Me ne frego! (I don’t care!) – You will hear Italians say this expression a lot, from music (like Achille Lauro’s hit “Me ne frego“) to Italian series and movies (like the documentary “Me ne frego” about Mussolini’s campaign against dialects. But this phrase is not just a powerful expression; it’s also a fantastic entry point into a fascinating aspect of the language: Italian pronominal verbs.
Italian pronominal verbs offer nuanced ways to express actions and emotions, thus adding richness and expressiveness to the language. They are used all the time in everyday conversations, and many Italian idioms are built around these verbs. Therefore, becoming familiar with Italian pronominal verbs is essential for enhancing your comprehension and fluency.
In this guide, we’ll explore what pronominal verbs are and how they function in everyday Italian. Through examples and explanations, you will discover how these verbs can make your Italian more dynamic and expressive. You’ll be surprised at how often you can use them!
But first, make sure to download your free PDF cheat-sheet, which includes all the key points we’ll cover in this guide. Just enter your email below and I’ll send it to you straight away.
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Table to Contents
Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Click on any title to jump to each section.
- What are pronominal verbs in Italian?
- How to conjugate a pronominal verb in Italian
- Italian pronominal verbs with one pronoun
- Italian pronominal verbs with two pronouns
What are pronominal verbs in Italian?
Pronominal verbs are a special kind of verb that include one or two pronouns. Reflexive verbs (like lavarsi – to wash oneself, or svegliarsi – to wake up) are a type of pronominal verb where the pronoun acts as a complement to the verb, whereas in all other pronominal verbs, the pronouns do not serve a grammatical function but instead, they change or expand the meaning of the original verb, often giving it a completely new meaning.
Take the verb piantare. Normally, it means “to plant,” like planting seeds or flowers in a garden. But if you add the pronoun la, and you get piantarla, which means “to stop doing or saying something.”
Some Italian pronominal verbs even incorporate other elements like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, which are essential to the verb’s existence. For instance, the pronominal verb farne isn’t typically used on its own. Instead, you’ll see it in expressions like farne le spese (to pay for it) or farne di tutti i colori (to cause all sorts of trouble).
Italian pronominal verbs are everywhere in conversational Italian. However, in more formal settings, there are often alternative ways to express the same idea. For instance:
- instead of piantala (stop it), you might simply say basta (enough)
- instead of me ne vado (I’m leaving), you might say vado via (I’m leaving)
How to conjugate a pronominal verb in Italian
Worried that you’ll never be able to use pronominal verbs in Italian? Don’t worry, they are quite easy to conjugate! Just follow these steps:
- Isolate the pronominal pronouns from the end of the verb
- Place that pronoun before the verb
- Conjugate the verb as you normally would
Let’s see an example with contarci (to rely on someone or something):
| Conjugating Italian pronominal verbs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Io | ci | conto |
| Tu | ci | conti |
| Lui/Lei | ci | conta |
| Noi | ci | contiamo |
| Voi | ci | contate |
| Loro | ci | contano |
While the pronounsCI, NE, LAdo not change, SI needs to be declined according to the subject because it behaves like a reflexive pronoun.When doing so, it’s important to remember that the “i” becomes “e” when SI joins another pronoun. Let’s see an example with the verb andarsene (to go away):
| Conjugating Italian pronominal verbs with SI | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Io | me | ne | vado |
| Tu | te | ne | vai |
| Lui/Lei | se | ne | va |
| Noi | ce | ne | andiamo |
| Voi | ve | ne | andate |
| Loro | se | ne | vanno |
This construction with the pronoun before the verb is valid for the indicative, subjunctive, and conditional moods:
- Di questo passo ci metterà una vita a finire il lavoro – At this rate it will her take forever to finish the job (future indicative)
