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Si impersonale with verbs normally conjugated with avere |
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Si è visto. <=>One has seen. |
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Particularity: The si is not a reflexive pronoun at all, it is just an indefinite pronoun, the meaning is just everybody. Therefore there is no need to conjugate with essere, more logical would be (~Si ha visto~). But that' s not the way the Italians see it. (Past participle doesn' t match when the verb is normally conjugated with avere.) |
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Si impersonale with verbs normally conjugated with essere |
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Si è arrivati tardi. <=> One arrived too late. |
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Si è contenti. <=> One is happy. |
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Particularity: As in the example before the verb essere is used. But due to the fact that this verb (arrivare) is normally conjugated with essere and there is normally an agreement between the predicative noun and the subject, the predicative noun and the subject must agree in this case as well. Because si referes to a group, everybody are several people, the predicative noun must be in plural and normally masculine.
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Si impersonale with a directe object in front of the past participle |
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We already know from the chapter before that the past participle has to match in gender and number with a direct object that stands before the past participle. This rule applies as well with the si impersonale although essere is used. |
La si è vista. <=> She have been seen. |
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Li si è visti. <=> They (plural, masculine) have been seen. |
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Le si è viste. <=> They (plural, feminien) have been seen. |
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Particularity: If the direct object is li or le, in other words plural, you can find examples, where the verb stands in plural (~Li si sono visti~ <=> They have been seen). But this is wrong, although you can hear it. Li and le are direct objects and the conjugation of a verb depends on the subject not on the objects. This kind of sentence is wrong. Even Italians confuse sometimes the si impersonale and the si passivante. But these constructions, although they seem similar at first glance, are completely different from a grammatical point of view.
Let's see by an example that these constructions are completely different.
correct: Si guadagnano soldi.
=> can be converted in a reflexive structure: The money earn himself.
wrong: Li si sono visti.
=> can not be converted in a reflexive structure
(???). Si sees them, they don' t see them themselves.
correct: Li si è visti.
=> correct: One see them.
In the case of Si guadagnano soldi we have a si passivante, i soldi are the subject of the sentence and they earn themselves. The subject is in plural and the verb must be in plural as well. In the case of ~Li si sono visti~ we have actually a si impersonale, li ist NOT the subject of the sentence, the subject of the sentence is the indefinite pronoun si and si is singular, therefore it must be Li si è visti. Li is the direct object and a direct object doesn't rule the verb, never, never, never. If you regard li as the subject there is no direct object left. |
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