo
  • locative value: valore locativo
  • adverb of place: avverbio di luogo
  • indirect complements of place: complementi indiretti di luogo
Last edited by gmads on Sat Jun 03, 2023 5:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »


IV.c "Si" pronouns (reflexive pronouns)

The "si" pronouns refer to the set of personal pronouns that revolve around the clitic pronoun "si." Even though I have preferred to name them this way, they are generally referred to as reflexive pronouns, which is just a matter of convention because their use goes beyond the concept of reflexivity, that is, they are actually the basis of a larger topic: the so-called "si" pronominal verbs (or pronominal verbs in "‑si"). These verbs are very easy to recognize because their infinitive form always ends in the pronominal particle "si", for example, lavarsi, arrabiarsi.

The following table lists the Italian personal "si" pronouns.


Reflexive pronouns

Subject

Atone form

Tonic form

io mi ∅; a; prep. me
tu ti    ⋮ te
lui/lei si    ⋮
noi ci    ⋮ noi
voi vi    ⋮ voi
loro (masc./fem.) si    ⋮

Please keep in mind the following key aspects regarding these pronouns.

  1. except for the third person, all the other pronouns are the same as the pronouns of complement

  2. although these pronouns represent a special use case of each of the pronouns of complement, the tonic forms follow the same rules regarding the use of prepositions, that is, the tonic object pronoun is never preceded by a preposition, the tonic pronoun of term is always preceded by the preposition "a" and the other tonic pronouns are preceded by a preposition

  3. usually, the stressed forms are accompanied by the demonstrative adjectives { stesso, stessa, stessi, stesse; medesimo, medesima, medesimi, medesime }, for example, io mi lavo → io lavo me stesso

Examples.

I wash myselfio mi lavoio lavo me stesso
you wash yourselftu ti lavitu lavi te stesso
he washes himselflui si lavalui lava sé stesso
she washes herselflei si lavalei lava sé stessa
we wash ourselvesnoi ci laviamonoi laviamo noi stessi
you wash yourselvesvoi vi lavatevoi lavate voi stessi
they (m.) wash themselvesloro si lavanoloro lavano sé stessi
they (f.) wash themselvesloro si lavanoloro lavano sé stesse

I prepare my breakfastio mi preparo la colazioneio preparo la colazione a me stesso
she prepares her breakfastlei si prepara la colazionelei prepara la colazione a sé stessa
you cut your hair (m.)voi vi tagliate i capellivoi tagliate i capelli a voi stessi
they cut their hair (f.)loro si tagliano i capelliloro tagliano i capelli a sé stesse

you talk with yourself tu parli con te stesso
she writes about herself lei scrive di sé stessa
we work for ourselves noi lavoriamo per noi stessi


every man for himselfil primo prossimo è sé medesimo
selfish people love themselves and no one elsele persone egoiste amano sé stesse e nessun altro
if each man were capable of regulating himselfse ciascun uomo fosse capace di regolar sé medesimo
she thinks only of herselflei pensa solo a sé stessa
they only care about themselvessi preoccupano solo di sé stessi
if he thinks to himself, he will understandse lui riflettera tra sé, capirà
everyone thinks for himselfognuno pensi per sé
they do it for themselveslo fanno per sé medesimi
he lacks self-confidencegli manca la fiducia in sé stesso
stays focused on itselfresta concentrata in sé medesima
Last edited by gmads on Sat Jun 03, 2023 8:55 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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gmads
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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »


IV.d Personal pronouns: double pronouns

The term double pronouns refers to the situation of having two unstressed pronouns in a sentence. At the end of the first post an example was given in which each of the complements to the verb was replaced by a pronoun:

– Carlo gives it to her → Carlo glielo regala

In this last post dedicated to pronouns, the explanation and rules of use of double personal pronouns will be given.

*** Grouping

According to their usage, clitics can be grouped into the following three categories (it will be useful to keep these names in mind):

1.clitics of termmi, ti, vi, gli/lecisi
2.clitic of specificationne  
3.clitics of objectlo, lali, le 

*** Order (placement)

The order in which each previous category was listed denotes the order in which their clitics should be placed when any of them are placed in sequence in a sentence:

  • clitics of term ⇒ clitic of specification ⇒ clitics of object

This ordering concept also applies when two clitics of term are placed one after the other:

  • { mi, ti, vi, gli/le } ⇒ cisi

*** Transformations

The clitics of term do not change when they appear before themselves.

— Mamma, mi porti al cinema?
— Sì tesorino, ti ci porto appena finiamo di mangiare ⇐ in this case "ci" has a locative value, it means "there"

However, they do change when they appear before either the clitic of specification or the clitics of object.

  • the clitics { mi, ti; ci, vi; si } change the "i" into an "e," so they become { me, te; ce, ve; se }

    — Mamma, mi compri una caramella?
    — Sì tesorino, ti la compro → Sì tesorino, te la compro
  • the clitics ( gli, le } are substituted with the "word" glie, to which is then attached the next clitic pronoun like so:

    { gli, le } + loglie + loglielo

     
    – the mother buys candies for the girls
    → la madre compra delle caramelle per le ragazze
    → la madre compra loro delle caramelle
    → la madre gli compra delle caramelle
    → la madre gli le compra
    → la madre gliele compra

Remember that the pronoun of term gli substitutes the 3th person masculine singular and the 3th plural, masculine and feminine nouns, while the pronoun of term le only substitutes the 3th person feminine singular.

Regarding the clitic of specification "ne" and the clitics of object { lo, la, li, le }, they are left unchanged.

