Mettersi sotto vs. Mettere sotto

Hi, there! I am Luca and this amazing video is aimed at those people who are studying or learning the Italian language.

More specifically, this video lesson is geared toward those people who have already reached an intermediate or intermediate to advanced level in Italian and wish to continue improving their Italian level by learning new phrases, idioms, sayings and so on.

In particular, this video is a reply to a request I received some time ago from one of my subscribers, who essentially asked me to make a series of videos about the idiomatic phrases with the verb "METTERE".

In their comment, this person rightly noted that the verb "mettere" is extremely complicated for non-native speakers, because it has several different meanings.

This is absolutely true and I also think that the verb "mettere" is one of the most difficult verbs for foreigners who study Italian. Because the verb "mettere", just like other verbs, can be used as a "wildcard verb". That is, together with certain words changing its meaning. As a consequence, the verb "mettere" has quite a few meanings.

To make things even worse, the verb "mettere" is used in idiomatic phrases which sound similar, but in fact have completely different meanings.

And in this video lesson I'd like to talk about two such idioms with the verb "mettere". These two phrases look similar, but in fact have completely different meanings.

The idiomatic phrases I'd like to explain are: on the one hand "mettere sotto", on the other hand "mettersi sotto". Basically, on the one hand we have "mettere sotto", and on the other the reflexive version "mettersi sotto".

You might assume: these two idioms probably have a related meaning. In reality, they don't. They have completely different meanings.

Needless to say, "mettersi sotto" is a reflexive verb, so its forms are: io mi metto sotto, tu ti metti sotto, lui si mette sotto, noi ci mettiamo sotto, voi vi mettete sotto, loro si mettono sotto.

Let me say right away that this is one of those phrases which it's better not to break up, because, while it has a meaning which can be explained, we can't precisely pinpoint what "mettersi" means and what "sotto" means in this phrase.

We can explain the general meaning, we can paraphrase the meaning of the idiom "mettersi sotto". However, we can't explain why we use the word "mettersi" and why we use the word "sotto".

Alright! "Mettersi sotto" essentially means working hard, making an effort. Putting effort into something.

And you will typically find this phrase in a word of encouragement, in a call to work hard. For example, someone may tell you: "Mi raccomando, mettiti sotto!".

What does it mean? It means: please, work hard, put effort into this thing! That is, in other words: don't just do it for the sake of doing it, work hard, put your best foot forward!

So this is the most common form: "Mettiti sotto!" (exclamation point).

I don't know if you know the idiom "Dacci dentro!" (exclamation point). Well, the phrases "mettiti sotto" and "dacci dentro" are equivalent, they mean: please, work hard, do your best! Put effort into this thing you are about to start, don't just do it for the sake of doing it, don't do it carelessly, but instead work hard, focus, and try your best to do it!

So we can say: "Mettiti sotto"! Or: "Dacci dentro"! And these two phrases are 100% equivalent.

Like I said earlier, these phrases should be understood as a whole. We shouldn't try to break them up, analyze them, or try to understand why people say "Dacci dentro". ... inside what? That is, we should take these phrases the way they are, because they are idiomatic phrases. They should be learned as a whole. Full stop.

So, to give you a real-world example with the phrase "Mettiti sotto!"... Let's pretend that you have to take an exam. And let's pretend that you tell one of your friend (male or female) that the next week you are going to take that exam. Let's pretend that it's the level C1 Italian exam.

You say to your friend: "Eh, settimana prossima ho l'esame". Your friend could reply to you: "Mi raccomando, mettiti sotto!".

What does it mean? Please work hard! Please do your best! Don't just study for the sake of studying, but when you study, put effort into it!

Well, the saying "Mettersi sotto" places emphasis on the fact the someone works hard, struggles, tries their best to do something.

The phrase "mettiti sotto" is without a doubt the most common. If you want, you can use the phrase "mettersi sotto" in a slightly different way. For example, you could say: "Da domani ho deciso di mettermi sotto con lo studio". Well, as you can see, in this case you can add "con lo studio".

Another example could be: "Dalla settimana prossima mi metterò sotto". What does it mean? From next week I will start to work hard. I will start to put effort into it.

