ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

The following is a list of verbs, which use la or ne which another reflexive, confuse many learners of Italian. The use of a reflexive with la or ne give the verb a special emphasis to these verb forms.

These special verb forms are:

• andarsene – to leave, to go away
  Ce ne andiamo adesso.
  We are leaving now.

  Me ne vado, te ne vai, se ne va, ce ne andiamo, ve ne andate, se ne vanno
  for a complete conjugation, check this out!

• cavarsela – to manage, to get by
  I compiti è stati difficili, ma se la è cavata.
  The homework was difficult, but he managed.

  Me la cavo, te la cavi, se la cava, ce la caviamo, ve la cavate, se la cavano

• godersela – to live it up, to have fun
  Da ragazzo se la godeva tutto il tempo.
  As a kid he lived it up all the time.
  
  
• intendersene (di) – to be an expert in
  Me ne intendo di politica italiana.
  I am an expert in Italian politics.

• passarsela – to thrive (in a financial way)
  Ho un bel lavoro. Me la passo bene.
  I have a great job. I am thriving well.

• prendersela – to take offense
  Non le è piaciuta la battuta, e se la è presa.
  She did not like the joke, and she took offense.

• sbrigarsela – to make it [in the context of time]
  Sono andato alla stazione presto, ma non me la è sbrigata. Purtroppo, ho perso il treno.
  I went to the station early, but I didn’t make it. Unfortunately, I missed the train.

REMEMBER:
These verbs take essere in compound tenses.

ALSO REMEMBER:

• The verbs above that end in -sela always have past participles that end in -a.
• The verbs above that end in -sene always have past participles that agree with the subject in gender and number.