TL;DR. Italian impersonal verbs (andare, capitare, convenire, dispiacere) flip the english perspective. The english subject becomes an italian indirect-object pronoun. Mi va = I feel like, mi conviene = I’d better. This B1 guide on italian impersonal verbs covers the four most useful and adds two extension sections on formal correspondence and the wider a + persona pattern.
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👆🏻 Jump to section
- The rule: italian impersonal verbs in one line
- Andare with pronouns: I feel like
- Capitare: it happens (by chance)
- Convenire: I’d better, it’s worth
- Dispiacere: I’m sorry, do you mind
- Five traps for English speakers
- Cheat sheet
- Italian impersonal verbs in formal correspondence
- Italian impersonal verbs in informal vs formal speech
- The ‘a + persona’ pattern across Italian verbs
- Dialogue at a Trieste enoteca
- Test your understanding
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
The rule: italian impersonal verbs in one line
Italian impersonal verbs work like the famous piacere: the person who experiences something becomes an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi), while the thing experienced is the grammatical subject. Compound tenses use essere, and the past participle agrees with the subject (the thing), not with the experiencer. This one-line rule is the spine of every chapter on italian impersonal verbs that follows.
This guide focuses on four high-frequency members beyond piacere: andare (I feel like), capitare (it happens by chance), convenire (it’s worth, I’d better), dispiacere (I’m sorry, I mind). All four are everyday spoken italian and natives use them constantly.
Andare with pronouns: I feel like
Outside its motion meaning, andare with an indirect-object pronoun shifts to to feel like or to be in the mood for. Mi va di uscire = I feel like going out. The construction is mi/ti/gli/le/ci/vi va + di + infinitive, or mi va + noun (mi va una birra).
🔍 Observe:
- Ti andrebbe di andare al mare? Would you feel like going to the sea?
- Stefano è stanco. Non gli va di uscire. Stefano is tired. He doesn’t feel like going out.
- Sono a dieta, non mi vanno i dolci stasera. I’m on a diet, I don’t fancy sweets tonight.
- L’albergo vicino alla stazione ci va benissimo. The hotel near the station works great for us.
- Il nuovo fidanzato di mia figlia non mi va a genio. My daughter’s new boyfriend isn’t to my taste.
- La camicia nuova ti va proprio a pennello. The new shirt fits you perfectly.
🎯 Mini-Challenge: andare with pronouns
- 1. Translate: “I don’t feel like cooking tonight.”
- 2. Translate: “Do you fancy a coffee?” (informal tu)
- 3. Translate: “The hotel near the airport works great for them.”
Show answers
- Stasera non mi va di cucinare.
- Ti va un caffè?
- L’albergo vicino all’aeroporto gli va benissimo.
Capitare: it happens (by chance)
Capitare is a near-synonym of succedere with one specific shade: it implies chance, unpredictability. Mi è capitato = it happened to me (by chance). Mi è successo = it happened to me (neutral). The construction takes indirect-object pronouns and uses essere in compound tenses, exactly like the other italian impersonal verbs in this guide.
🔍 Observe:
- Non mi era mai capitato di trovare lavoro così facilmente. I had never (had it) happen to me to find work this easily.
- Purtroppo è capitata una disgrazia. Unfortunately a misfortune happened.
- Se capitasse a voi, non sapreste come comportarvi. If it happened to you, you wouldn’t know how to behave.
- Avevo bisogno di una mano. Capiti proprio a fagiolo! I needed a hand. You arrive at the perfect moment!
- Non ti devi vergognare, capita a tutti di sbagliare. Don’t be ashamed, it happens to everyone to make mistakes.
🎯 Mini-Challenge: capitare
- 1. Translate: “Has it ever happened to you to lose your keys?”
- 2. Translate: “It happens to everyone to be tired sometimes.”
Show answers
- Ti è mai capitato di perdere le chiavi?
- Capita a tutti di essere stanchi a volte.
Convenire: I’d better, it’s worth
Convenire with an indirect-object pronoun translates as I’d better, it’s convenient for me, it’s worth my while. The structure: mi conviene + infinitive or mi conviene + noun. Italians use it constantly to express smart practical advice, and it is one of the most underestimated italian impersonal verbs for everyday conversation.
