We have talked about pronominal verbs before, and we have mentioned our featured pronominal verb andarsene in a lesson about telling someone to "get lost." But let's delve deeper.
Perhaps if we talk about pronominal verbs often enough, they will be less daunting, and they will start making more sense. Andarsene (to leave, to take one's leave) is perhaps even more common than farcela, which we have talked about very recently, but they are both high up on the list of pronominal verbs to know and love. So let's dive in!
Andarsene has as its main verb, the irregular verb andare (to go). But instead of just going, we add on some particles that make it mean something more. We make it personal with se (oneself), and we imply we are leaving a place, person, or situation, or, we could say, "going away from a place, person or situation" with the particle ne. In this context, ne is a pronoun representing an indirect object with its preposition, all in one!
Se uno sta bene in un posto, embè, deve avere una ragione forte per andarsene, se no...
If one's happy in a place, well, they have to have a really good reason for leaving it, otherwise...
Captions 33-34, Il Commissario Manara S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste - Part 8
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Let's also mention that in a way, andarsene (to leave, to go away from a place) is the opposite of going somewhere — to a place. When we go somewhere, we can use the particle ci (to, in, or at that place) as an indirect pronoun including the preposition. In English, "there" stands for "to/at/in that place."
Hanno suonato alla porta. Ci vado io (the doorbell rang. -I'll go [there]).
It's easy to get mixed up between ne and ci.
When we conjugate andarsene, we split the verb in different ways, depending on the conjugation.
When you simply want to say, "I'm leaving [this place]" you can say:
Me ne vado (I'm leaving).
It's the equivalent of vado via (I'm leaving, I'm going away).
When no modal verb is involved, we generally have the person, the place (from this place) and then the verb in third place, conjugated. The same goes for other persons:
Alle otto se ne vanno a casa e non escono più, come le galline.
At eight o'clock they leave and go home and don't go out again, like hens.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu - Part 12
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However, if we use a modal verb such as potere (to be able to) or volere (to want to), dovere (to have to), then we conjugate the modal verb and the pronominal verb remains in the infinitive, although the particles may be separate from it.
Ecco perché io non me ne voglio andare.
That's why I don't want to leave here.
Caption 5, Basilicata Turistica Non me ne voglio andare - Part 1
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It's also possible (when there is a modal verb) to mix the parts of the pronominal verb up differently and say:
Ecco perché non voglio andarmene (that's why I don't want to leave here).
In the following example, we have 2 different conjugations. The first one is one word, a command, with the verb root first: the imperative of andare, va', then the person, te, and then our "place" particle, ne. In the second sentence, the modal verb dovere (to have to) is used.
Ricotta! -Oh, vattene! Te ne devi andare!
Ricotta! -Oh, get out of here. You have to leave!
Caption 47, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 7
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Let's remember that the verb andare takes essere (to be) as an auxiliary verb for compound tenses such as the passato prossimo, which conjugates like the present perfect in English. We conjugate the auxiliary verb and the root verb is in its past participle form.
Finalmente se ne sono andati.
Finally, they've gone.
Caption 15, Acqua in bocca Allarme gita - Ep 9
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Practice:
Try thinking of people you know, or can imagine, and combinations of people. 1) They might be leaving a theater or a party... one by one, in couples, all of them 2) They never seem to leave but you would like them to. 3) They have all left. We'll need the passato prossimo for that. Have they left together or in dribs and drabs? Let us know how you do.
There are different ways to travel. It can be for pleasure or work, it can be for multiple days, weeks, or months, or it can be a day trip or an overnight, an excursion.
So, let's look at an interesting alternative to the true cognate, escursione (that works just fine, too):
la gita, una gita, andare in gita.
So the noun is la gita. But where does it come from? It originally comes from the verb ire (to go). People don't use this verb much at all, in fact we could say they never use it in converstion, as it is literary (we mostly use andare), but those of you who know Latin, Spanish, or other Romance languages, will most likely recognize it.
A dialectical version of ire has a g sound in front of it, turning it into gire. We can trace it to the feminine past participle: andata — ita — gita. You don't need to know this, but some of us enjoy knowing where words come from.
