A pronominal verb is a verb that is accompanied by at least one pronoun. Some pronominal verbs in Italian have idiomatic meanings.
An example of pronominal verbs is reflexive verbs, which have the ending “-si” in the infinitive, indicating that the action is performed on oneself. Not all pronominal verbs are reflexive. Some verbs simply change their meaning when attached to pronouns to form new idiomatic meanings that do not often make complete sense if translated literally into English.
Take, for example, the verb “andare” (to go). If we attach the pronouns “si” and “ne” to the verb “andare,” we obtain the pronominal verb “andarsene,” which means “to go away,” often encountered in the command form “Vattene!” (Go away!), that is: “va” + “ti” + “ne,” or “Andiamocene!” (Let’s go!), that is: “andiamo” + “ci” + “ne.”
Similarly, if we attach the pronouns “ci” and “la” to the verb “avere” (to have), we obtain the pronominal verb “avercela,” which means “to be mad or angry.”
There are many similar idiomatic pronominal verbs in Italian. Some are formed by attaching one pronoun, while others are formed by attaching two pronouns. The pronouns attached can be reflexive such as “si,” direct object such as “le” (it) and “la” (them), or the special pronouns “ci” and “ne.” Remember that the pronoun “mi,” “ti,” “ci,” or “vi” is changed to “me,” “te,” “ce,” or “ve,” respectively, when followed by a second pronoun attached to it. One notable exception is when “ci” and “si” are used together to form “-cisi” at the end of a pronominal verb.
Conjugation
Unless the pronominal verb is in the infinitive or the imperative, the pronouns are placed in the same order before the conjugated verb. If the conjugation needs a past participle, as in the present perfect tense, the past participle takes the treatment of an adjective and must follow the ending pronoun in gender and number. Here is the conjugation of the pronominal verb “farcela” (to make it or to succeed) and “prenderle” (to get it or to give a beating) in the present perfect:
| farcela | prenderle | |
| io | ce l’ho fatta | le ho prese |
| tu | ce l’hai fatta | le hai prese |
| lui/lei | ce l’ha fatta | le ha prese |
| noi | ce l’abbiamo fatta | le abbiamo prese |
| voi | ce l’avete fatta | le avete prese |
| loro | ce l’hanno fatta | le hanno prese |
Examples
The following table lists some of the most common idiomatic pronominal verbs:
| Verb | Meaning | Example | |
| andarsene | to leave a place or to go away | Andatevene! Non voglio parlare. | Go away! I do not want to talk. |
| avercela | to be mad or angry | Non avercela con me! | Don’t be angry with me! |
| cavarsela | to manage a difficult situation | Se la sono cavata da soli. | They managed on their own. |
| cercarsela | to look for trouble | Ce la siamo cercata da soli. | We brought this on ourselves. |
| farcela | to make it or to succeed | Sono rimasto sorpreso ma ce l’ha fatta. | I was surprised but he made it. |
| godersela | to enjoy something | Se la gode in questa atmosfera. | He enjoys it in this atmosphere. |
| intendersene | to know a lot about something | Lo lasci dire a chi se ne intende! | Leave it to those who know best! |
| mettercela | to put all effort into something | Ce l’hanno messa tutta in campo. | They gave it their all on the field. |
| piantarla | to quit something | Per favore! Ti ho detto di piantarla. | Please! I told you to knock it off. |
| prendersela | to get angry | Mio fratello sempre se la prende con me. | My brother always gets angry with me. |
| sbrigarsela | to manage or to deal with | La prossima volta, se la sbrigherà da solo. | Next time, he’ll handle it himself. |
| sentirsela | to feel like or have desire to | Può partecipare quando se la sente. | He can participate when he feels like it. |
| smetterla | to stop or quit something | Devi smetterla di metterti in mostra. | You need to stop showing off. |
| spassarsela | to have a blast | Me la sono spassata in quel periodo. | I had a blast during that period. |
| tirarsela | to show off | Se la tira sempre tanto. | He always shows off too much. |
| trovarcisi | to find oneself in | Mi ci sono trovato per caso. | I found myself there by accident. |
| vedercisi | to see oneself in | Non mi ci vedo con loro. | I don’t see myself with them. |
| vederne | to see something of | Non ne vedo il motivo. | I don’t see the reason of it. |
| venirne | to get to the bottom of | Alla fine, ne sono venuto a conoscenza. | Eventually, I came to know about it. |
Next: Diminutives & Augmentatives
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