3 Pronominal Verbs You Should Know

Pronominal verbs are usually highly problematic for those who learned Italian as a foreign language. If you studied or learned Italian as a second or foreign language,  you may also have trouble with pronominal verbs.

What are pronominal verbs? They are verbs which include one or more pronominal particles, such as "farcela", "avercela", "andarsene", and so on.

The hardest part about pronominal verbs is not understanding what they mean, but understanding how to conjugate them. That's because the pronominal particles should be included in all verb tenses.

If you find Italian pronominal verbs hard, don't worry!

In this video I'm going to explain three pronominal verbs with the infinitive ending with "-sela". I'll take these three verbs as an example for this type of pronominal verbs and I'll show you how to conjugate the verbs ending with "-sela".

In addition, in this video I'm going to talk about a pronominal verb which I have been using for 30 years, although I have recently found out that in reality this verb doesn't exist.

But let's not waste our time and jump straight into the first verb!

1.

The first pronominal verb I would like to explain is: "prendersela".

I'll tell you right away what it means, so that we can focus on this verb forms and conjugation. Like I said, the hardest part about pronominal verbs is not understanding what they mean, but conjugating them correctly.

"Prendersela" essentitally means getting offended, getting angry, or showing one's displeasure. This verb can either be used alone, in general, or you can say: "prendersela con qualcuno" and "prendersela per qualcosa".

An example sentence could be this: "Lucrezia se la prenderà".

I can say that, and use the verb "prendersela" alone, in general, or I can say: "Lucrez... L..." - I can't say "Lucrezia"... Ok... "Lucrezia se la prenderà con noi per questa cosa".

What does it mean? Lucrezia will get upset, Lucrezia will get offended, or, alternatively, Lucrezia will show her displeasure.

Depending on the situation, the verb "prendersela" can refer to the fact that someone is sad, sorry, disappointed, or disheartened for something. Alternatively, it could also refer to the fact that the person got upset by something or got offended by something.

Moreover, in some cases "prendersela" can also have a meaning closer to that of the idiomatic expression "legarsela al dito".

If you are wondering what "legarsela al dito" means, a couple of years ago I made a video about this expression... - I lost something here... If you are wondering what "legarsela al dito" means, up here I'm going to add a card to a video that I made a couple of years ago, in which I explain this Italian expression. If you wish to expand your Italian vocabulary, click on it!

But let's go back to the verb "prendersela"!

This pronominal verbs can also have a slightly different meaning. I messed up the intonation! This pronominal verb can also have a slightly different meaning.

I'll give you an example right away!

"Lucrezia se la prende sempre con il suo ragazzo". In this case, the verb "prendersela" refers to the fact that Lucrezia takes her anger or grudge out on her boyfriend. In other words, Lucrezia vents on her boyfriend, so to speak.

Another example could be: "Se non sei riuscito, non è colpa mia". Sorry... The intonation is not quite right. "Non è colpa mia se non ci sei riuscito! Non prendertela con me!" What does this sentence mean? Don't vent your anger on me, don't vent your grudge on me!

Ok. That's all with respect to the meaning of the verb "prendersela". But let's see the most problematic part, that is: the conjugation of this pronominal verb!

Let me tell you right away that the most problematic tenses are the imperative mood and the passato prossimo tense. Or rather, the tenses where non-native speakers make most mistakes are the imperative and the passato prossimo.

But let's start from the present indicative!

Its forms are: "io me la prendo", "tu te la prendi", "lui/lei se la prende", "noi ce la prendiamo", "voi ve la prendete", and "loro se la prendono".

So, as you can see, the pronominal particle "la" remains unchanged, whereas the personal pronoun changes according to the person.

The forms of the passato prossimo tense are: "io me la sono presa", "tu te la sei presa", "lui/lei se l'è presa", "noi ce la siamo presa", "voi ve la siete presa", and "loro se la sono presa".

In this case as well the pronominal particle "la" remains unchanged, while the personal pronoun changes based on the person.

The conjugation of the passato prossimo is the same for grammatically masculine and feminine subjects.

The important thing to remember is that, with this pronominal verb, you should use as auxiliary verb the verb "essere".

Many people who used... - who used?! Many people who learned Italian as a foreign language make mistakes and use the verb "avere" as auxiliary. And they will say, for example: "io me l'ho presa", "tu te l'hai presa", "lui se l'ha presa", and so on.

These forms are wrong. So please do be careful and remember that with the verb "prendersela" you should use the verb "essere" as auxiliary verb. The verb "prendere" takes the auxiliary "avere", whereas the verb "prendersela" takes the auxiliary "essere".

But let's move on to the imperative mood!

For logical reasons, people normally use only the negative form of the imperative.

The second-person-singular ("tu") imperative has two alternative versions. The first version is: "Non prendertela!" The second version is: "Non te la prendere!"

These two forms are perfectly equivalent, you can use the one that you prefer. If you prefer to say "Non prendertela", you can say "Non prendertela". If you prefer to say "Non te la prendere", you can say "Non te la prendere"

The second-person-plural too has two versions: "Non prendetevela" and "Non ve la prendete".

The third-person-singular, instead, only has one form, which is: "Non se la prenda". "Non se la prenda"

If you are addressing someone as "Lei", you should say "Non se la prenda". Instead, if you are addressing them as "Tu", you can choose: you can say either "Non prendertela" or "Non te la prendere".

Incidentally, if you are unsure about the use of the subjunctive mood as third-person-imperative, up here I'm going to add a card to a video I made some time ago. In this video I discuss the worst mistake with the Italian subjunctive mood, which relates to the congiuntivo used as imperative mood.

Anyway, I don't think that the other tenses of the verb "prendersela" create much trouble. What (beep) intonation was that?! Anyway, I don't think that the other tenses of the verb "prendersela" are problematic.

