Talking About People in General (the ci si formula)
When you want to talk about people in general and what they do, there are various options in Italian. Let's kick off the lesson with a common fact: Italians eat a lot of pasta.
We can say:
Gli italiani mangiano tanta pasta (Italians eat a lot of pasta).
In Italia, quasi tutti mangiano la pasta (in Italy, almost everyone eats pasta).
But we have another very popular option. Instead of specifying anyone in particular with nouns like "Italians" or "everyone," we can use a special formula to talk about what "people in general" do. We do this by placing the little word (also called a "particle") si right before a third-person singular verb. Here it is in action:
In Italia, si mangia tanta pasta.
Even though it translates to "In Italy, people eat a lot of pasta," this formula with si functions a bit like the English word "one" (as in, "one eats a lot of pasta in Italy"). The basic rule for this general si structure is that the verb stays in the third-person singular almost all the time (with some exceptions we'll get to later).
And if you are ever a guest in an Italian home, you will definitely hear someone call out:
"Si mangia!" It means "it's time to eat!" or "The food's on the table!"
Literally, it translates to "one eats," making it the ultimate everyday example of this structure in action.
Now we know that when we're talking about people in general performing an action, we can just put si in front of the third-person singular verb, such as si mangia (one eats/people eat) or si viaggia (one travels/people travel).
"Ormai si viaggia più spesso in aereo",
"These days, one travels more and more often by plane,"
Caption 32, Corso di italiano con Daniela La forma passiva - Part 3
Play Caption
The Grammar Collision: When Reflexive Verbs Join the Party
So far, the verbs we've talked about have been, let's say, standard verbs. But what happens when the verb we want to use with a si formula is already a reflexive verb? That's when the "collision" happens.
That's because we also use this same particle, si, when conjugating reflexive verbs, those verbs in which the subject and the object are the same. ➡️ Learn about reflexive verbs in this lesson, and how to conjugate them in this lesson.
When we conjugate a verb like svegliarsi (to wake up), we need si.
Tutte le mattine si sveglia con il cuscino pieno di lacrime.
Every morning she wakes up with her pillow full of tears.
Caption 42, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 2 - Part 15
Play Caption
So when we have a conjugated reflexive verb where we need si AND an impersonal formula where we need si, we have a unique kind of grammar collision.
In other words:
1) We use a reflexive verb like vestirsi (to dress oneself), where si is part of the verb. For example: Di solito, una persona che fa trekking si veste a cipolla (usually, a person who goes hiking dresses in layers).
2) We want to speak impersonally ("people in general"), which also requires the subject si (as we illustrated earlier in the lesson).
In essence, we want to combine the impersonal subject with a reflexive verb. So we try it out: Di solito si si veste a cipolla...
But that does not cut it. It is not good Italian. To Italians, repeating si - si doesn't work. To make it sound better, Italian grammar requires always changing the first particle in a double-pronoun chain. Since the reflexive pronoun si is stuck tightly to the verb, it stays where it is, and it is actually the first si (the impersonal one) that changes to ci.
So this is the process:
⚠️ It's easy to confuse this grammatical ci with the word ci meaning "us." In fact, this is just one of the many ways we use ci in Italian! ➡️ For more on ci, see this lesson!
Real-World Examples from the Wild
Let’s look at how we use this ci-si trick with everyday verbs: divertirsi (to have fun), svegliarsi (to wake up), riposarsi (to rest), sentirsi (to feel).
A Dixieland ci si diverte con poco e nulla.
At Dixieland one has fun with next to nothing.
Caption 30, Dixiland La magia di Tribo
Play Caption
E, no. -No, domani è domenica, ci si sveglia tardi, -E sì. -ci si riposa.
No. -No, tomorrow is Sunday, one wakes up late, -Yes. -one rests.
Captions 45-46, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 11
Play Caption
E... volevo chiederti, come ci si sente da sposati?
And... I wanted to ask you, how does one feel, married?
Captions 52-53, Sposami EP 5 - Part 16
Play Caption
In this next example, the speaker is using the impersonal form to speak in general about modern life, using "one" in the third-person singular.
Note that the last 2 verbs are reflexive verbs: vestirsi (to dress) and pettinarsi (to style one's hair), so for the first 2 verbs — viaggiare (to travel) and parlare (to talk), there is just the impersonal si, and for the last 2, we find ci si, in other words, both the impersonal si transformed into ci and the reflexive si.