- Se te ne andassi ora te ne pentiresti, fidati – If you left now, you would regret it, trust me (imperfect subjunctive)
- Con i giusti strumenti, ci vorrebbe un attimo! – With the right tools, it would take a moment! (Present conditional)
For all other tenses, the pronouns come after the verb:
- Ha detto di smetterla di chiamarlo, non vuole parlare con nessuno – He said to stop calling him, he doesn’t want to talk to anyone (infinitive)
- Spassatevela anche per me! – Have fun for me too! (imperative)
- Andandocene a casa, li abbiamo visti che entravano in un bar – On our way home, we saw them entering a bar (gerund)
Attenzione! With the infinitive, you can place the pronouns either before the verb or attach them to the infinitive, the meaning doesn’t change
- Devi sbrigartela da solaorTe la devi sbrigare da sola(You have to deal with it yourself)
- Non voglio prendermelaorNon me la voglio prendere (I don’t want to get upset)
Pronominal verbs ending in SELA or SENE require the auxiliary verb essere (to be) in compound tenses, for example:
- Andarsene (to leave a place, to go away) → Io me ne sono andato subito – I left immediately
- Prendersela comoda (to do something slowly and without rush) → Ce la siamo presa comoda stamattina e siamo partiti alle 10 – We took our time this morning and left at 10
- Fregarsene (to not care about something) → Se ne sono fregati e sono andati via – They didn’t care and left
For verbs with the pronoun LA, the past participle in compound tenses agrees with this pronoun, so it’s feminine singular. For example:
- Cavarsela (to manage to overcome difficulties) → Te la sei cavata – You managed it
- Prendersela (to get upset about something) → Se l’è presa senza motivo – He got upset for no reason
- Farla grossa (to mess up, to make a big mistake) → L’hanno fatta grossa questa volta! – They really messed up this time!
Italian pronominal verbs with one pronoun
Some of the most common pronominal verbs in Italian only contain one pronoun: CI, NE, LA or LE.
Pronominal Verbs with CI
Attenzione! When joined with another pronoun, CI changes the ‘i’ to ‘e’ and becomes CE.
| Italian Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence (Italian) | Example Sentence (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrivarci | to get it, often used to express frustration | Mio padre non ci arriva proprio, ho bisogno dei miei spazi! | My father just doesn’t get it, I need my space! |
| Averci | it’s a more emphatic, colloquial way of saying “to have” | C’hai il ragazzo? E da quando? | So, you have a boyfriend? And since when? |
| Azzeccarci | to guess right or to match | Quel meteorologo ci azzecca sempre | That meteorologist always gets it right |
| Quelle scarpe non ci azzeccano niente con il vestito | Those shoes don’t match the dress at all | ||
| Cascarci | to be fooled or tricked, ; for extra emphasis, Italians say cascarci con tutte le scarpe (lit “to fall with all the shoes”), which is similar to the English “to fall for it hook, line, and sinker” | Adoro fare scherzi a mia sorella, ci casca sempre! | I love playing pranks on my sister, she always falls for it! |
| Contarci | to rely on someone or something; Italians also use this verb sarcastically, often to imply disbelief or skepticism | Ricordati di portarmi gli appunti, ci conto! | Remember to bring me the notes, I’m counting on it! |
| Contaci che vengo a correre! | Yeah, right, count on me going for a run! | ||
| Darci dentro | to put in effort or work hard | Devi darci dentro con gli allenamenti se vuoi vincere il torneo | You have to practice hard if you want to win the tournament |
| Dormirci su/sopra | to sleep on it, to postpone a tough decision | Dormici su e vedrai che domani avrai le idee più chiare | Sleep on it and you’ll see that tomorrow you’ll have clearer ideas. |
| Entrarci | to have to do with something, often used to distance oneself from drama or conflicts | Non voglio entrarci nelle vostre discussioni! | I don’t want to get involved in your arguments! |
| Non guardare me, io non c’entro! | Don’t look at me; I have nothing to do with it! | ||
| Mancarci | to express frustration, usually due to a setback or something that didn’t happen; it’s also used in the conditional form as a polite alternative to prego (you’re welcome) or to emphasize that something is obvious | Ci manca solo che tu venga bocciata! | The only thing missing is for you to fail! |