The following table summarizes how the adjusted clitics of term combine with the clitic of specification and the clitics of object, respectively.

  Clit. of specification Clit. of object

Person

Adj. clit. of term

ne lo la li le
1st sg. me me ne me lo me la me li me le
2nd sg. te te ne te lo te la te li te le
1st pl. ce ce ne ce lo ce la ce li ce le
2nd pl. ve ve ne ve lo ve la ve li ve le
3th sg./pl. (m./f.) glie gliene glielo gliela glieli gliele
3th reflx. (sg./pl.) se se ne se lo se la se li se le



*** Italian grammatical terms

  • clitic pronouns: pronomi clitici
  • clitics of term: clitici di termine
  • clitic of specification: clitico di specificazione
  • clitics of object: clitici di oggetto

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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »


V. Pronominal verbs

What exactly is a pronominal verb?

A pronominal verb is simply any verb that includes one or two pronominal particles (clitic pronouns) in its infinitive form, for example: guardarsi, andarci, andarsene, farcela.

Since the clitics involved determine how these verbs are used, they can be divided into two main groups (though not everyone does this, many just use the general term) according to the type of clitic involved and its meaning.

  1. "si" pronominal verbs: those that only use the "si" particle

  2. procomplementary verbs: those that include any of the following pronominal particles: { lo, la, le, ci, ne }, and that may or may not include the particle "si"

To avoid getting confused with terminology, please note the following schematic as it accurately describes the hierarchical arrangement of all the categories related to the topic of the thread.

  • pronominal verbs

    • "si" pronominal verbs

      • reflexive verbs

      • pronominal intransitive verbs

    • procomplementary verbs

      • class 1 verbs… class 4 verbs



*** Italian grammatical terms

  • procomplementary verbs: verbi procomplementari

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gmads
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Re: Italian pronominal verbs... the ultimate guide!

Post by gmads »


V.a "Si" pronominal verbs

Although the particle "si" can fulfill other functions, as a clitic pronoun (unstressed pronominal particle) it is basically used to create:

  1. the reflexive form of verbs, in which case it represents the agent performing and receiving the action at the same time (there is a reflexive action on the agent) because the subject and the direct object are the same, for example, as in lavarsi (to wash oneself)

  2. the pronominal intransitive verbs, in which case, other than denoting the person involved in the action, it doesn't fulfill any grammatical function because it is simply an obligatory component of the verb, for example, as in arrabiarsi (to get angry)

In both cases, the particle is attached to the end of the verb in its infinitive form, for example, guardarsi, pentirsi, and that is why they are called pronominal verbs in "si."

*** Forms

Regarding these verbs two main forms can be distinguished:

  1. when the particle "si" is an intrinsic part of the verb in the infinitive, for example: pentirsi, that is, there is no verb pentire

  2. when the particle "si" is an optional part of the verb in the infinitive, in which case the particle is added to an existing verb without a clitic, for example: sentiresentirsi

*** Conjugation

The general process to conjugate these verbs is simple and direct:

  1. detach the "si" particle from the root verb
    ⇒ lavarsi → lavare si

  2. place the particle before the verb using the correct form according to the person
    ⇒ io mi lavare, tu ti lavare, lui/lei si lavare, noi ci lavare, voi vi lavare, loro si lavare

  3. conjugate the root verb according to the person and required tense
    ⇒ io mi lavo, tu ti lavi, lui/lei si lava, noi ci laviamo, voi vi lavate, loro si lavano

For example:

  • lavarsi → noi ci saremo lavati (we will have washed ourselves)
  • alzarsi → il giovane si è alzato dalla poltrona (the young man got up from the armchair)
  • pentirsi → ti perdonerei se veramente ti pentissi delle offese fattemi (I would forgive you if you truly repented for the offenses done to me)

There are, however:

  • cases in which the particle may remain attached to the end of the verb

    1. when the infinitive is preceded by a servile/modal verb
      – lui deve lavarsi → lui si deve lavare (he has to wash)

    2. in the gerund with the auxiliary verb stare
      – lei sta lavandosi → lei si sta lavando (she is washing)

    3. in the negative imperative (formal and informal)
      non lavartinon ti lavare (don't wash)
  • cases in which the particle must remain attached to the end of the verb

    1. with the infinitive form
      – lui ha deciso di lavarsi (he decided to wash)

    2. in the present gerund
      lavandosi continuamente… (washing himself constantly…)
      but in the past gerund it is then attached to the auxiliary essere
      essendosi lavato questa mattina… (having washed up this morning…)

    3. in the informal imperative
      lavati subito! (wash now!)


*** Final important reminder

Always keep in mind that the unattached particles of the conjugated pronominal intransitive verbs are not substituting any kind of complement, they are just particles that form part of the verb and that, in consequence, need to be there.

Consider the following four different cases of use.

  1. lui mi chiamalui chiama me (he calls me)

    • the clitic "mi" is a direct object pronoun

  2. lei mi compra un regalolei compra un regalo a me (she buys me a present)

    • the clitic "mi" is an indirect object pronoun

  3. io mi guardo allo specchioio guardo me stesso allo specchio (I look in the mirror)

    • the clitic "mi" is a "reflexive" pronoun in the sense that it indicates that the subject performs and undergoes the action simultaneously; note that the particle is not in place of other grammatical elements (as in the previous two cases), it just forms an integral part of the verb

  4. io mi vergogno (I am ashamed)

    • the "mi" particle is just a particle without a real grammatical function, it just forms an integral part of the verb


*** Italian grammatical terms

  • pronominal intransitive verbs: verbi pronominali intransitivi

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