Il promone si

• In Italian, the pronoun si can be used when the person who performs the action is not identified (this is also known as “impersonal construction”). In English this construction corresponds to one, they, people, etc.
• The pronoun si is often used to express common habits and rules, or to request and give information.
• Examples

  In Sicilia, si va al mare fino a ottobre.

  In Sicily, people go to the beach until October.

  Mi dispiace, non si fuma in aereo.

  I’m sorry, there is no smoking in the airplane.

  Come si va a Palermo da Catania?

  How does one get to Palermo from Catania?

  Ragazzi, cosa si fa oggi?

  Guys, what are we going to do today?

  Molto tempo fa si viaggiava spesso in treno.

  A long time ago people used to travel often by train.
• The pronome si can be followed by the third-person singular or plural form of the verb. It is always followed by a verb in the third-person singular form when:


  1. the verb is intransitive
  2. In Sicilia, si va al mare. -> In Sicily, people go to the beach.
  3. no object is expressed or implied
  4. In Sicilia, si mangia sempre bene -> In Sicily, one always eats well.
  5. the sentence contains a singular direct object

  
• If the direct object is plural, the pronome si is followed by the third-person plural form of the verb.


  True

  
• When the pronome si is used with reflexive or reciprocal verbs, ci si is used to avoid repeating the word si twice.


  Also true