When "they" means "someone"

By Sigrid Lee

One stumbling block, when translating Italian into English, is when the third-person plural is used to mean "someone." If we look for the Italian translation of "someone," we find qualcuno. We can certainly use that but it's typical to hear someone say, for example, hanno suonato (someone rang [the doorbell]). The literal translation would be "they rang," but that does not work in English.

In our first example, Renzo, the architect is talking to his designers about opening up the space to let more light in. He is distracted and doesn't hear the doorbell. The designer uses the third-person plural instead of qualcuno ha suonato.

Dobbiamo aprire? -Sì, aprire. Aprire, aprire qui, aprire qui. -Dicevo la porta, hanno suonato. -E apri, che aspetti?

Should we open? -Yes, open. Open, open here, open here. -I was talking about the door, someone rang [the doorbell]. -So, open up, what are you waiting for?

Captions 60-63, Provaci ancora prof! S3EP1 - Due americane a Roma - Part 18
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And we will just add, for general information, that while in English, we usually say, "I'll get the door" or "I'll open the door," it is typical to omit the object la porta. We just use the verb aprire (to open) by itself.

Vai ad aprire (go open the door)

The third person plural is also used in place of the passive voice or the impersonale third-person singular. This happens when the agent is not known, not mentioned, or not important. In English, we often use the passive voice in these cases.

banner3 PLACEHOLDER

Adriano Olivetti has given a movie camera to his American friend and she is thanking him.

Ma Lei lo sa che questa cinepresa la usano nei reportage di guerra? -Ah sì? -Sì, perché può funzionare in qualsiasi condizione. -Me l'hanno consigliata.

But you know that this camera is used in war reporting? -Oh yes? -Yes, because it can function under any conditions. -They recommended it to me. [It was recommended to me].

Captions 18-20, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 3
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Agent Bates could have used the passive with the verb venire:

Ma Lei lo sa che questa cinepresa viene usata nei reportage di guerra?

Or she could have used the impersonale:

Ma Lei lo sa che questa cinepresa si usa nei reportage di guerra?

Thanks for reading. If you come across verbs in the third-person plural that mean "someone" or are used in place of the passive voice or the impersonale, let us know and we'll add them to this lesson. Write to us at [email protected].