Perché qua sta cambiando un po' tutto. -Sì, e... Come si viaggia, come si parla, come ci si veste, come ci si pettina.
Because here, everything is kind of changing. -Yes, and... The way one travels, the way one talks, the way one dresses, the way one styles one's hair.
Captions 11-13, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 23
Play Caption
A Sneak Peek into the next lesson on this topic:
Here is an example using the verb mettersi (a very common reflexive form of mettere — to put), meaning to sit down/set oneself to a task. Pay close attention to the second half of this sentence:
E come tanti altri italiani, il ventiquattro sera, verso le sette, ci si mette a cena, e si mangiano pietanze a base di pesce.
And like many other Italians, the evening of the twenty-fourth, around seven, we sit down to dinner, and one eats dishes with fish as their basis.
Captions 5-8, Marika spiega La Vigilia di Natale
Play Caption
Did you spot the twist? The phrase si mangiano refers to an object in the plural (le pietanze - the dishes), so the verb magically flips to the plural to agree with it! This takes some getting used to, and it brings us to our next big topic...
The Plural Object Trap: If people are acting on multiple objects, the verb unexpectedly flips to the plural!
Standard: Ci si prepara un caffè. (One prepares a coffee.)
The Trap: Ci si preparano tre caffè. (One prepares three coffees.)
When you are out in the wild watching Italian videos or chatting with locals, don't worry about memorizing heavy grammar terms. Just remember our two simple visual tricks:
The si-si fix: When a verb is reflexive and impersonal, change that first si to ci to keep things flowing smoothly (ci si veste).
The order rule: The front word (ci) means "people in general," and the back word (si) stays glued to the verb.
In our next lesson, we are going to dive deeper into that final example. We will unpack exactly why si mangia suddenly transforms into si mangiano when plural objects enter the room. Until then, keep your ears open for the ci-si trick. Alla prossima!
Thanks for reading. Write to us at [email protected]. We love to hear from you!
In the last lesson, we talked about the generic verb sistemare. Now, let's talk about a verb that is more specific when it comes to repairing things, but which has some surprising additional meanings.
This true cognate is an easy word to remember since it is so close to the English verb "to repair."
Io non ci metto le mani.
I'm not going to touch it.
La mandi a riparare in fabbrica.
You can send it to the factory to be repaired.
Caption 7, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
Play Caption
Ripara le ruote e le gomme delle automobili,
He fixes wheels and tires of cars,
delle biciclette e delle motociclette.
bicycles and motorcycles.
Caption 48, Marika spiega - Il nome dei negozi
Play Caption
Riparo can be the first person singular of the verb riparare.
Venga, la riprenda.
Come, take it back.
Mi spiace, ma io questa non la riparo.
I'm sorry, but I'm not repairing this one.
Captions 4-5, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
Play Caption
But il riparo is also a noun. The following example gives us an idea of what it means.
Perché questo luogo è sempre stato in lotta
Because this place has always been fought over
con la sete dei conquistatori:
due to the thirst of conquerors:
Saraceni, Longobardi, Normanni.
Saracens, Longobards, Normans.
Ma è anche un luogo che ha offerto riparo,
But it's also a place that has offered shelter.
Captions 12-14, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Basilicata
Play Caption
So riparo means "shelter," but what's interesting is that we can also use the verb riparare to mean "to shelter," "to protect." We can also use it reflexively ripararsi to mean "to take refuge." In this case, it's intransitive. This meaning is closely related to that of a similar verb, parare (to protect, to shield, to fend off).
Uè, però tirate piano, altrimenti non riesco a parare niente.
Hey, kick lightly though, otherwise I can't block anything.
Caption 41, L'oro di Scampia - film
Play Caption
As a matter of fact, just as other Italian verbs with the prefix ri often have the same or similar meanings to the verb without the prefix (for example tornare, ritornare [to return]), sometimes, riparare and parare can mean the same thing. Parare is straightforwardly transitive.
Para, the third person singular of parare, is often used as part of the kind of compound noun that tells you what something does.
On a car, we have il parabrezza (the windshield). It fends off the wind.
We have parafanghi (fenders) on bicycles (fango = mud). It fends off the mud.
Un parasole (an awning, a parasol) helps to block the sunlight.
Riparare (when it means protection or shielding) is often used in the context of protecting things from the elements — things such as plants, animals, objects, people, houses, camping spots, etc. The preposition of choice is da (from).
