IMPERSONAL VERBS

These verbs only exist in the third person; there are three groups:

1. Verbs referring to the weather:

1. piove = it is raining
2. nevica = it is snowing
3. fa freddo = it is cold
4. fa caldo = it is warm

2. Impersonal expressions like “it is easy to ...”, “ it is likely that ...”, e.g.

1. è facile (+ infinitive) = it's easy to ...
2. è difficile (+ infinitive) = it's difficult to ...
3. è probabile che (+ subjunctive) = it's probable that ...
4. è necessario che (+ subjunctive) = it's necessary that ....

3. Certain verbs expressing need, necessity etc. e.g.

However, the impersonal construction is very common in Italian when you want to show that the action of a verb is perfomed by a subject which is indefinite or by people in general.
The construction uses si + 3rd person of the verb. The construction is called si impersonale. It is used where in English we would say “You go to school, you come home, you go to bed, you get up, you go to school.” or “one reads about it all the time.”

The examples below should make it clear:

1. Si lavora per guadagnare soldi.
   People work to earn money.
2. Non si può pagare con una carta di credito.
   You can't pay by credit card.
3. Come si dice awkward in italian?
   How do you say awkward in Italian.
4. Non si paga molto in alberghi di quella categoria.
   You don't pay much in hotels of that class.
5. Si scelgono diversi corsi.
   People choose different courses.
   (Different courses are chosen)

Look at the last example carefully. The verb is plural because the noun following it is plural. This usage is the same as the si passivante construction.

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