Page 59 - verbo italiano

Verb Usage Review / 49

Si è pentito di aver detto tante bugie. He repented of having told so many lies.
Si vede che si vergogna. One can see he is ashamed.
There is also a group of transitive verbs that can be used reflexively and that
slightly changes the meaning of the verb between the reflexive form and the transi-
tive counterpart. Therefore the reflexive form and the transitive counterpart trans-
late into English with different verbs, as in some of the following examples:
Intransitive Reflexive Transitive
alzarsi (to get up) alzare (to raise)
annoiarsi (to get bored) annoiare (to bore)
gonfiarsi (to swell up) gonfiare (to inflate)
irritarsi (to get irritated) irritare (to irritate)
offendersi (to take offense) offendere (to offend)
spaventarsi (to get frightened) spaventare (to frighten)
stupirsi (to be astonished) stupire (to astonish)
decidersi (to make up one’s mind) decidere (to decide)
svegliarsi (to wake up) svegliare (to awaken)

The reflexive form in Italian is used to express other meanings beside the literal
one. Many transitive verbs can be used reflexively or not, depending on whether
the speaker wishes to stress his own involvement.
Ho comprato un portatile. I bought a laptop.
Mi sono comprata un portatile! I bought myself a laptop!

Impersonal Verbs

Impersonal verbs do not have a determinate subject and they are only conjugated
in indefinite moods (infinitive, gerund, participle) and in the third-person singular,
as for example the verb accadere (“to happen”). In English, the subject of imper-
sonal verbs is always expressed and it is “it” (“it rains”). In Italian, the subject is
not expressed.
Impersonal verbs can be grouped as follows:

• Verbs only used in impersonal form, as bisognare (“to be necessary”) and
occorrere (“to be necessary”).
• Verbs for expressing weather conditions: piovere (to rain), grandinare (to
hail), nevicare (to snow). In compound tenses, this group of verbs can use
either essere or avere (ha piovuto, è piovuto [it rained]).
• The verb fare in expressions such as fa freddo, fa caldo (it is hot, it is
cold).
• Verbs that have a “personal” conjugation but are often used in the
impersonal form. The most common are: bastare (“to be enough”),
convenire (“to be better”), parere (“to seem”), sembrare (“to seem”), succedere
(“to happen”), essere necessario (“to be necessary”), essere opportuno (“to
be convenient”), essere certo (“to be sure”), essere evidente (“to be evident”),
essere chiaro (to be clear).