L'ombrellone ti ripara dal sole. The beach umbrella protects you from the sun.
The following example has to do with an animated elephant who needed to do something in private. The past participle of riparare easily becomes an adjective!
C'era da trovare alla svelta un angolino riparato.
A sheltered corner needed to be found quickly.
Caption 13, Dixiland - La magia di Tribo
Play Caption
Riparare can also mean "to remedy," "to make up for," "to put right." In English, we can use "to repair" in this case, too, but there are other, easier Italian verbs for these nuances.
What we have tried to provide here are the words you will most commonly hear in everyday speech, and the ones you will want to know if you need to choose a spot for a picnic in Tuscany, get your shoes fixed, or find some shelter when out hiking and it starts raining.
It seems like there's no end to the uses of the little particle ci. We've done several lessons on it, and here we are again.
As we have seen in previous lessons, ci can mean various things and often has to do with reflexive and reciprocal verbs. It can also be an indirect pronoun that incorporates its preposition within it, and it can be attached to a verb or detached from it. Whew!
This time, we are talking about a pronominal verb — the kind of verb that has pronouns and particles connected to it that change the meaning of the verb. In this case, the particle is ci.
With the pronominal verb volerci, we're talking about the amount of something that's necessary to carry something out — time, money, courage, ingredients, attitudes, etc. In the following example, pazienza (patience) is the substance and molto (a lot) is how much you need of it. One way we can translate volerci is "to be necessary," "to be needed," "to be required." Of course, in everyday conversation, we often use "it takes" or "you need," in English, to express this idea.
Ci vuole molta pazienza
You need a lot of patience [a lot of patience is necessary].
It takes a lot of patience.
A lot of patience is required.
Caption 25, Professioni e mestieri - Belle Arti -Tecniche di decorazione
Play Caption
One very important feature of this particular pronominal verb is that it is always in the third person and can be either singular or plural. If we are talking about "patience" as in the previous example, it's singular. If we're talking about ore (hours), as in the following example, it's plural.
Quante ore ci vogliono per andare da Roma a Milano?
How many hours does it take to go from Rome to Milan?
How many hours are necessary to go from Rome to Milan?
Caption 17, Marika spiega - La particella NE
Play Caption
We can use it in the negative:
Non ci vuole l'articolo in singolare. In plurale ritorno a volere l'articolo.
You don't need the article in the singular. In the plural I go back to needing the article.
The article is not necessary in the singular.
Captions 20-21, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi
Play Caption
If in translating volerci, we use the passive voice, we can match it up as far as singular and plural go, and it might make better sense to us.
I pinoli, che sono davvero speciali
The pine nuts, which are really special,
e ci vogliono i pinoli italiani, ovviamente.
and Italian pine nuts are required, obvously.
Captions 50-51, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
Play Caption
Although volerci is always in the third person, we often translate it into English with the first or second person: "I/we need" or "you need."
Volerci is very popular in the expression:
Non ci voleva (it would have been better if that hadn't happened, I really didn't need that, that's all I needed).
That's what you say when, say, one bad thing happens after another.
Volerci can also be used as an expression of relief when something good happens. It's like saying, "That's just what the doctor ordered."
A Dixieland ci si diverte con poco e nulla
At Dixieland one has fun with next to nothing
e un numero di magica magia
and a number with magical magic
era proprio quel che ci voleva
was exactly what was needed
per chiudere in bellezza la festa.
to conclude the party nicely.
Captions 30-33, Dixieland - La magia di Tribo
Play Caption
Another fun way to use volerci is when you want to say, "How hard can it be?"
Che ci vuole (how hard can it be)?
Le mucche muggiscono. -Embè?
The cows are mooing. -So what?
Vanno munte.
They have to be milked.
Ahi. -Scusa, scusa, scusa, scusa.
Ow! -Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
-Sei sicura?
Are you sure?
-E sì, che ci vuole?
-Yeah, how hard could it be?
L'avrò visto mille volte su National Geographic.
I must have seen it a thousand times on National Geographic.
Captions 37-42, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
Play Caption
We hope you have a bit more insight into this supremely common and useful pronominal verb (verb+pronoun+preposition all in one).
If you found this lesson helpful, you might very well say, Ci voleva! (that's exactly what I needed!).
