Italian pronominal verbs: CAVARSELA

Hi, everybody, I am Luca and this video is aimed at those wonderful people who are learning Italian as a foreign language.

If you are one of them, please keep watching, because in this lesson we are going to learn a pronominal verb that you may not know. And we will take this chance to review pronominal verbs.

I have noticed that pronominal verbs are very difficult for non native speakers who are studying the Italian language, so it is worth reviewing them.

The pronominal verb I wanted to discuss in this video is "CAVARSELA". Please note: it's neither "CAVARE" or "CAVARSI" - it's "CAVARSELA". In Italian we also have the verbs "cavare" and "cavarsi", but in this lesson I'm gonna talk about the verb "cavarsela".

Alright, let's start from its forms, because I've noticed that almost all non-native speakers make mistakes with the forms of this type of verbs.

Alright. The present indicative is:

io me la cavo,

tu te la cavi,

lui o lei se la cava,

noi ce la caviamo,

voi ve la cavate,

loro se la cavano".

It is also worth reviewing the passato prossimo tense:

io me la sono cavata,

tu te la sei cavata,

lui oppure lei se l'è cavata,

noi ce la siamo cavata,

voi ve la siete cavata,

loro se la sono cavata".

Something important, that you should keep in mind, is that the passato prossimo tense of these verbs is formed with the past - I mean, feminine singular past participle. It should always be "cavata".

So, even if I am a man, I should say "io me la sono cavata". The same applies to the plural forms: if we are a group of male subjects, we should say: "noi ce la siamo cavata". So you should always use the feminine singular past participle.

The other thing you should keep in mind, as for the passato prossimo tense, is this: you should use the auxiliary verb "essere". You should say "me la sono cavata" - not "me l'ho cavata".

The future tense doesn't cause too many problems. Its forms are:

me la caverò,

te la caverai,

se la caverà,

ce la caveremo,

ve la caverete,

se la caveranno.

That is all - as for verb forms. But let's move to meaning and let's try to understand how this verb is used.

Alright, I would say that the verb "cavarsela" can be used in a strict sense and in a wide sense, if you will. That is, it has a more specific meaning and a more general meaning.

Specifically, it means getting out of a bad situation. This could be a dangerous situation, or an unpleasant situation. So "cavarsela" precisely means moving in such a way that allows us to pull ourselves out of such situation. That is, to get out of this dangerous, unpleasant, or uncomfortable situation.

Therefore, someone who "se l'è cavata" is someone who was in a bad situation and managed to pull themselves out of such situation. That is, now they are no more in such bad situation.

The most dramatic example could be: "se l'è cavata per miracolo". What does it mean? It means that this individual really risked dying, they were in an extremly bad situation. But then by some miracle, that is, by some supernatural intervention, so to speak, managed to survive. Or in any case let's say that they were about to die, but didn't die.

In this sense "se l'è cavata per miracolo" means that this person managed to survive thanks to a miracle. Or in any case they didn't die by a narrow margin. I don't know if you know the phrase "per un pelo". If I say that an individual "si è salvato/a per un pelo", I mean that this person survived by a very narrow margin.

But, in any case, I'd say that this is the most dramatic scenario of "cavarsela". "Cavarsela" can also be used to refer to situations which are just unpleasant.

If someone says "Ce la siamo cavata", they mean: we managed to get out of this situation, we were able to get out of a situation which may have been not dangerous, but just unpleasant. So in this sense the verb "cavarsela" is close in meaning to the idea of overcoming some difficulties.

For example, if I say: "Marco se la cava sempre", I mean that Marco always manages to overcome every obstacle. That is, even when in difficult situations, Marco manages to get by. He manages to overcome all obstacles and is able to get out of situations that are bad or uncomfortable.

Like I said earlier, the verb "cavarsela" can also be used in a wide sense, to mean succeeding. So, if I say that someone "se la cava", it means that they are successful, that is, they should do something and manage to do it successfully.

So in this case it doesn't mean getting out of a bad situation, it means succeeding in something. That is, doing something successfully.

So if a colleague of mine asks me: "Allora, com'è andato il progetto?". I could answer him: "Bene, bene, ce la siamo cavata!". What does it mean? We managed to do what we should do. Or, in other words, we succeeded.

I don't know if you know the pronoun verb "FARCELA". Well, in this sense "cavarsela" is similar to "farcela". So if I say: "Ce la siamo cavata" I mean "Ce l'abbiamo fatta". In other words: we managed to do what we should do. Or in any case we succeeded.

Another example could be: "Me la sono cavata senza troppi problemi".

Or: "Me la sono cavata senza spendere troppo". What does it mean? I managed to buy what I wanted to buy and I didn't even spend much.

I don't know if you know the Italian idiomatic phrase "a buon mercato". Well, I could say: "Me la sono cavata a buon mercato". What does it mean? I managed to buy what I wanted to buy spending little money.

In this case "cavarsela" refers to the fact that I was able to overcome some obstacles, the negotiations with the individual selling these items, quite possibly, thanks to my cunning and intelligence. So I say "me la sono cavata".

Another quite common usage is this: "Luigi se la cava con l'inglese". What does it mean? Luigi speaks English relatively well.

Or: "Luigi coi computer se la cava". What does it mean? Luigi is good with computers.

I would say that, depending on the situation, on the scenario, and on the person speaking, the verb "cavarsela" could mean that a given person is very skilled, or that, one could say, yes, they are kind of good with computers, but they are not exactly a computer genius.

Similarly, if someone says "se la cava con l'inglese", they could mean that this person is really fluent, that they speak English well, or they could mean, by contrast, that this person speaks English so-so.

"Cavarsela" is clearly related to the verb "cavare". I would say that the verb "cavare" in today's standard Italian is not very common, but you can find it in some idiomatic expressions.

For example, not long ago I made a video about the idiom "CAVARE UN RAGNO DAL BUCO", or better "non cavare un ragno dal buco", or "non riuscire a cavare un ragno dal buco". In the top corner I'll add a card to it. If you want, check it out!