In this third part of my blog dedicated to the si impersonale, I’ll discuss its use when combined with other pronouns. Let’s start with ‘ne’ (of it /them, about it /them), that nasty little word that I discussed some time ago in this blog: Ne
1. Si impersonale + ne
The impersonal pronoun si always precedes the pronoun ne and changes from si to se, e.g.
Quanta neve! non se ne vedeva così tanta dal 1985 (What a lot of snow! We hadn’t seen so much of it since 1985)
Non se ne può più di questo tempo! (‘I/we’ve had enough of this weather’, or ‘can’t stand this weather anymore!’)
Se ne riparlerà la settimana prossima (We’ll talk about it next week)
The impersonal form of a reflexive verb, which as I explained in part 2 is ‘ci si’, when combined with ne becomes ci se ne, e.g.
Le cose stanno così, ci se ne deve fare una ragione (That’s how things are, one has to accept it)
2. Si impersonale + pronome diretto “lo, la, li, le” (Impersonal si + direct pronoun “it, them”)
The direct pronoun always precedes the impersonal si, e.g.
Il questionario? lo si può mandare per posta (The questionnaire? you can send it by post)
che lo si voglia o no (whether you want it or not)
Quando la pasta è cotta la si scola (When the pasta is cooked, drain it)
Si affettano le cipolle, poi le si fanno rosolare nell’olio ben caldo (Slice the onions, then sauté them in the hot oil)
3. Si impersonale + indirect pronouns “mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi” (Impersonal si + indirect pronouns “to me, to you singular, to him/to them, to her, to us, to you plural”)
The indirect pronoun always precedes the impersonal si, e.g.
Da quanto tempo è che non ti si vedeva da queste parti! (It’s a long time since you were last seen around here!)
Ha detto tante di quelle bugie, che non le si può più credere (She has told so many lies, that one can’t believe her anymore)
Mi si dice che non ci sono più soldi (I’m told that there are no more money)
4. Si impersonale + pronome diretto + pronome indiretto o riflessivo (Impersonal si + direct pronoun + indirect or reflexive pronoun)
When using these three together they are put in the following order: 1. indirect or reflexive pronoun, which changes its ending to –e (me, te, ce, etc.). 2. direct pronoun (lo, la, etc.). 3. si impersonale
Te lo si legge in faccia (Lit. ‘to you one reads it in your face’, meaning ‘it’s written all over your face’)
Non ce lo si può permettere (Lit. ‘to oneself one cannot allow it’, meaning ‘we/one can’t afford it’)
Questa volta non gliela si può far passare liscia (Lit. ‘This time to him/her one cannot let it go smooth’, meaning ‘This time he/she can’t get away with it’)
Finally, a couple of curios uses of the impersonal si:
In adverts (probably because you pay based on the number of words you use) it’s common to find the si impersonale attached to the end of the verb in the present tense, e.g.
affittasi casa per vacanze instead of si affitta (Lit. ‘one rents house for holidays’, meaning ‘holiday house for rent’)
vendesi tagliaerba come nuovo instead of si vende (Lit. ‘one sells lawnmower as new’, meaning ‘lawnmower for sale, as new’)
cercasi babysitter instead of si cerca (Lit. ‘one looks for babysitter’, meaning ‘babysitter wanted’).
In Toscana it’s common to hear the personal ‘noi’ used together with the impersonal si, e.g.
Ciao, noi si va instead of Ciao, noi andiamo (Lit. ‘Bye, us one goes’, meaning ‘Bye, we’re going)
Noi non si era capito instead of Noi non avevamo capito (Lit. ‘Us one hadn’t understood’, meaning ‘we hadn’t understood’).