🔍 Observe:
- Non ti conviene fare il furbo. You’d better not act clever.
- Ci conviene andare prima che faccia buio. We’d better go before it gets dark.
- A questo punto, penso convenga prendere un taxi. At this point, I think it’s better to take a taxi.
- Ti conviene il treno alle sette, è diretto. The seven o’clock train suits you, it’s direct.
🎯 Mini-Challenge: convenire
- 1. Translate: “It’s better for me to leave early.”
- 2. Translate: “Does this offer suit you?” (formal Lei)
Show answers
- Mi conviene partire presto.
- Le conviene questa offerta?
Dispiacere: I’m sorry, do you mind
Dispiacere doesn’t mean to dislike in modern italian. The two main uses: mi dispiace = I’m sorry (apology, regret), le dispiace se = do you mind if (polite request, formal Lei). The double negative non mi dispiace means I quite like it or not bad.
🔍 Observe:
- Mi dispiace, avevo dimenticato l’appuntamento. I’m sorry, I had forgotten the appointment.
- Ci è dispiaciuto molto quando ve ne siete andati. We were very sorry when you left.
- Le dispiace se mi siedo accanto a Lei? Do you mind if I sit next to you? (formal)
- Non mi dispiace il caffè amaro. I quite like coffee without sugar. (double negative)
- Ti dispiace chiudere la finestra? Do you mind closing the window?
🎯 Mini-Challenge: dispiacere
- 1. Translate (formal Lei): “Do you mind if I open the door?”
- 2. Translate: “I’m sorry I missed your birthday.”
- 3. Translate: “I quite like spicy food.” (double negative)
Show answers
- Le dispiace se apro la porta?
- Mi dispiace di aver perso il tuo compleanno.
- Non mi dispiace il cibo piccante.
Five traps for English speakers
Trap 1: the experiencer is NOT the subject
The english I in I feel like, I’d better, I’m sorry, it happens to me becomes the italian indirect-object pronoun mi in mi va, mi conviene, mi dispiace, mi capita. The grammatical subject is the action or thing experienced. Get this perspective right and the rest follows. This is the foundation of all italian impersonal verbs.
Trap 2: compound tenses use ESSERE with subject agreement
Mi è capitato (masculine subject), mi è capitata (feminine subject), mi sono capitate (plural feminine subject). The participle agrees with the thing, not with you. The same applies to all verbs in this family.
Trap 3: capitare vs succedere
Both translate as to happen. Capitare implies chance or unpredictability: capita di sbagliare (mistakes can happen). Succedere is more neutral and works also for planned events: cosa è successo? (what happened?). In doubt, capitare for accidents and surprises, succedere for everything else.
Trap 4: dispiacere is NOT to dislike
Mi dispiace in 95% of cases means I’m sorry, not I dislike. To say I don’t like use non mi piace. The double negative non mi dispiace means I quite like it, the opposite of what an english speaker might expect.
Trap 5: convenire is not to convene
The english cognate convene (gather, meet) exists in italian only as a formal, rare meaning. The everyday italian convenire with indirect-object pronoun means to be worth, to be advantageous, to be the smart move. Mi conviene partire = I’d better leave (it’s the smart choice).
Cheat sheet: italian impersonal verbs
| Verb | Construction | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| andare (with pron) | mi va di + inf / + noun | I feel like, I’m in the mood for |
| capitare | mi capita di + inf | it happens to me (by chance) |
| convenire | mi conviene + inf / + noun | I’d better, it’s worth my while |
| dispiacere (regret) | mi dispiace + che / di | I’m sorry |
| dispiacere (request) | le dispiace se | do you mind if |
| non dispiacere | non mi dispiace + noun | I quite like it |
Italian impersonal verbs in formal correspondence
The same italian impersonal verbs become essential when you write a formal email or letter using the courtesy form Lei. A polished business message in Italy often relies on three or four italian impersonal verbs to keep the tone deferential without sounding stiff. Le dispiace, Le va bene, Le conviene all soften a request or a proposal, turning a direct ask into a polite enquiry. The pronoun Le (capitalised in formal writing) replaces ti, and the verb stays in the third person singular.
🔍 Observe:
- Le dispiace se rimandiamo l’incontro a venerdì? Would you mind if we postpone the meeting to Friday?
