Expert: Paola - 11/3/2009

Question
Hi, Paola,

I'm a student of Italian and have encountered a bit of difficulty with the passive construction. My teacher gave me a set of homework with sentences to be put INTO passive form.  One of them is reciprocal and I can't get it at all.  Here is the sentence:

"Noi ci odiamo e ci amiamo da molti anni."

I'm stumped on how to make a reciprocal verb passive.  I have my lesson Thursday morning so if you can't get to this, I'll ask my teacher but it's driving me crazy and none of my books have addressed this.  Thanks, Giuliana

Answer
Ciao Julie,

no need to drive yourself crazy on this....I need to tell you the truth, sentences like these are absolutely never used in Italian. They are a mere exercise.

In any case I believe (trust me, even if I am mother tongue Italian I am not sure that the exercise calls for this)....the correct translation would be "Ci siamo odiati e ci siamo amati per molti anni"...As far as I can remember you just construct the verb in the passive form by using to be + participle of the verb (singular or plural, feminine or masculine according to the person). The 'ci' making the verb reciprocal, does not vary, neither in form or in position.

I hope this helps you somehow

Ciao Paola