In practical terms, una gita implies traveling somewhere, not necessarily sleeping over, but maybe.
For example, kids in school might go on una gita scolastica (a class trip).
E perché? -Partono, per la gita scolastica!
And, why? -They're leaving on a school trip!
Fuori di casa due giorni da soli.
Away from home for two days, all alone.
-Mamma, siamo in trentadue!
-Mom, there are thirty-two of us!
E quattro insegnanti.
And four teachers.
Captions 5-8, Acqua in bocca - Allarme gita
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Erica works at the tourist office of Palaia in Tuscany. She's talking about her job.
E quindi è un po' il punto di arrivo,
And so it's kind of the point of arrival
eh, di tutte quelle persone che vengono qua in vacanza,
uh, for all those people who come here on vacation,
o anche semplicemente per fare u', una gita o una, una breve sosta
or even just to make a, a day trip, or a quick stop
qui, in questo territorio, che è la Valdera.
here, in this area, which is the Valdera.
Captions 14-17, Professioni e mestieri - Erica - archeologa
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Check out this Yabla mini-series about a girl who goes on an outing — Una gita al lago (a day trip to the lake).
The verb gire sounds kind of like the verb girare, which means "to go around." Girare and gire don't have the same root, but they are related through one definition of girare:
andare qua e là, andare in giro, vagare, con o senza uno scopo determinato
(to go here and there, to go about, with or without a specific purpose).
Firenze è una città piccola, si può girare benissimo a piedi.
Florence is a small city, you can go around very easily on foot.
Caption 9, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze
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The noun form is il giro. Un giro can be a bike ride, a walk, a ride in a car... anything really, even a swing, or one of the machines at a gym.
Continuando il mio giro in bicicletta sulle mura di Lucca,
Continuing my bike ride around the Lucca walls,
mi sono fermata davanti a questo bellissimo palazzo.
I stopped in front of this very beautiful villa.
Captions 1-2, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca
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Fare un giro can mean "to take a turn."
Let's say I am on the treadmill at the gym, and there is someone waiting. I can ask, ci vuoi fare un giro (do you want to take a turn on it, do you want to have a go)?
Italians love diminutives, so we also have un giretto, or un girettino (or some say una girata or giratina) more like a brief stroll, synonymous with passeggiata, or passeggiatina.
E nonna, ho fatto un bel giretto nel bosco.
Well Grandma, I had a nice walk around the woods.
Caption 5, Anna e Marika - in Cappuccetto Rosso e la nonnina
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Note that we use the verb fare (to make, to do) with the noun una gita, — fare una gita or the noun un giro — fare un giro. Or we use the verb andare (to go) and the preposition in (on a) before gita or giro. Andare in gita, andare in giro. Tuscans often say andare a giro. It means the same thing.
Sono sicura che passeremo una bellissima giornata in giro per la città.
I'm sure we'll have a great day going around the city.
Caption 6, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze
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There is plenty more to say about in giro, but that will be for another lesson. Meanwhile, let's try to assimilate the meanings we have talked about here by looking at some questions and some possible answers. Feel free to write to us with your attempts. Mistakes are welcome. That's how we learn.
E tu? Che fai oggi? Vai in gita? Fai un giro? Fai una passeggiata? Vai in giro?
And you? What are you doing today? Are you going on an excursion? Are you going to go out and about? Are you going to take a walk? Are you going to cruise around the area?
Here are some possible answers:
Facciamo una gita turistica. Viviamo a Pisa, e andremo a visitare Siena.
We're going on a day trip. We live in Pisa and we're going to go and see Siena.
Andiamo in gita, che bello!
We're going on an outing, how great!
Facciamo il giro dell'isolotto.
We're going to walk around the block.
Facciamo un giro.
Let's go and have a look around.
Facciamo un giro in bici.
We're going on a bike ride.
Ho fatto una passeggiata vicino a casa.
I took a walk close to home.
Siamo andati in giro per la toscana.
We went for a ride around Tuscany.
Feel free to send us some of your own examples. If they work, we'll add them to this list. write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
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