- Le va bene il preventivo che Le abbiamo inviato? Are you happy with the quote we sent you?
- In allegato il calendario: Le conviene la prima settimana di luglio o la seconda? Attached is the calendar: does the first week of July or the second suit you better?
- Mi dispiace per il ritardo nella risposta, ero in ferie. I am sorry for the late reply, I was on holiday.
- Le capita mai di lavorare il sabato mattina? Do you ever happen to work on Saturday mornings?
Notice how each of these constructions maintains the same grammar described above, only the pronoun changes from informal ti to formal Le. The third-person verb form (dispiace, va, conviene, capita) stays the same. This is one of the most efficient ways to sound polite in written italian without resorting to heavy circumlocutions.
Italian impersonal verbs in informal vs formal speech
The same italian impersonal verbs shift register dramatically depending on context. At a friend’s house in Bologna, you will hear mi va, mi conviene, mi capita dropped into every other sentence, sometimes with an elided pronoun (m’è capitato) or paired with colourful intensifiers (non mi va proprio, mi va da matti). In a professional email or a courtroom in Torino, the same italian impersonal verbs appear in their full, unelided form and are paired with the courtesy Le, never with the familiar ti.
The grammar does not change: only the pronoun, the prosody, and the company the verb keeps. Compare these three layers for the same intent:
- Familiar (Bologna, with a cousin): Senti, m’è capitato un casino con la macchina, ti va di darmi una mano? Hey, I’m in a mess with the car, do you feel like giving me a hand?
- Neutral (a colleague you tutor): Mi è capitato un imprevisto con la macchina. Ti dispiace se sposto la lezione a domani? Something unexpected happened with the car. Do you mind if I move the lesson to tomorrow?
- Formal (an email to a client in Genova): Le scrivo perché mi è capitato un imprevisto: Le dispiace se rimandiamo l’incontro a mercoledì mattina, all’orario che Le conviene di più? I am writing because something unexpected has happened: would you mind if we postpone the meeting to Wednesday morning, at whichever time suits you best?
The same four italian impersonal verbs (capitare, andare, dispiacere, convenire) carry the entire message in all three registers. What changes is the surrounding lexicon: casino and darmi una mano belong to the spoken bar; imprevisto and spostare la lezione sit comfortably in a polite chat; Le scrivo perché and all’orario che Le conviene belong to written correspondence. Learners often master the formal layer first because it appears in textbooks, then have to recover the informal version by listening to native speakers in Verona, Padova or Bari.
A practical tip from teaching B1 students: when in doubt, start with the neutral version. Italian impersonal verbs in their neutral register (informal ti with full pronoun) are accepted everywhere except in strictly formal writing, and a Florentine waiter will not mind, while a Genoese lawyer will quietly upgrade you to Lei. As your ear matures, you start to feel which layer the conversation calls for, and the four italian impersonal verbs of this guide become a precision instrument rather than a single tool.
The ‘a + persona’ pattern across Italian verbs
Beyond the four italian impersonal verbs covered above, a wider family follows the same a + persona pattern. The person who experiences something is introduced by the preposition a (or by an indirect-object pronoun), while the thing experienced is the grammatical subject. Recognising this family helps you read italian with the right perspective from the start.
🔍 Compact list of a + persona verbs:
- piacere: a Marco piace il tè. Marco likes tea.
- mancare: a Sara mancano i genitori. Sara misses her parents.
- occorrere: ai bambini occorrono nuovi quaderni. The children need new notebooks.
- servire: a noi serve una mano. We need a hand.
- sembrare: a Lei sembra una buona idea? Does it seem a good idea to you?
- parere: ai colleghi pare strano. It seems strange to the colleagues.
- importare: a Luca non importa il prezzo. Luca doesn’t care about the price.
- interessare: agli studenti interessano i film d’autore. The students are interested in arthouse films.
- fare bene / fare male: a mio nonno fa male la schiena. My grandfather’s back hurts.
- capitare: a tutti capita di sbagliare. Everyone happens to make mistakes.
Memorise the family rather than each verb in isolation: once your ear accepts that italian places the experiencer after a and lets the thing drive the verb, the whole family feels natural together. Compound tenses follow the same rule already seen: auxiliary essere, past participle agreeing with the subject (the thing).
