ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

The verb, divorziare (da), means to divorce.

When divorcing someone (such as your husband/wife), you must use the preposition, da, before the person that you are divorcing:

Ho divorziato da mia moglie.

I divorced my wife.

The reason for this construction is that divorziare is an intransitive verb — this means that the direct object never follows the verb.

This verb can also be used generally, too:

I miei genitori stanno divorziando.

My parents are divorcing.

Abbiamo divorziato dopo un anno perché mia moglie mi ha tradito.

We divorced after a year because my wife was unfaithful to me.

I want to open this post by saying how important it is to use your Italian as often as you can – whether it’s by chatting with your friends online or talking to them using programs like Skype – because it’s one of the best ways to learn new things and to iron out any errors that may tend to creep into your Italian.

One such error reared its ugly head yesterday when chatting with my friend, Adriano. And that error was my use of the verb, riflettere — below is a conjucation of the verb in the present tense:

Riflettere, like many Italian verbs, is both transitive and intransitive. As a transitive verb, riflettere means “to reflect” — remember that as a transitive verb it must have a direct object. The verb is used in this way when something reflects something – such as a mirror, which reflects light. Or perhaps the blacktop which reflects heat, etc.

The verb can also be used transitively in a figurative way – such as a work of art or work of writing which might reflect the historical period or a specific mood.

Le pozzanghere riflettono la luce del sole.

The puddles are reflecting the sunlight.

Le opere di Hemingway riflettono lo spirito del tempo del Novecento.

The works of Hemingway reflect the zeitgeist of the 20th century.

As an intransitive verb, riflettere means to reflect in the sense of to think, to ponder, to consider, or to weigh.

Devo riflettere bene prima di fare una decisione.

I have to think it over before making a decision.

Dopo aver molto riflettuto ha deciso di divorziare da suo marito.

After much thought she decided to divorce her husband.

When used reflexively, it can mean to have repercussions or to affect:

Le scelte economiche dei politici si rifletteranno su tutti i disoccupati.

The politicians political choices will have repercussions on all the unemployed.

It can also mean to be reflected:

Che bello! Le nuvole si riflettono nell’acqua del lago!

How beautiful! The clouds are reflected in the water of the lake.

Another point to consider is that this verb has two past participles: riflesso, for when the verb is used transitively, and riflettuto for when the verb is used intransitively or reflexively.Avere is used in compound tenses regardless of whether the verb is used transitively or intransitively.

The verb, salutare, can be slightly confusing for English speakers because the verb has two meanings which oppose each other.  It can mean to greet, to say hello to or  to say good-bye to.

The way that you discover the intended meaning is through the context in which the verb is used, and even then it might not seem clear.  Let’s look at some examples:

Lo aveva salutato qualche minuto prima per andare a comprare il pane.

She said good-bye to him some minutes before in order to go buy bread.

This is a good example of how context of the sentence can help us to know which meaning of the verb is intended. Because she is going to buy bread, it is more logical that she is saying good-bye as she is leaving to go out to do some shopping.

And this example:

Diecimila fedeli hanno salutato il Papa quando è arrivato in centro.

10,000 parishoners greeted the Pope when he arrived downtown.

Again, the context helps in determining the meaning of the verb. It tends to be more logical to greet someone upon their arrival. Little clues such as this will help you in using and understanding the verb.

Some points to remember:

Salutare is also a transitive verb and requires avere in compound tenses. Remember that the person or thing to which you are greeting/saying good-bye to is a direct object in Italian, not an indirect object.

Salutare is a regular verb in in Italian; the past participle is salutato.

Be careful not to confuse the verb, salutare, which the adjective which can mean healthy/wholesome or beneficial.

Useful expressions using the verb, salutare:

- venire a salutare | to visit, to drop by

Sono venuto a salutarti ieri sera ma non sei stato a casa.

I dropped by yesterday evening but you were not at home.

- salutarsi | to greet each other; to say good-bye to each other; to exchange greetings

- salutarsi con una stretta di mano | to shake hands

- non salutarsi più to no longer be on speaking terms

Non ci salutiamo più.

We are no longer on speaking terms.
We do not speak to each other anymore.

- Salutamela! | Tell her I said hi!

The verb, prendere, is a regular verb in the present tense but has an irregular past participle (preso), taking avere in compound tenses. Prendere is also irregular in the passato remoto:

The verb has the following meanings in English, of which I highlighted the most important ones that you’re likely to encounter (see the post on the differences between prendere and portare):

1. to take, in the sense of picking something up, taking something

   Hai preso il mio portafoglio? Non posso trovarlo!
   Did you take my wallet? I can’t find it!
   

2. to catch, something moving or in motion

   Ho preso al volo il vaso prima che abbia colpito il pavimento.
   I caught the vase in mid-air before it hit the floor.

3. to take, a form of transportation

   Abbiamo preso il treno a Milano.
   We took the train to Milan.

4. to take, a particular street

   No, no! Ti ho detto…devi prendere la prima strada a sinistra, non a destra!
   No, no! I told you, you have to take the first street on the left, not the right!

5. to take, one’s medicine or drugs

   Mamma deve prendere la sua medicina ogni sera prima di andare a letto.
   Mom has to take her medicine every evening before going to bed.

   Giovanni ha smesso di lavora da quando ha cominciato a prendere droghe.
   Giovanni has stopped working since he started to take drugs.

6. to get, in the sense of purchasing something

   Mio padre prende sempre L’Espresso perché adora gli articoli.
   My father always gets L’Espresso because he adores the articles.

7. to get, to catch, in the medical sense, such as catching a cold, virus, illness
8. to have, to eat, usually in a bar, restaurant or caffe

   Quando il cameriere arriva, digli che prenderò un’insalata.
   When the waiter arrives, tell him that I’ll have a salad.

   Prendiamo un caffè con Luigi! Non l’ho visto per un settimana.
   Let’s have coffee with Luigi. I haven’t seen him for a week.

Here are some useful expressions with prendere — if you know of one that I’ve missed and think it is worth adding, leave a comment or email it to me:

• farsi prendere to get caught
• prendere una decisione to make a decision
• prendere posto to take one’s seat
• prendere alla lettera to take literally
  
• prendere in giro to tease/make fun of, to make a fool out of, to take for a “ride”

  Abbiamo preso in giro Emilio dopo che ha pianto al cinema.
  We teased Emilio after he cried at the movies.
  
  

• prendere in affitto to rent
  
• prendere una telefonata to take a phone call
• prendere da + qualcuno to take after someone

  Maddai, prendi da tuo padre! Sei sempre maleducato con gli sconosciuti!
  Jesus, you take after your father! You are always so rude with strangers.

• prendere a fare to start doing
• prendere in prestito to borrow
• prendere tempo to stall (for time)
• farsi prendere da to get involved in
• prendere qualcuno per qualcun altro to mistake someone for somebody else

  Ho preso uno sconosciuto per il mio amico, Roberto.
  I mistook a stranger for my friend, Roberto.

• prendere il polso to take one’s pulse

  L’infermiera mi ha preso il polso.
  The nurse took my pulse.
  

The transitive verb, mettere, is a useful verb to know in Italian. It has several uses and is common in many noteworthy expressions. Mettere is regular in the present tense:

Mettere also has a past participle that is irregular (messo). It is also irregular in the passato remoto:

Below are some uses for the verb, mettere. There may be other meanings (colloquial or otherwise), so you might also check a good dictionary: