In Italian, a pronominal verb is basically a verb mixed with pronouns.
Pronominal verbs look similar to verbs you already know, making it a little bit easier to take a guess at their meaning.
We’re all familiar with the Italian verb ‘andare,’ meaning ‘to go’.
The pronominal verb that looks similar to andare is andarsene.
You can guess by how it looks that andarsene probably has something to do with going somewhere.
Andarsene means ‘to go away somewhere’.
Pronominal verbs often end in –sene.
The ‘se’ is actually the pronoun ‘si,’ but it changes to ‘se’ because it is preceding another pronoun.
The pronoun it is preceding in this case is ‘ne,’ which is called a pronominal particle. The ‘ne’ often refers to something or somewhere. In the case of andarsene, it relates to somewhere.
Here are some other pronominal verbs that end in –sene:
– pentirsene – to regret something
– fregarsene – to not care (only used colloquially) about something
– guardarsene – to beware, to avoid something
Any time any of the pronouns mi, ti, si, ci or vi come before another pronoun, like the ‘ne’ of andarsene, they change to me, te, se, ce or ve.
This is just one of those rules you have to get used to with Italian.
Besides –sene, pronominal verbs can have other endings too.
They can end in –sela, -sele, -cisi and –ci, just to name a few.
The common thread is that they are all combinations of verbs and pronouns.
Here are a few other pronominal verbs before we get into how to conjugating them.
– volerci – to take (as in time, effort, etc.)
– cavarsela – to manage, to get by
– avercela – be angry or upset by someone
– trovarcisi – to find oneself
– dormirsela – to sleep soundly
So… how on earth do you conjugate these things?
Where do all the pieces go?
Let’s use andarsene as an example.
Do you remember how to conjugate andare?
If not, here’s a quick refresher course:
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Io vado |
Noi andiamo |
|
Tu vai |
Voi andate |
|
Lui/Lei va |
Loro vanno |
If you’ve got that down, you’re halfway there to conjugating andarsene.
To complete the conjugation, you’ll also need to know the six reflexive pronouns (the kind you use with reflexive verbs.)
These are:
|
Mi |
|
Ti |
|
Si |
|
Ci |
|
Vi |
|
Si |
However, remember that since these pronouns are going in front of another pronoun, in this case ‘ne,’ they end with e’s instead of i’s.
That would make them:
|
Me |
|
Te |
|
Se |
|
Ce |
|
Ve |
|
Se |
The formula for conjugating a pronominal verb is as follows:
Reflexive verb pronoun + Pronominal particle + Conjugated verb = Conjugated Pronominal Verb
Let’s see what that actually looks like in the case of andarsene.
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Me ne vado |
Ce ne andiamo |
|
Te ne vai |
Ve ne andate |
|
Se ne va |
Se ne vanno |
The reflexive verb goes first, then the pronominal particle, then the conjugated form of ‘andare.’
Esempi:
— È gia l’una?! Allora me ne vado. – It’s already 1?! Well I’m leaving then.
— Te ne vai? Perché? – You’re leaving? Why?
Let’s see two more examples with endings other than –sene. First, here’s avercela, which means to be angry.
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Ce l’ho |
Ce l’abbiamo |
|
Ce l’hai |
Ce l’avete |
|
Ce l’ha |
Ce l’hanno |
Esempi:
— Ce l’ho con lei. – I am angry with her.
— Ce l’ha con me, perché ho mangiato la sua torta. – She’s mad at me because I ate her cake.
This one’s a little different because instead of a reflexive verb pronoun and pronominal particle, there are two pronouns, ‘ce’ and ‘la.’
However, the format is the same.
The conjugated verb goes last and is preceded by the two pronouns. ‘La’ becomes ‘l’’ because it is preceding verb conjugations that begin with a/h.
This is just a way to make the speech more fluid and beautiful.
With any verb that ends in –cela, the ce and la never change. All you have to remember is how to conjugate the verb that precedes them.
