The impersonal form of reflexive verbs

In this video lesson I'm gonna talk about the impersonal form of reflexive verbs.

This video is aimed at those who are learning Italian as a foreign language. If you want to learn Italian well, you've come to the right place!

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Hi, everybody! I am Luca and in this amazing video I wanted to talk about the impersonal form of reflexive verbs.

This video is a reply to a request I received some time ago from one of my subscribers, who specifically asked me to thoroughly explain the combination "CI" + "SI" + verb, such as in: "Ci si veste", "Ci si alza", "Ci si sposa" etc.

This person rightly noted that such pronoun combination appears rather convoluted. Because there's "ci", next "si" and next a verb. What's strange is that there are two pronominal particles, one next to the other.

Alright. Thing is, this is the impersonal form of reflexive verbs.

First of all, let's try to understand what "impersonal form" means.

"Impersonal" essential means that there's is no indication about the subject performing a given action.

In Italian, there are some verbs that are always impersonal, such as "piovere" or "nevicare". Well, these verbs have no subject, and we indeed just say "Piove" or "Nevica".

Next, there are verbs that can also have an impersonal voice. This is typically formed using the pronominal particle "SI". You take the verb third-person -singular and add "SI" to it.

You are surely familiar with phrases such as "Si dice che...", or "Si pensa che...", or "Si ritiene che...", and so on.

What's peculiar about a phrase such as "Si dice che"? Its peculiarity is that no subject is specified. That is, no indication is given about who says that.

For example, if I say "Si dice che dimagrire è difficile". (Or alternatively, using Italian subjunctive: "Si dice che dimagrire sia difficile"). We have a verb, someone says that, but there is no indication about who says that. Generally speaking, this thing is being said. In this sense this is the impersonal form of the verb "dire".

Basically, in Italian the impersonal voice is formed from the third-person-singular preceeded by the pronominal particle "si".

So if I say "Lui dice che..." - that's one thing. If I say "Lei dice che..." - that's another thing. But if I say "Si dice che...", I don't express a subject. Meaning that I don't specify who says that. Who said that.

So if I say "Dice che dimagrire è difficile", - this is a personal voice. Specifically, "dice che" can mean "lui dice che" or "lei dice che", but in any case a subject is specified.

Instead, if I say "Si dice che dimagrire è difficile", or "Si dice che dimagrire sia difficile", no subject is specified; therefore, this is an impersonal form. It means that someone in general said that, but no indication is given about who.

The issue is a bit more complex in the case of reflexive verbs.

For example, let's consider the verb "alzarsi". In this case, we have the part "alzare" plus the pronominal particle "si". Forms will be: io mi alzo, tu ti alzi, lui si alza, lei si alza, noi ci alziamo, voi vi alzate, loro si alzano.

So, if I say "si alza", that is a personal form: it's the third-person-singular form: "lui si alza" or "lei si alza".

Do you remember that I told you that the impersonal voice is formed by adding "si" to the third-person-singular?

Well, in this case we already have "si". So in theory it should be "si si alza", but it's clear that such form would sound awkward. Therefore, people say "Ci si alza". What does "Ci si alza" mean? It means: people in general wake up. No subject specified.

An example sentence could be: "In italia di solito ci si alza intorno alle 7 del mattino". What does it mean? In Italy most people, that is, generally speaking, no subject is specified, that is, people in general, usually wake up at 7 AM.

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By contrast, if I take the verb "svegliarsi" in place of the verb "alzarsi", I'll have: "In Italia di solito ci si sveglia alle sette del mattino".

But let's do an example with the verb "vestirsi".

In this case, the third-person -singular is "si veste". If I say "si veste", I mean "lui si veste" or "lei si veste". Meaning they put some clothes on. If I want to form the impersonal voice, I'll need to add "ci". Therefore: "Ci si veste".

What's the difference between "si veste" and "ci si veste"?

The first form, "si veste", is a personal form, that is, he or she, a subject is specified. By contrast, "ci si veste" is impersonal. It means: people in general dress. So the sentence "In italia ci si veste bene" means: people in Italy dress well.

But let's take for example the verb "rilassarsi".

Again, this is a reflexive verb. The third-person-singular would be "si rilassa". If I say "si rilassa", I specify a subject: he or she relaxes. If I want the impersonal form, I should say: "Ci si rilassa".

What does "ci si rilassa" mean? It means: people in general relax. An example could be: "Al parco ci si rilassa". What does it mean? People relax in the park.

Or... Or.... S***t... Or: "Passeggiando ci si rilassa". What does this sentence mean? It means that by walking, by going for a walk, people relax. People in general, we don't specify a subject. We say that people in general relax.

We could do another example with the verb "sposarsi".

Alright. I have the form "Si sposa", which is a personal voice, he or she gets married. And I also have the impersonal voice "ci si sposa". What does it mean? It means: People get married.

An example could be: "In Italia in media ci si sposa intorno ai 35 anni". What does this sentence mean? This sentence means: In Italy, people on average get married at around 35 years of age.

But let's do an example with the verb "divertirsi".

Alright, again. Third-person -singular: "si diverte". He or she is having fun. The impersonal form would be "ci si diverte".

An example could be: "In questo posto ci si diverte tantissimo". What does it mean? In this place people have a lot of fun.

But let's do an example with the verb "arrabbiarsi".

Alright, "si arrabbia" personal form > "ci si arrabbia". For example: "Quando si è stanchi, ci si arrabbia più facilmente".

See this sentence? In the first part we have just "si" because the verb is "essere". In the second part we have "ci si" because this is a reflexive verb, which already includes the pronominal particle "si", so we should say "ci si". "Quando si è stanchi, ci si arrabbia più facilmente".

So the impersonal form of "essere" is "si è", while the impersonal form of "arrabbiarsi" is "ci si arrabbia".

Something that I would like to stress is this: with impersonal forms you should use a plural masculine adjective.

This is a very common mistake. I see that many non-native speakers use a singular masculine adjective. In actual fact, with impersonal forms you should use the plural masculine. Hence, I said "Quando si è stanchi".

I'll give you another example with the verb "sentirsi".

Again, this is a reflexive verb. So we have a personal form with "si". So "lui si sente", "lei si sente". The impersonal form will be "ci si sente".

An example sentence could be: "Quando si dorme male, il giorno dopo ci si sente stanchi".

Why do we have "si dorme" and "ci si sente". Where does this difference come from? Because in the first case the verb is "dormire", in the second is "sentirsi".

Again, with impersonal forms we use a plural adjective. Therefore "stanchi" - not "stanco".

Well, I hope everything is clear!

That being said, have a nice day!

May the force of advanced Italian be with you!