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ci and si help

john291thomson3046
New in Town
Posts: 10
Joined: August 30th, 2013 5:41 pm

ci and si help

Postby john291thomson3046 » November 8th, 2013 5:54 pm

I really am confused

ci means there, ci is first person plural direct object and indirect object, ci is the first person plural reflexive pronoun

si is impersonal pronoun and the third person singular and plural reflexive pronoun

So how is "a volte ci si puo permettere di lamentarsi" created I assume it means "at times one can be permitted to complain"

Thank you

team.relationships
New in Town
Posts: 12
Joined: June 7th, 2012 9:47 am

Re: ci and si help

Postby team.relationships » November 11th, 2013 2:32 pm

Hi John,

"a volte ci si puo permettere di lamentarsi" :lol:

"ci si può permerttere" comes from "potersi permettere" or "potere permettersi".
when a reflexive verb (potersi) is used in the impersonal form (si + 3rd person), also "ci" has to be added.

For example, the impersonal form of "lamentarsi" is "ci si lamenta",

In the above sentence everything seems very complex, because "lamentarsi" is preceeded by "permettersi" and "potere".
The translation is ok!

Grazie e ciao!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com

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john291thomson3046
New in Town
Posts: 10
Joined: August 30th, 2013 5:41 pm

Re: ci and si help

Postby john291thomson3046 » November 11th, 2013 8:37 pm

Ofelia

Thank you for the very clear explanation, basically si followed by si offends the ear!

grazie mille

John

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