| Ci mancava anche questa! | As if it wasn’t already enough! | ||
| Grazie, sei molto gentile. Ci mancherebbe signora, la aiuto con piacere! | Thank you, you’re very kind. Not at all, ma’am, I’m happy to help! | ||
| Posso contare su di te per la festa di domani? Ci mancherebbe! | Can I count on you for tomorrow’s party? Of course! | ||
| Marciarci | to take advantage of a situation | Non è giusto marciarci su una situazione difficile | It’s not right to take advantage of a difficult situation |
| Metterci | to take a certain amount of time to do something, or “to be necessary” in a generic sense | Quanto ci metti ad andare al lavoro? | How long does it take you to get to work? |
| Per fare il medico, bisogna metterci passione e impegno | To be a doctor, you need passion and dedication | ||
| Pensarci | to take care of something personally | Non preoccuparti, ci penso io | Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it |
| Prenderci | to guess correctly | Incredibile, Andrea ci prende sempre quando si tratta di meteo | Incredible, Andrea always gets it right when it comes to the weather |
| Prenderci gusto | to start enjoying something that initially didn’t seem interesting | Vedo che ci stai prendendo gusto | I see you’re starting to enjoy it |
| Provarci | to flirt with someone openly | Marco ci ha provato con me, ma gli ho detto di no | Marco tried to hit on me, but I said no |
| Restarci male | to feel disappointed | Ci sono rimasto male quando ho sentito la notizia | I felt disappointed when I heard the news. |
| Rimetterci | to lose money or something else in doing something | Ci ho rimesso più di 10000 euro con quell’investimento | I lost more than 10,000 euros with that investment. |
| Saperci fare | to be good at something | Claudio ci sa davvero fare con i bambini | Claudio is really good with kids |
| Sentirci da quell’orecchio | used in the negative form, it highlights someone’s deliberately ignoring something | È inutile insistere, non ci sente da quell’orecchio | It’s useless to insist; he doesn’t want to hear it |
| Scapparci | to be possible or probable | Se continuo a vendere così tanto, ci scappa una bella promozione! | If I keep selling this much, I’ll end up with a nice promotion! |
| Starci | to agree to something or to fit in terms of space | Vieni al mare con noi? – Ci sto! | Are you coming to the beach with us? I’m in! |
| Dobbiamo andare con due macchine perché nella mia non ci stiamo tutti | We need to go in two cars because we won’t all fit in mine. | ||
| Starci male | to suffer from a situation | Giulia ci sta male per quello che è successo l’altra sera | Giulia is upset about what happened the other night. |
| Tenerci | to care about something or someone | Ci tengo tantissimo alla nostra amicizia | I care a lot about our friendship. |
| Vederci | to imagine someone in a situation, often followed by pronouns like lo, la, li, le. In the negative form, to lose control | Non ce li vedo proprio a lavorare al bar! | I can’t really see them working in the bar! |
| Non ci ho visto più e sono scoppiato! | I lost control and exploded! | ||
| Vederci chiaro | to understand a situation clearly, to get to the bottom of something | Voglio vederci chiaro, il comportamento di Laura non mi convince. | I want to see things clearly; Laura’s behavior doesn’t convince me. |
| Volerci | used to talk about the time needed to do something or the simplicity of a task | Ci vuole un’ora per andare a Milano | It takes an hour to get to Milan |
| Che ci vuole, faccio in un attimo | It’s easy, I can do it in a moment! |
Pronominal verbs with NE
| Italian Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence (Italian) | Example Sentence (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andarne | to be at stake, often referring to one’s reputation | Non posso farlo, ne va della mia professionalità! | I can’t do this, my professionalism is at stake! |
| Approfittarne | to take advantage | Visto che nessuno prendeva l’ultimo pezzo di torta, ne ho approfittato | Since no one was taking the last piece of cake, I took it |
| Averne abbastanza/Averne fin sopra i capelli | to have had enough of someone or something | Ne ho abbastanza delle sue bugie! | I’ve had enough of his lies! |
| Dirne di tutti i colori | to speak one’s mind, often in a harsh way; it can also be used on its own (dirne) with the same meaning | Marco era arrabbiatissimo, ce ne ha dette di tutti i colori! | Marco was very angry, he said all sorts of things! |
| Quante ne hai dette a Claudia ieri! Forse hai esagerato! | You really told Claudia off yesterday! Maybe you went too far. | ||
| Farne di tutti i colori | to be up to all sorts of mischief | Mia mamma mi ha raccontato che da piccola ne facevo di tutti i colori | My mom told me that when I was little I was up to all sorts of mischief |
| Non poterne più | to be unable to take it anymore, like when you’ve reached your breaking point | Non ne posso più di questo maledetto lavoro! | I can’t stand this damn job anymore! |
| Venirne a capo / Venirne fuori | to get to the bottom of something | Questo test è troppo difficile, non riesco a venirne a capo | This test is too difficult, I can’t figure it out |
Pronominal verbs with LA
| Italian Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence (Italian) | Example Sentence (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avercela | to be angry with someone | Paolo ce l’ha ancora con me per l’altra sera | Paolo is still mad at me for the other night |
| Darla vinta | to give in, to let someone win | Alla fine gliel’ho dovuta dare vinta | In the end, I had to let him have his way |
| Farcela | to manage to do something or to succeed in something | Ce l’ho fatta, ho passato il test di medicina! | I did it, I passed the medical exam! |
| Farla breve | to make it short, get to the point | La faccio breve, ho rotto con Anna | I’ll make it short, I broke up with Anna |
| Farla finita | to end something; in extreme cases, it can also mean “to end one’s life” | Falla finita con quella musica! | Stop zLZajwmEaDthat music! |
| Luca soffriva di depressione da anni e ieri l’ha fatta finita | Luca had been suffering from depression for years and yesterday he killed himself | ||
| Farla franca | to get away with it without being caught or punished | I ladri sono riusciti a farla franca anche questa volta! | The thieves managed to get away with it this time too! |
| Farla grossa | to mess up, to make a big mistake | L’ha fatta grossa stavolta! | She really messed up this time! |
| Finirla | to put an end to an annoying behavior | Finiscila con queste sciocchezze! | Stop it with this nonsense! |
| Piantarla | this is another way to say “to stop it” | Piantala di lamentarti, sei adulto e vaccinato! | Stop complaining, you’re a big boy! |
| Scamparla | to get away from danger | L’ha scampata bella! | He had a narrow escape! |
| Sfangarla | to dodge an obligation, mostly used as youth slang | Mauro doveva aiutare suo padre, ma è riuscito a sfangarla | Mauro was supposed to help his father, but he managed to dodge it |
| Smetterla | to stop it, similar to finirla and piantarla | Smettila di fare il buffone! | Stop fooling around! |
| Spuntarla | to prevail, to get what one wants | Il dibattito è stato animato, ma alla fine l’ha spuntata lei | The debate was heated, but in the end she prevailed |
Pronominal verbs with LE
Buscarle
Meaning: to be beaten up
- Oggi Mario ha litigato con Luca a scuola e le ha buscate – Today Mario argued with Luca at school and got beaten
Darle di santa ragione
Meaning: to beat someone up with particular violence, often used figuratively
- È tardi, devo correre a casa o mia madre me le darà di santa ragione – It’s late, I need to rush home or my mom will really give it to me!
Prenderle
Meaning: to get a beating, often said by mothers to kids who don’t behave – ah, the threat of a good old scolding!
- Mattia, se non la smetti appena torniamo a casa le prendi! – Mattia, if you don’t stop it, as soon as we get home, you’re going to get it!
Suonarle
Meaning: to give someone a beating, another common verb used by Italian mothers
- Adesso vengo lì e te le suono! – I’m coming over there right now and I’m going to give you a beating!
Italian pronominal verbs with two pronouns
Some Italian pronominal verbs contain two pronouns, specifically:
- CI + LA or NE
- SI + LA or NE
Attenzione: When CI and SI join with another pronoun, the ‘i’ changes to ‘e’, resulting in forms like -cene, -cela, -sene, -sela.
