Pronominal Verbs: Farcela, Andarsene, and Other Essentials

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By Rossana Pazzaglia, native Italian teacher with a CEDILS certification in teaching Italian to foreigners (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) · Updated 19 October 2026

“Ce la fai?” “Sì, ce la faccio!” If you study Italian, you have probably heard these sentences and wondered: what are ce and la referring to? The answer is: nothing in particular, and yet without them the verb changes meaning. These are pronominal verbs, one of the most typical (and trickiest) features of Italian. Pronouns are among the topics my students like least, and these verbs are their most mysterious version. You don’t need to take them apart: you learn them as whole expressions, a bit like a line from a film that sticks in your head.

What Pronominal Verbs Are

“Pronominal verbs” is the label for verbs whose dictionary form (the infinitive) contains one or more clitic pronouns, i.e. small particles such as si, la, ne, ci. According to the description in Treccani’s Enciclopedia dell’italiano, the group includes verbs with -si only (accorgersi, pentirsi) as well as verbs with other particles (farcela, finirla, andarsene) ^[1].

What matters for a learner: in many pronominal verbs the pronoun no longer has a clear referent (you cannot ask “la what?”). The block verb + particles has a meaning of its own, often far from the simple verb. So it is better to learn them as complete expressions rather than translating word by word.

Farcela: To Manage, to Cope, to Make It

Farcela means “to succeed at something difficult”. The verb fare is conjugated, while ce la stays fixed:

Person	Present	Passato prossimo
io	ce la faccio	ce l’ho fatta
tu	ce la fai	ce l’hai fatta
lui/lei	ce la fa	ce l’ha fatta
noi	ce la facciamo	ce l’abbiamo fatta
voi	ce la fate	ce l’avete fatta
loro	ce la fanno	ce l’hanno fatta

Watch the passato prossimo: la is a direct object pronoun, so the participle agrees with it and becomes feminine: “Ce l’ho fatta!” (even when a man is speaking). After farcela you use a + infinitive: “Non ce la faccio a camminare più veloce.” (I can’t walk any faster.)

• “Non so se ce la farò a finire il progetto in tempo.” (I don’t know if I’ll manage to finish the project in time.)
• “Dai, ce la puoi fare!” (Come on, you can do it!)
• “Con questo caldo non ce la faccio più.” (I can’t take this heat any more.)

Andarsene: To Go Away

Andarsene means “to leave, to go away”. The reflexive pronoun and the verb change, while ne stays:

• me ne vado, te ne vai, se ne va, ce ne andiamo, ve ne andate, se ne vanno
• Passato prossimo (auxiliary essere): “Se n’è andato senza salutare.” “Se ne sono andati tutti.”
• Imperative: “Vattene!” (tu), “Andiamocene!” (noi), “Andatevene!” (voi)

Compare: “Vado a casa” simply says where you are going, while “Me ne vado” stresses that you are leaving the place where you are.

More Pronominal Verbs You Will Hear Everywhere

Cavarsela and sbrigarsela

Cavarsela means “to cope, to get by”: “In italiano me la cavo, ma al telefono faccio ancora fatica.” (I get by in Italian, but I still struggle on the phone.) Sbrigarsela is similar, with the idea of sorting something out on your own: “Non preoccuparti, me la sbrigo io.” (Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it.)

Prendersela (con) and avercela con

Prendersela con qualcuno = to take offence, to get upset: “Non te la prendere, scherzavo!” (Don’t take it personally, I was joking!) Do not confuse it with avercela con qualcuno, “to be angry with someone”: “Ce l’ha con me da una settimana.”

Intendersene and fregarsene

Intendersene di = to be an expert: “Mio nonno se ne intende di vino.” Fregarsene is very colloquial (“I don’t care”): “Me ne frego di quello che dicono.” Use it only with friends: it is informal and a little vulgar.

Finirla and piantarla

Finirla di + infinitive means “to stop doing something”: “Finiscila di gridare!” (Stop shouting!) Piantarla has the same sense but is more colloquial.

Metterci, volerci and mettercela tutta

Metterci is used for the time a person takes: “Ci metto venti minuti per arrivare al lavoro.” Volerci expresses the time or quantity needed in general: “Ci vogliono venti minuti.” Mettercela tutta = to give it your all: “Ce l’ho messa tutta, ma non è bastato.”

Register and Nuance

Pronominal verbs belong mostly to everyday, conversational Italian. A university open textbook describes them as widely used in conversation, especially in informal situations ^[2], while the Treccani dictionary illustrates cavarsela with plain everyday examples, such as getting through an exam ^[3]. That does not make them wrong in writing, but it does mean you should choose with care: in a formal email, riuscire a or superare may sound better than farcela.

