{"id":1596,"date":"2012-03-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2012-03-06T14:49:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-06T14:49:29","slug":"si-impersonale-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/si-impersonale-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Si Impersonale – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this third part of my blog dedicated to the si impersonale<\/strong>, I\u2019ll discuss its use when combined with other pronouns. Let\u2019s start with \u2018ne\u2019 <\/strong>(of it \/them, about it \/them), that nasty little word that I discussed some time ago in this blog: Ne<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

1. Si impersonale + ne <\/strong><\/p>\n

The impersonal pronoun si<\/strong> always precedes the pronoun ne<\/strong> and changes from si<\/strong> to se<\/strong><\/font>, e.g.<\/p>\n

Quanta neve! non se ne<\/font> vedeva cos\u00ec tanta dal 1985 <\/strong>(What a lot of snow! We hadn\u2019t seen so much of it<\/font><\/em> since 1985)<\/p>\n

Non se ne<\/font> pu\u00f2 pi\u00f9 di questo tempo! <\/strong>(\u2018I\/we\u2019ve had enough of this weather\u2019<\/font>, or \u2018can\u2019t stand this weather anymore!\u2019)<\/p>\n

Se ne <\/font>riparler\u00e0 la settimana prossima <\/strong>(We\u2019ll talk about it next week)<\/p>\n

The impersonal form of a reflexive verb, which as I explained in part 2<\/font><\/a> is \u2018ci si\u2019<\/strong>, when combined with ne<\/strong> becomes ci se ne<\/font><\/strong>, e.g. <\/p>\n

Le cose stanno cos\u00ec,<\/font> ci se ne<\/font> deve fare una ragione <\/strong>(That\u2019s how things are, one has to accept it)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Si impersonale + pronome diretto \u201clo, la, li, le\u201d <\/strong>(Impersonal si <\/strong>+ direct pronoun \u201cit, them\u201d)<\/p>\n

The direct pronoun always precedes the impersonal si<\/strong>, e.g.<\/p>\n

Il questionario? lo si<\/font> pu\u00f2 mandare per posta <\/strong>(The questionnaire? you can send it by post)<\/p>\n

che lo si<\/font> voglia o no <\/strong>(whether you want it or not)<\/p>\n

Quando la pasta \u00e8 cotta la si<\/font> scola <\/strong>(When the pasta is cooked, drain it)<\/p>\n

Si affettano le cipolle, poi le si<\/font> fanno rosolare nell\u2019olio ben caldo <\/strong>(Slice the onions, then saut\u00e9 them in the hot oil)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Si impersonale + indirect pronouns \u201cmi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi\u201d <\/strong>(Impersonal si<\/strong> + indirect pronouns \u201cto me, to you singular, to him\/to them, to her, to us, to you plural\u201d)<\/p>\n

The indirect pronoun always precedes the impersonal si<\/strong>, e.g.<\/p>\n

Da quanto tempo \u00e8 che non ti si<\/font> vedeva da queste parti! <\/strong>(It\u2019s a long time since you were last seen around here!)<\/p>\n

Ha detto tante di quelle bugie, che non le si<\/font> pu\u00f2 pi\u00f9 credere <\/strong>(She has told so many lies, that one can\u2019t believe her anymore)<\/p>\n

Mi si<\/font> dice che non ci sono pi\u00f9 soldi <\/strong>(I\u2019m told that there are no more money)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Si impersonale + pronome diretto + pronome indiretto o riflessivo<\/strong> (Impersonal si<\/strong> + direct pronoun + indirect or reflexive pronoun)<\/p>\n

When using these three together they are put in the following order: 1. <\/font>indirect or reflexive pronoun<\/font>, which changes its ending to \u2013e<\/strong> (me, te, ce<\/font>, etc.). 2. <\/font>direct pronoun<\/font> (lo, la<\/font>, etc.). 3. <\/font>si impersonale<\/font><\/p>\n

Te<\/font> lo<\/font> si<\/font> legge in faccia <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018to you<\/font> one<\/font> reads it<\/font> in your face\u2019<\/em>, meaning \u2018it\u2019s written all over your face\u2019)<\/p>\n

Non ce<\/font> lo<\/font> si<\/font> pu\u00f2 permettere <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018to oneself<\/font> one<\/font> cannot allow it<\/font>\u2019, meaning \u2018we\/one can\u2019t afford it\u2019)<\/p>\n

Questa volta non gli<\/font>e<\/font>la<\/font> si<\/font> pu\u00f2 far passare liscia <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018This time to him\/her<\/font> one<\/font> cannot let it<\/font> go smooth\u2019, meaning \u2018This time he\/she can\u2019t get away with it\u2019)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Finally, a couple of curios uses of the impersonal si<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

In adverts (probably because you pay based on the number of words you use) it\u2019s common to find the si impersonale<\/strong> attached to the end of the verb in the present tense, e.g. <\/strong><\/p>\n

affittasi<\/font> casa per vacanze <\/strong>instead <\/strong>of si affitta<\/strong> (Lit. \u2018one rents house for holidays’, meaning \u2018holiday house for rent\u2019)<\/p>\n

vendesi<\/font> tagliaerba come nuovo <\/strong>instead of si vende <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018one sells lawnmower as new\u2019, meaning \u2018lawnmower for sale, as new\u2019)<\/p>\n

cercasi<\/font> babysitter <\/strong>instead of si cerca <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018one looks for babysitter\u2019, meaning \u2018babysitter wanted\u2019).<\/p>\n

In Toscana it\u2019s common to hear the personal \u2018noi\u2019 <\/strong>used together with the impersonal si<\/strong>, e.g.<\/p>\n

Ciao, noi si va <\/strong>instead of Ciao, noi andiamo <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018Bye, us one goes\u2019, meaning \u2018Bye, we\u2019re going)<\/p>\n

Noi non si era capito <\/strong>instead of Noi non avevamo capito <\/strong>(Lit. \u2018Us one hadn\u2019t understood\u2019, meaning \u2018we hadn\u2019t understood\u2019).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this third part of my blog dedicated to the si impersonale, I\u2019ll discuss its use when combined with other pronouns. Let\u2019s start with \u2018ne\u2019 (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…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[128761,128760,128759,128771],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","category-uncategorized","tag-italian-impersonal-form","tag-italian-si-impersonale","tag-si-impersonale","tag-si-impersonale-combined-with-other-pronouns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t