Another example could be: "Quando mi sono messo sotto, ho iniziato a prendere dei bei voti".

Or: "Per superare l'esame devi metterti sotto". What does it mean? If you want to pass the exam, you need to work really hard. Or in any case to put effort into it.

In this case too we can use the phrase "darci dentro" in place of "mettersi sotto". For example, we could say: "Per superare l'esame, devi darci dentro".

I would say that "darci dentro" is slightly more old-fashion. Nowadays people tend to say "mettersi sotto". But the meaning is pretty much the same.

Alright! Strictly speaking, the phrase is "mettere sotto qualcuno". So we can't just say "mettere sotto". We need to complete the sentence and specify who gets "messo sotto".

This idiomatic phrase is quite easy to explain and is kind of sad. Because "mettere sotto" is a different version, I'd say a colloquial version, of "investire". Specifically, when a car, a vehicle, runs over a pedestrian, that is, someone.

I don't know if you know the verb "investire". Anyway, the verb "investire" is used when a car, hits someone while going. This is the meaning of "investire".

If the car hits the pedestrian while they are walking... Let's pretend that an individual is crossing the street, a car comes, the car slows down, but it doesn't manage to stop in time. The car hits the pedestrian. We say that the car "ha investito" this individual. Similarly, we say that "la persona è stata investita dalla macchina".

Keep in mind that the verb "investire" is used only in reference to a car, truck, motorcycle, vehicle, tank, or any kind of vehicle, and a pedestrian. So in case there's a vehicle hitting a pedestrian.

We don't use it in case there's a vehicle hitting another vehicle. In this case we say "tamponare". For example, a car comes by too fast, it doesn't manage to stop in time and hits from behind the car in front of it, which was not moving, right? In this case we say "l'ha tamponata". In this case we use the verb "tamponare" and not "investire".

Why? Because the car didn't hit a pedestrian. In case there were a pedestrian, we would have said that the car "ha investito una persona". So that's the difference between "investire" and "tamponare". So please always keep this distinction in mind. If a pedestrian is hit - "investire", if another car is hit - "tamponare".

Like I said earlier, "mettere sotto" is a colloquial version of "investire". This phrase is quite brutal. In general, I would advise you against using it. Unless, of course, you are talking with your friends.

In general, though, I would encourage you to always say "investire". Because "mettere sotto" is really brutal, because the imagery is very clear: that is, the pedestrian is hit and ends up under the car.

Let's do some real-life examples! Let's consider the sentence: "L'hanno messa sotto". What does it mean? It means: they ran over her. What does it mean? This individual was crossing on the zebra crossing, a car came and ran over them. That is, "l'ha messa sotto".

It's clear that, well, like I said, this is a colloquial phrase. In formal writing please don't say "mettere sotto", always say "investire".

Another example could be: "L'hanno messo sotto mentre attraversava col rosso". What does it mean? It means that this person was crossing with the red light on and someone ran over them.

Well, something that I didn't say and it's better to specify is this. This is the idiomatic, figurative use of "mettere sotto".

Needless to say, "mettere sotto" can also be used in the literal sense. How? For example: "Metti la sedia sotto il tavolo". Or "sotto al tavolo". Some people say "sotto il tavolo", other people say "sotto al tavolo".

Or, if someone asks you "Dove lo metto questo libro?", you can reply "Mettilo sotto agli altri". Or "Mettilo sotto gli altri". Like I said, some people say "sotto agli altri", other people say "sotto gli altri".

This is the literal use of "mettere qualcosa sotto a qualcos'altro". Whereas what we reviewed earlier was the idiomatic use of "mettere sotto qualcuno".

Well, that's it! I hope that the difference between "mettere sotto qualcuno" and "mettersi sotto" is clear.

In the end screen I'm going to add some cards to other idioms with the verb "mettere". I've published several videos about other idioms where we have the verb "mettere" with a different meaning. Because there are quite a few idiomatic phrases with the verb "mettere". I've published a number of videos about some of these idioms. I may add them in the end screen.

That being said... Till next time!

And may the Force of Advanced Italian always be with you!