Cavarsela: from danger to everyday skills

Treccani explains that cavarsela means to come out of a danger or an illness with little damage and, by extension, to manage in a difficult situation. One of its examples is a speaker who does not know French perfectly but says “per farmi capire, me la cavo” (to make myself understood, I get by) ^[3]. This is why Me la cavo is a modest and natural answer to “Do you speak Italian?”: it means “I get by”, not “I am fluent”. In the passato prossimo it takes essere and the participle agrees with la: Se l’è cavata bene (she did well), Se la sono cavata (they got through it).

Prendersela: three shades of meaning

According to Treccani, prendersela covers more than taking offence ^[4]. Non te la prendere means “don’t be upset”; prendersela con qualcuno means to vent your resentment on someone, even unfairly (Se non sei riuscito, non puoi prendertela con me); and prendersela calma means to take things slowly (the dictionary lists this form). The same block can therefore change meaning with the words around it, which is one more reason to learn whole expressions.

Four Common Mistakes

1. Changing the wrong part. In farcela the particles stay fixed (ce la) and only fare changes: ce la facciamo, never “ci la facciamo”. In cavarsela the reflexive pronoun changes with the person (me la cavo, te la cavi, se la cava) while la stays.
2. Forgetting the preposition. Say ce la faccio a partire, finiscila di lamentarti: a after farcela, di after finirla and piantarla ^[2].
3. Ignoring the participle. Ce l’ho fatto is a frequent slip: the participle must agree with la, so ce l’ho fatta.
4. Using colloquial verbs in the wrong setting. Fregarsene is fine among friends, but not with a client or in an exam essay.

Mini-Dialogue

Anna: Hai finito la tesi?
Luca: Quasi. Non ce la faccio più, ma ce la metto tutta.
Anna: Dai, ce la farai! Se hai bisogno, io me la cavo con la bibliografia.
Luca: Grazie! Ora però me ne vado a dormire.

How to Really Learn Them

1. Learn blocks, not pieces. Write farcela in your notebook with a sentence of your own, not just a translation.
2. Listen and repeat. These verbs are extremely frequent in spoken Italian: try to notice them in films and podcasts (my cinema vocabulary guide gives you phrases for talking about what you watch).
3. Check the participle. With la (farcela, cavarsela, prendersela) the participle is feminine; andarsene takes essere.
4. Start small. Learn farcela, andarsene, cavarsela, prendersela first; the rest will follow.

Exercises

Complete with the correct form.

1. Ieri ho fatto l’esame di guida e finalmente ___ ___ fatta! (farcela)
2. Marco è arrabbiato: ___ ___ con te? (avercela)
3. È tardi, ___ ___ vado. (andarsene)
4. Non ___ ___ prendere, è solo una battuta. (prendersela, tu, negative imperative)
5. Per arrivare in stazione ___ ___ mezz’ora. (volerci)

Answers: 1) ce l’ho; 2) ce l’ha; 3) me ne; 4) te la; 5) ci vuole.

Think and Practise Again

Reflect: Which of these verbs could you use today with a friend? Which would you avoid with a manager? Write two sentences of your own using cavarsela and prendersela.

Exercise 2. Complete with the correct form.

1. Con l’inglese ___ ___ abbastanza bene. (cavarsela, io, present)
2. Ieri Marta ___ ___ ___ bene all’esame. (cavarsela, passato prossimo)
3. Siamo stanchi: non ___ ___ a salire fino in cima. (farcela, noi, present)
4. I ragazzi ___ ___ ___ senza dire niente. (andarsene, passato prossimo)
5. Basta! ___ di litigare! (finirla, voi, imperative)

Answers: 1) me la cavo; 2) se l’è cavata; 3) ce la facciamo; 4) se ne sono andati; 5) Finitela.

Conclusion

Pronominal verbs look mysterious, but they are simply expressions to learn calmly, in context. Dai, ce la puoi fare! And if you’d like to try them out in a real conversation, book a free 30-minute trial lesson, join the course waiting list or take the free level test.

Read also: common mistakes Swiss-German speakers make in Italian and the sequence of tenses in Italian.

Sources

• [1] Elisabetta Jezek, “Pronominali, verbi”, Enciclopedia dell’Italiano, Treccani (accessed 6 October 2026)
• [2] Northwestern University Libraries, open textbook on Italian grammar: “Pronominal Verbs” (accessed 6 October 2026)
• [3] Treccani, Vocabolario: entry “cavare”, pronominal form “cavarsela” (accessed 6 October 2026)
• [4] Treccani, Vocabolario: entry “prendere”, pronominal form “prendersela” (accessed 6 October 2026)

Examples, dialogue and exercises come from my experience teaching Italian to foreign learners.