Italian pronominal verbs

In this video I'll talk about pronominal verbs and, more specifically, I'll explain two Italian phrasal expressions including a verb with a pronominal particle.

The two expressions I'm gonna discuss are: "girarci intorno" and "prenderla alla larga".

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Like I said, in this lesson I'm going to discuss the phrase "girarci intorno" and the phrase "prenderla alla larga".

These two expressions are particularly interesting, because they have a similar meaning but they are formed using two pronominal verbs which are quite different.

On the one hand, we have "girarci intorno", which is part of the group of pronominal verbs ending in -ci, on the other hand we have "prenderla alla larga", which is part of the group of pronoun verbs ending in -la.

As you probably know, like I said multiple times in my videos, there are various types of pronominal verbs. Pronominal verbs don't form a homogeneous category, they conversely include quite different verbs.

Based on the specific type of pronoun particles, we can distinguish at least 9 groups of pronominal verbs. Right now I'm not gonna list each and every pronominal verb category, because otherwise this video would become too long.

In any case, one of these 9 categories includes the verbs with the infinitive mood followed by -CI, such as "girarci", whereas another category includes the verbs with the infinitive mood followed by -LA, such as "prenderla".

Alright. In the first part of this video I'm gonna give you practical examples with the phrases "girarci intorno" and "prenderla alla larga".

In the second part I'm gonna focus on verb forms, and compare different verb tenses. I have indeed noticed that those who learned Italian as a foreign language often find it difficult to conjugate pronominal verbs.

So buckle up your seatbelt and prepare to fly to the realm of advanced Italian!

Let's do three examples with the expression "girarci intorno".

The first example could be: I haven't yet understood what you're trying to tell me. Stop beating around the bush! Tell me what's the problem!

Congratulations! Great acting performance!

Another example could be: You have been beating around the bush for 10 minutes, and I still don't get what's the point.

Another example could be: I like straightforward people who tell you right away how it is. I don't like people who beat about the bush.

Again, congratulations to me for my acting performance!

Well, from these examples you have probably understood what "girarci intorno" means. "Girarci intorno" means avoiding talking about the main point of a given issue, avoiding talking about the main point of a given topic. This as for the figurative meaning. "Girarci intorno" means avoid talking about what is really important in a given matter.

This idiom could also mean avoiding giving a definite answer to a direct question. Someone may ask you something expecting a definite answer, and you may answer without giving them the answer right away. Well, if you start answering like this, that person could tell you: "Listen. Speak straight. Don't beat around the bush!".

Literally, the idiom "girarci intorno" essentially means bypassing. That is, if we need to go from point (a) to point (b), but here there is an obstacle, we will need to bypass it. That is, we wil need to go round the obstacle.

So we can't proceed in a straight line, like so, right?! If here there's an obstacle, we need... we get here, we bypass the obstacle, we go round the obstacle.

In any case, let's go to the other idiom: "prenderla alla larga"!

I'll give you 3 examples.

The first example could be: Some videos about pronominal verbs make an excessively long detour and start talking about Adam and Eve.

The second example could be: Try not to be too brutal. Perhaps it's better if you are not too direct and tell it in a roundabout way.

The third example could be: It's better if don't tell her that right away, try to fetch a compass. First tell her what I told you and only then make the proposal.

As you can see, the meaning of "prenderla alla larga" is similar to that of "girarci intorno". It essentially means avoiding explaining straight away the main point of an issue, and gradually approaching the main point of the matter, that is, adding a prologue, starting with an introduction, and then little by little approaching the main point of the matter.

The origin of this phrase is this: "prenderla alla larga" essentially means going from point (a) to point (b) not by a direct route, but by making a detour. That is: not going in a straight line that will take us from point (a) to point (b), but taking a slightly longer route. For instance, a route that will take longer.

An alternative version of "prenderla alla larga" is "prenderla alla lontana".

Moreover, some people don't say "prenderla alla larga", but they say "prenderla larga", without the preposition.

I don't know if you know the phrase "stare alla larga da qualcuno" or "da qualcosa". What does "stare alla larga" mean? Keeping away. For example, one could say: È meglio stare alla larga da certe persone. What does it mean? It's better to keep away from certain people.

Thus, when it comes to meaning, in the phrase "girarci intorno", the particle CI stands for, so to speak, an obstacle that you need to bypass, whereas in the phrase "prenderla alla larga" the particle LA refers to a route, namely, to a roundabout and slightly longer route.

But let's go to the most interesting part, that is, the conjugation of these verbs and the comparison of the two verbs.

Let's start from the present indicative of "girarci". Verb forms are: io ci giro intorno, tu ci giri intorno, lui (or lei) ci gira intorno, noi ci giriamo intorno, voi ci girate intorno, loro ci girano intorno.

So, as you can see, the pronoun particle CI remains unchanged. In other words, the conjugation of "girarci" is the same as the conjugation of "girare", except that you should add in each person the particle CI.

Let's go to the passato prossimo! Verb forms will be: io ci ho girato intorno, tu ci hai girato intorno, lui (or lei) ci ha girato intorno, noi ci abbiamo girato intorno, voi ci avete girato intorno and loro ci hanno girato intorno.

As you can see, also in this case you should simply add the particle CI in each and every person.

One of the most difficult verb tenses is undoubtedly the imperative mood. The correct verb forms are: second-person-singular "giraci intorno"; third-person-singular "ci giri intorno"; and second-person-plural "girateci intorno".

The futuro semplice tense is not particularly problematic. Its form are the same as those of the verb "girare". You should simply add the pronoun particle CI, so: ci girerò intorno, ci girerai intorno, ci girerà intorno, ci gireremo intorno, ci girerete intorno, ci gireranno intorno.

Let's move on to the forms of the verb "prenderla".

The present indicative is: io la prendo alla larga, tu la prendi alla larga, lui (or lei) la prende alla larga, noi la prendiamo alla larga, voi la prendete alla larga and loro la prendono alla larga.

As you can see, the conjugation is the same as that of the verb "prendere", you should simply add the pronoun LA.

Let's see the passato prossimo! Io l'ho presa alla larga, tu l'hai presa alla larga, lui (or lei) l'ha presa alla larga, noi l'abbiamo presa alla larga, voi l'avete presa alla larga and loro l'hanno presa alla larga.

Ok. Here I want to point out two things compared to the conjugation of the verb "prendere".

First of all, you should always use the feminine past participle "presa" in all verb forms; even if the person speaking it's me, I should say: io l'ho presa alla larga. This is my first remark.

Secondly, I want to point out that the letter A is removed, and indeed I do say "io l'ho presa" - I don't say "io la ho presa". This allows for a more fluent pronunciation.

The imperative is one of the most difficult tenses, many get it wrong. Its forms are: second-person-singular "prendila alla larga"; third-person-singular "la prenda alla larga"; second-person-plural "prendetela alla larga".

The future tense doesn't create any problem: la prenderò alla larga, la prenderai alla larga, la prenderà alla larga, la prenderemo alla larga, la prenderete alla larga and la prenderanno alla larga.

In the top corner I'll add a card to a playlist I created not long ago and where I grouped all my videos about pronominal verbs. If you wish to better understand Italian verbs to speak Italian better, check it out!

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