So let's proceed and see the second verb!

2.

The second pronominal verb which I would like to explain is: "sentirsela".

This verb has several meanings and can be used in slightly different ways. I'm going to give you some examples and explain how to understand the verb "sentirsela" in each sentence.

The first example sentence could be this: "Non me la sento di fare 20 chilometri a piedi". What does it mean? I don't think I can walk 20 km. Or: I feel that I won't be able to do that. I have the impression (or the feeling) that I wouldn't be able to do that. Theoretically, this sentence could also mean: I don't want to walk 20 km.

Another example sentence could be this: "Non me la sento di ingannare Marta". What does it mean? I don't think I can do that. Or: I'm not willing to do that.

Another example could be: "Non me la sento di dirle questa cosa. Per favore, digliela tu!" What does it mean? I don't know if I'm brave enough to tell her this thing. I don't know if I will be able to tell her this thing.

Another example with this pronominal verb could be: "Non me la sento di andare da solo. Vieni anche tu!" What does it mean? I'm not brave enough to go there alone. Or, in theory, it could also mean: I don't want to go there alone.

Another example could be this: "Te la senti di mangiare tutta quella pasta?" What does it mean? Do you think that you will be able to eat all that pasta?

Another example could be: "Non me la sento di lavorare anche di notte". What does it mean? I think that I wouldn't be able to work at night too. Or: I don't feel like working at night too.

Another amazing example could be the following sentence: "Te la senti di guardare tutti i video che ho fatto sui verbi pronominali?"

Well, if you feel like it, up here I'll add a card to my playlist about Italian pronominal verbs. In this playlist I have grouped all the videos that I made about Italian pronominal verbs. And trust me: they are quite a few! If you feel like it, check out my playlist!

But let's go back to our verb!

The conjugation of the present indicative is: "io me la sento", "tu te la senti", "lui/lei se la sente", "noi ce la sentiamo", "voi ve la sentite", and "loro se la sentono".

In this case too the pronominal particle "la" doesn't change, whereas the personal pronun does change according to the person.

I would say that the good thing about pronominal verbs is that, if you know how to conjugate a verb ending with "-sela", you actualy know how to conjugate all verbs ending with "-sela". Obviously, I'm referring only to the pronominal particles.

The passato prossimo of "sentirsela" is: "io me la sono sentita", "tu te la sei sentita", "lui/lei se l'è sentita", "noi ce la siamo sentita", "voi ve la siete sentita", and "loro se la sono sentita".

The imperative mood of this verb is not used for logical reasons. I can't tell someone "Sentitela"! If someone doesn't feel like it, I can't order them to feel like it.

But let's see the next verb!

3.

The third Italian verb that I would like to explain is: "svignarsela".

The verb is less common than the previous ones and only has one meaning. This verb is related to the word "vigna". It quite possibly comes from the word "vigna" and it is assumed that it originally meant: running away into the "vigna" (vineyard). Nowadays, though, it is only used in the figurative sense.

Let's jump straight into an example!

"Appena hanno sentito la sirena della polizia, i ladri se la sono svignata". What does it mean? The thieves went away quickly and covertly. In other words, the thieves went away stealthily, that is, without anybody noticing.

I would say that the verb "svignarsela" is also used in a more general sense, to mean: escaping, fleeing, or running away.

For example, I could say: "Luigi è un codardo, se la svigna sempre. Ieri sera stavamo discutendo con degli ubriachi e Luigi se l'è svignata". What does it mean? Luigi fled. That is: while we were having an argument with some drunk people, Luigi, when nobody was watching, fled.

In this sense, this verb is very close to the pronominal verb "battersela". Please note that I said "battersela" - not "sbattersene".

Some time ago I also made a video about the verb "battere" and its related verbs, including pronominal versions such as "battersela". Up here I'll add a card to this video. If you want to increase your Italian vocabulary, check it out!

Anyway, the conjugation of the verb "svignarsela" follows the pattern of the verbs ending with "-sela".

The present indicative is: "io me la svigno", "tu te la svigni", "lui/lei se la svigna", "noi ce la svigniamo", "voi ve la svignate" and "loro se la svignano".

The passato prossimo is: "io me la sono svignata", "tu te la sei svignata", "lui/lei se l'è svignata", "noi ce la siamo svignata", "voi ve la siete svignata", and "loro se la sono svignata".

The forms of the imperative mood of "svignarsela" are: "Svignatela" and "Svignatevela". I would say that these forms are rather uncommon, because "svignarsela" is something that cowards do. Therefore, people don't usually urge others to do what cowards do.

But let's see the last pronominal verb which I wanted to explain!

4.

The verb in question is: "svermarsela".

I have recently found out that in reality this verb doesn't exist. I have been using it for 30 years, I thought it was a verb of the Italian language, but I have recently found out that it doesn't exist. Doing some research on the Internet, I didn't find any results. And this finding has been quite shocking to me.

I would normally use it as a synonym of the verb "svignarsela". I thought it was a stronger version of "svignarsela" based on the word "verme". In Italian, in fact, if someone runs away like a coward, we can say "è scappato come un verme".

So I used to say, for example: "Se l'è svermata!" "Se l'è svermata". What did I mean? He fled like "a worm".

Doing some research on the Internet, I found out that in reality this verb doesn't exist. It must have been an invention of mine. Therefore, it's clear that I don't suggest that you use the verb "svermarsela".

Ok! I hope that you liked these pronominal verbs! If you wish to learn new things about the Italian language, I would encourage you to subscribe to my channel and turn on the notifications.

In the meantime, up here I'm going to add my playlist about pronominal verbs! If you want to get a better understanding of these verbs, check it out! 

And may the Force of the Italian language be with you!