The final example is volerci, meaning to take (as in time or effort.)
This one’s even easier because it’s only conjugated in two ways:
|
Ci vuole |
Ci vogliono |
Ci vuole is used when you are referencing something singular; ci vogliono is used when you are referencing something plural.
This is commonly used in reference to how long it takes to get somewhere.
– Ci vuole un’ora per arrivare a Roma. – It takes an hour to arrive in Rome.
– Ci vogliono tre ore per andare a Firenze. – It takes three hours to go to Florence.
With any pronominal verb, the pronouns go first and the conjugated verb goes last.
Finally, here are a few more examples of Italian pronominal verbs at work.
– Se la dormiva alla grande. – He (or she) was sleeping soundly.
– Riuscirà a cavarsela nel migliore dei modi. – He (or she) will be able to manage it in the best possible way.
– Non capisco come mai Marta continua ad avercela con me. – I don’t understand why Marta is still angry with me.
– Potrebbe pentirsene amaramente. – He (or she) could regret it bitterly.
Have any questions? Leave them in the comments section below.
Very nicely explained and very helpful – thank you. Just a couple of questions: if you say or write ‘Ce l’ho con me’ that can be either ‘he’ or ‘she’ – is that correct? And with regard to ‘volerci’ presumably you can conjugate it in other tenses, for example ‘Ci vorrebbero tre ore…’? Is that so? Thanks again
Ciao Simon! I’ll let Hannah know about your kind words. :] To answer your questions, if you want to say “he” or “she”, you would need to say “Ce l’ha con me” as the verb “avere” is the one to change to show who the subject is. And yep, volerci can be conjugated into other tenses!
I recently learned that when you say that you have something you say c’è l’ho. Per esempio, Hai il libro? Si, c’è l’ho. Perché si usa c’è invece di solamente l’ho?
Ciao Roberta,
That is a complex question and many Italians wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly haha. Basically, it is a way of emphasizing the object, because you’re essentially repeating the object twice. That said, you can use EITHER one to express the same thing. In spoken Italian, you will hear “c’e” used a lot more in this way, vs. written Italian. But rest assured, it is correct if you just use the pronoun as well. Hope that helps!
Ciao Rachel,
I agree with you on not being able to explain why we use one way rather than the other one, you just get used to that construction by talking to native people. However, c’è l’ho is grammatically wrong and might get confusion. The correct form is ce l’ho, where ce is a pronominal particle and not a verb. Hope that helps too!
Ciao Paolo,
I think this was a typo, and you are correct of course. I didn’t see this typo in the article, but thanks for pointing out the difference.
pay attention, it’s “ce” not “c’è”. We say “ce l’ho” to emphasize the object. In Italy we call the “ce” a “rafforzativo”, an intensifier.
Hope that helps.
“ce l’ho”, not “c’è”. “Ce” is an intensifier, in Italian we say “rafforzativo”.
Can all verbs be transformed into pronominal verbs? Andare -> andarsene; fare -> farcela. Also, do you know of any dictionaries (online or physical books) that would include pronominal verbs?
Thanks.
Hey Sherry! Great question. No, not all verbs can be transformed into pronominal verbs. They are actually just verbs on their own, so try to think of them as that. I don’t know of any dictionaries personally, but I can usually find the conjugations just by searching for them. Here’s one link: http://italian.about.com/od/verbs/a/aa043008a.htm
Wow, allora:
c’è l’ho = I have it
ce l’ho = I’m angry(?)
and/or
non c’è l’ho = I don’t have it
non ce l’ho = I’m not angry
Thank you for this post, I’ve been studying Italian on and off for years and have never come across an explanation of pronominal verbs.
No!
Hi, I’m a native of Italian.
Ce l’ho (NOT c’è l’ho!!!): I have it
Non ce l’ho: I don’t have it
In Italian, “ce” is a pronominal particle. “C’è” instead is a verb (it means “there is”)
Hope that helps.