Pronominal verbs with CELA (CI + LA)
Avercela
Meaning: to be mad with someone of because of something
- Anna ce l’ha ancora con me perchè non sono andata con lei – Anna is still mad at me because I didn’t go with her
Farcela
Meaning: to succeed in reaching a goal, to manage to do something
- Ce l’ho fatta, ho passato l’esame! – I did it, I passed the exam!
Mettercela tutta
Meaning: to give one’s all in order to reach a goal
- Ce la stanno mettendo tutta per aprire il ristorante prima dell’estate – They are giving it their all to open the restaurant before the summer
Pronominal verbs with CENE (CI + LE)
Corrercene
Meaning: to be very different
- Tra il dire e il fare ce ne corre! – There’s a big difference between saying and doing!
Volercene
Meaning: to take effort and time
- Ce ne vuole a convincerlo, sai che è testardo – It takes time to convince him, you know he is stubborn
Pronominal verbs with SELA (SI + LA)
| Italian Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence (Italian) | Example Sentence (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspettarsela | to expect, to anticipate something | Mi hai sorpreso con questo regalo, non me l’aspettavo! | You surprised me with this gift, I wasn’t expecting it! |
| Bersela | to believe naively in something that is clearly false | Gli ho detto che sono un agente segreto e lui se l’è bevuta! | I told him I’m a secret agent and he bought it! |
| Cantarsela e suonarsela | this Italian idiom is used to describe someone who always sings their own praises | Cristina se ne va sempre in giro a dire quanto è brava, se la canta e se la suona! | Cristina always goes around boasting about how good she is, she sings her own praises! |
| Cavarsela | to manage to overcome difficulties or to do something adequately | Non mi piace la matematica, ma me la cavo | I don’t like math, but I manage |
| Cercarsela | to ask for trouble | Se continui a comportarti così, te la stai cercando! | If you keep behaving like this, you’re asking for trouble! |
| Dormirsela | to be indifferent to everything around you | Noi stiamo raccogliendo olive dalle 5 e lui se la dorme ancora beato! | We’ve been picking olives since 5 o’clock and he’s still blissfully sleeping! |
| Filarsela/Squagliarsela/Svignarsela | to slip away or vanish in a sneaky manner | Non appena ha sentito le sirene, il ladro se l’è svignata | As soon as he heard the sirens, the thief slipped away |
| Godersela | to have fun and enjoy oneself | Sono in vacanza in Sardegna, me la sto godendo alla grande! | I’m on holiday in Sardinia and I’m enjoying it so much! |
| Legarsela al dito | to keep something in mind (literally, it means to tie a string around one’s finger) | Questa non gliela perdono, me la lego al dito! | I won’t forgive him for this, I’ll tie it to my finger! |
| Passarsela | to spend time or get through a period of time | Come te la passi? | How are you doing? |
| Passarsela bene/male | to be doing well or not well, depending on the context | Ho visto Marco ieri, non se la passa bene | I saw Marco yesterday, he’s not doing well |
| Prendersela | to get upset about something | Non prendertela con me, io non ho fatto niente! | Don’t get mad at me, I didn’t do anything! |
| Prendersela comoda | to take one’s time, to do something slowly and without rush (often used sarcastically) | Prenditela pure comoda, tanto non ho nient’altro da fare! | Take your time, I have nothing else to do! |
| Ridersela | to not worry about something | Hai visto come se la ride? Dobbiamo dargli una lezione! | Did you see how he laughs? We need to teach him a lesson! |
| Sbrigarsela | to manage to solve a problem or handle a situation independently | Sei abbastanza grande per sbrigartela da sola | You’re old enough to handle it on your own |
| Sentirsela | to feel up to something, especially something challenging or difficult | Te la senti di fare il discorso di apertura alla conferenza? | Do you feel up to giving the opening speech at the conference? |
| Spassarsela | to have fun and enjoy oneself, similar to godersela | Pietro e Carlo sono usciti a spassarsela | Pietro and Carlo went out to have fun |
| Tirarsela | to brag about, act superior | Non sopporto le ragazze che se la tirano, non ci uscirei mai | I can’t stand girls who brag, I would never go on a date with them |