We must also mention that not every time you see volerci (conjugated or in the infinitive) will it mean what we have set out to describe in this lesson. Since, at the outset, we mentioned that ci has a way of working its way into so many kinds of verbs and phrases, context is key. Little by little you will start distinguishing, but it will take time and practice. Watching Yabla videos will give you tons of examples so you can start sorting out the meanings. And don't forget: When you have a doubt, write it in the comments. Someone will get back to you within a few days. If you have a question or doubt, chances are, someone else will have the same one!
In a coming lesson, we will discuss a similar but unique pronominal verb metterci. Get a head start by watching Daniela's video lesson about both of these pronominal verbs.
We use the term verbo pronominale (pronominal verb) to describe long verbs like prendersela, in which pronoun particles are added on to the original verb (prendere in this case). But let’s take a closer look at what verbi pronominali (pronominal verbs) are all about.
Pronominale (pronominal) means “relating to or playing the part of a pronoun.” In Italian, un verbo pronominale (a pronominal verb) is one that has a special meaning when used together with one or two particular pronominal particelle (particles).
Grammatically speaking, a particle is simply a small word of functional or relational use, such as an article, preposition, or conjunction.
So we have a normal verb, which, when used together with certain particles, has a distinct meaning that is often, but not necessarily, related to the meaning of the original verb.
Technically, reflexive verbs can also be considered pronominal verbs because in effect, the verb is used together with a particle like the si (oneself) in alzarsi (to get up). But these verbs are a special case and not usually called “pronominal,” since they are already called “reflexive.” Learn more about reflexive verbs here.
Verbs can combine with one or two particles. The particles used to make up a pronominal verb are:
la (it)
le (them)
ne (of it, of them, from it, from them)
ci (of it, about it)
Note that La and le are direct object pronouns while ci and ne are indirect object pronouns and therefore include a preposition and an object in the one particle.
As mentioned in a previous lesson, a pronominal verb in its infinitive form has all the particles attached to it, but when used in a sentence, the pieces may be partially or totally detached, and hence a bit more difficult to locate.
Pronominal verbs may be made up of one verb plus one pronoun particle:
smetterla (to quit doing something): smettere (to quit) + la (it)
darle (to give them, to give a spanking [idiom]): dare (to give) + le (them)
farne (to do something with something): fare (to do, to make) + ne (of it, of them)
capirci (to understand [about] something): capire (to understand) + ci (of it)
Sì, ma lo sai che è la prima volta
Yes, but you know it's the first time
che in un delitto non ci capisco niente neanche io? -Hm.
that in a murder I don't understand anything about it either? -Hm.
Captions 45-46, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
Play Caption
Pronominal verbs may also be made up of one verb plus two pronoun particles (which combine with each other).
The particle ci can be combined with a second pronoun particle, such as -la or -ne, but, as we have mentioned before, ci becomes ce when combined with another pronoun particle. Therefore we have, -cela, -cene; NOT -cila, -cine.
avercela [con qualcuno] (to have it in [for somebody], to feel resentful [towards somone]) avere + ci + la
farcela (to make it, to succeed) fare + ci + la
Ce la faccio, ce la faccio, ce la faccio.
"I can do it, I can do it, I can do it."
Caption 60, Dixieland - La magia di Tribo
Play Caption
Since the feminine is so often used in pronominal verbs, especially in idiomatic expressions, we can think of la (it) as standing for una cosa (something, that thing), la vita (life), la faccenda (the matter), or la situazione (the situation).
Exactly why a feminine pronoun is used in so many expressions with pronominal verbs is not cut-and-dried, and there is no quick answer. If you’re insatiably curious, check out this passage from an online book about the question (in Italian).
Pronominal verbs may be made up of one reflexive verb (which uses the particle si in the infinitive) plus a second pronoun particle such as those mentioned above: la, le, ne, or ci.
Prendersela (to get angry, to get offended, to get upset)
Fregarsene (to not care at all about something [colloquial])
Mettercisi (to put [time] into something)
In the following example, we have the pronominal verb accorgersene (to notice something, to realize something, to become aware of something). The basic (reflexive) verb is accorgersi (to notice), but the object pronoun particle ne is added as an indirect object pronoun.
Ma non è tutto lì.
But that's not all of it.
Forse la differenza ha radici più profonde.
Perhaps the difference has deeper roots.
E te ne accorgi solo quando accade.
And you only notice it when it happens.
Captions 32-34, L'oro di Scampia - film - Part 11
Play Caption
| |
|
Spanish
French
German
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