Cheers
So to clarify – ce l’ho means I have it or I’m angry?
If you say just “ce l’ho,” it means “I have it,” but if you say “ce l’ho CON qualcuno,” it means you’re angry.
Come in inglese “I’ve had it with him”
Dear Cher, Hannah, Germano
I’d like to add my thanks to those of the above for clarifying pronominal verbs. It is the best, i.e. most succinct explanation I’ve come across. In my language class, whenever the subject is broached you see bewildered faces, including mine!
Prego from all of us! 🙂
Hi! Thanks so much, this was really useful. Just wanted to ask about the very last example.
– Potrebbe pentirsene amaramente. – He (or she) should hardly regret it.
Does this not mean “S/he could regret it bitterly” ?
Yes you are right! We updated the page, thank you!
I see that the base of many of these verbs are already verbs in themselves. Such as avercela, volerci, guardarsene etc. How do people not confuse them for their very similar sounding avere, volere, guardare, and so on? When the verb avercela is conjugated like avere with its ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, etc, how can people (especially when talking) know what they are talking about? For me, ce l’ho means I have something, not that I am angry!
Hello, The difference lies in the ci and the constructions. Avercela is not the same as avere – and you have to move away from thinking about what it means “to you.” Your translation in your head needs to be what it means “to them” which is to be angry 🙂
Thanks for this wonderful explanation. So the verb mettersela is a reflexive verbo pronomo? Mettersi is a reflexive form (to put on oneself) and la is the direct object pronoun for what one puts on oneself??
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Hi, Yes, it’s a pronominal verb! If you read the article it explains it all very well 🙂 Happy studying!
Thanks for this wonderful website. I listened to your podcast about watching Baby on netflix and afterwards using Flash Cards. As an alternative you can download the subtitles and import them into an app called, LingQ that creates flash-cards, and saves the words you know and do not know. In order to download the subtitles on netflix you should use your desktop computer. 1. Open the show that you desire to watch and turn on Italian Audio with Italian subtitles. 2. Control + Shift + I (at the same time). 3. Turn off the subtitles and refresh the page. 4. Turn on the subtitles and refresh the page. 6. In the tab on the right hand corner called, “filter” type in ?o= 5. Scroll up and search for a field that starts with ?o= and select it until it is highlight blue. 6. Right click and open in new tab. (It should download the file, and you can rename it to [X Show Subtitles]). 7. Go to gotranscript.com/subtitle-converter 8. Upload the file. 9. Select the srt. format and download it.
Now the file is converted to a document. Now, the document will have a lot of time markers like 0:00-1:14 blah blah blah 1:14-3:53 blah blah blah. On the Word Document. Select “Find” (Control F). Then select “Special” and select highlight all “numbers” Then select the Replace tab, and select replace all “replace it with a blank entry field.” and all the numbers should be deleted. Then in the Find tab enter ::, and highlight all, and do the same thing. Then after all the numbers and characters have been deleted you can import the file into the desktop version of LingQ. It takes a while to learn the process at first, but once you have it down it is magical and makes watching Netflix much easier. There are also Chrome extensions as well for Netflix that connects the subtitles to dictionaries, but I have found downloading the entire transcript more beneficial.
Ciao I find these lessons great, well explained and helpful. I think I may be a bit too much of a beginner for this subject but can you please explain why in ‘ce l’ho con lei and ce l’ha con me’ CE is used which I thought was ‘to us’. Can you give an example when it would start ME or TE or am I completely missing the point?
Many thanks and thank you for some very good lessons – may check out the beginners next!
Hi Alison, In this case, it’s used this way as a fixed expression for being mad at someone. It can’t be translated out word for word because it doesn’t make sense in English. Avercela is to be mad at, and the use of ce in this case is tied to that. 🙂 If you re-read the article it might make more sense.
Hope that helps!