| Vedersela | to have a problem with someone and need to resolve it | Devo vedermela con mio fratello per quello che è successo | I have to sort things out with my brother for what happened |
| Vedersela brutta | to go through a tough experience | Andrea se l’è vista brutta nell’incidente, ma fortunatamente non è successo nulla di grave | Andrea had a tough time in the accident, but fortunately nothing serious happened |
Pronominal Verbs with SENE (SI + NE)
| Italian Verb | Meaning | Example Sentence (Italian) | Example Sentence (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andarsene | to leave a place, to go away | Hai visto Anna? Se ne è andata senza salutare nessuno | Have you seen Anna? She left without saying goodbye to anyone |
| Farsene | to use something | Che te ne fai di tutte quelle vecchie riviste di moda? | What do you do with all those old fashion magazines? |
| Farsene una ragione | to come to terms with something | Chiara non uscirà mai con te, fattene una ragione! | Chiara will never date you, you better come to terms with it! |
| Fregarsene | to not care about something | Non me ne frega niente della loro opinione! | I couldn’t care less about their opinion! |
| Fottersene | to not give a damn about something or someone | Me ne fotto dei vostri pettegolezzi | I don’t give a damn about your gossip |
| Guardarsene | to purposely avoid doing something | Enrico è davvero un idiota, se ne è guardato bene dall’aiutarci! | Enrico is truly an idiot, he avoided helping us! |
| Intendersene | to know everything there is to know about something, to be an expert | Me ne intendo di cucina, posso preparare un piatto squisito con pochi ingredienti! | I’m good at cooking, I can prepare an exquisite dish with just a few ingredients! |
| Lavarsene le mani | to wash one’s hands of something, to avoid taking responsibility | Giulio se ne lava le mani, non vuole essere coinvolto in questa decisione | Giulio washes his hands of it, he doesn’t want to be involved in this decision |
| Occuparsene | to take care of something | I clienti hanno chiamato me, quindi me ne occupo io d’ora in poi | The clients called me, so I’ll take care of it from now on |
| Sbattersene | to not care about something | Me ne sbatto del futuro, sono concentrato sul presente | I don’t care about the future, I’m focused on the present |
| Starsene | to stay in a place | Non esco, me ne sto a casa | I’m not going out, I’m staying at home |
| Tornarsene | to go back to a place | Sono stanco morto, me ne torno a casa | I’m dead tired, I’m heading back home |
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2 comments
Very well done but 1 question. How do you know what auxiliary verb to use with each one. Obviously those ending in “si” , “sene” , “sela” take essere but what about those ending in “ci”, “ne”, “la” or “le”? Does one use the main part of the verb as a guide? And if one does use the main part of the verb as a guide, what does one do when the main part of the verb can be transitive or intransitive?
Great question, Andrew! I’m so glad you asked this because auxiliary choice with pronominal verbs can definitely feel confusing.
The key is that the auxiliary usually depends on the base verb, not on the extra pronoun (ci, ne, la, le, etc.). So:
If the main verb normally takes essere (like andare → sono andato), then the pronominal version will too (me ne sono andato).
If the main verb normally takes avere (like mettere → ho messo), then the pronominal form will as well (ce l’ho messa tutta).
Where it gets tricky is with verbs that can be either transitive or intransitive, because the auxiliary changes based on usage. For example:
passare → ho passato (when it has a direct object: ho passato la giornata)
sono passato (when it’s intransitive: sono passato di lì)
So with their pronominal forms, you’d follow the same rule:
me la sono passata bene (reflexive/intransitive → essere)
me la sono passata la palla (with an object → avere—but in practice this exact phrasing isn’t common).
Don’t worry about the pronoun at the end (ci, ne, la, le). Look at the verb it attaches to. If that verb normally uses essere, then so will the pronominal verb. If it uses avere, the pronominal version will too.
It takes practice, but over time you’ll start to feel which auxiliary sounds “right.”