Dialogue at a Trieste enoteca
Two friends at a small enoteca in Trieste, choosing a wine flight and a few small plates on a Friday night.
- 👨🏼🦰 Ti va un calice di Refosco? Do you fancy a glass of Refosco?
- 👱🏼♀️ Mi capita raramente di berlo, ma stasera mi va volentieri un bianco fermo. I rarely drink it, but tonight I’d happily go for a still white.
- 👨🏼🦰 Ti conviene prendere anche un tagliere di formaggi, qui le porzioni sono piccole. You’d better order a cheese board too, portions are small here.
- 👱🏼♀️ Hai ragione. Ti dispiace se chiediamo anche un piatto di prosciutto di San Daniele da dividere? You’re right. Do you mind if we also ask for some San Daniele ham to share?
- 👨🏼🦰 Affatto, anzi. Mi dispiace solo che il loro Vitovska di solito sia finito a quest’ora. Not at all, on the contrary. I’m just sorry their Vitovska is usually sold out by this hour.
- 👱🏼♀️ Non mi dispiace nemmeno il loro Terrano, in realtà. I actually quite like their Terrano too.
- 👨🏼🦰 Bene allora, prendiamo una bottiglia. Ti capita mai di passare qui all’ora di pranzo? Then we’ll take a bottle. Do you ever happen to stop by at lunchtime?
- 👱🏼♀️ Solo il sabato. Mi conviene a pranzo, è molto meno affollato. Only on Saturdays. It works better for me at lunch, far less crowded.
🎯 Mini-Challenge: capstone
- 1. Translate: “Do you (informal) feel like going for a walk?”
- 2. Translate (formal Lei): “Do you mind if I close the window? It’s cold.”
- 3. Translate: “It happened to me to forget my password three times this week.”
Show answers
- Ti va di fare una passeggiata?
- Le dispiace se chiudo la finestra? Fa freddo.
- Mi è capitato di dimenticare la password tre volte questa settimana.
Further reading: Treccani: dispiacere.
Test your understanding
Ready to put italian impersonal verbs into practice? The quiz below walks through ten cloze on andare, capitare, convenire and dispiacere, plus four short spot-the-correct-sentence trios. Answers and feedback are instant, so you can spot which italian impersonal verbs still trip you up. (Quiz coming soon if it has not loaded yet.)
Italian Impersonal Verbs: Quick Check
Ten cloze on andare, capitare, convenire and dispiacere plus four spot-the-correct-sentence trios. B1 level, two pages, instant feedback.
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Frequently asked questions
What are italian impersonal verbs?
Italian impersonal verbs (also called piacere-type verbs) are verbs that flip the english perspective. The english subject (I, you, she) becomes the italian indirect-object pronoun (mi, ti, le, gli). The thing experienced is the grammatical subject. Andare with pronouns (mi va = I feel like), capitare (mi capita = it happens to me), convenire (mi conviene = I’d better), dispiacere (mi dispiace = I’m sorry) all work this way.
How do I conjugate andare to mean I feel like?
Use third person singular or plural agreeing with the thing. Mi va una birra (I feel like a beer, singular subject). Mi vanno i tortellini (I feel like tortellini, plural subject). With infinitive: mi va di uscire (I feel like going out). Negative: non mi va, non mi vanno. Conditional: mi andrebbe.
What is the difference between capitare and succedere?
Both translate as ‘to happen’. Capitare implies chance or unpredictability: capita di sbagliare (mistakes happen, can’t be helped). Succedere is more neutral: cosa è successo? (what happened?, asking for facts). In doubt: capitare for accidents and surprises, succedere for everything else. The two are often interchangeable in casual speech.
Does mi dispiace mean I dislike?
No, in 95% of cases mi dispiace means I’m sorry (apology or regret). To say I don’t like, use non mi piace. The fixed expression non mi dispiace (double negative) actually means I quite like it, the opposite of what english speakers expect. Mi dispiace can also start a polite refusal: mi dispiace, non posso (I’m sorry, I can’t).
How do I make a polite request with le dispiace?
The formal Lei + dispiace + se forms a tactful request. Le dispiace se mi siedo qui? (Do you mind if I sit here?). Le dispiace chiudere la finestra? (Would you mind closing the window?). The informal version uses ti dispiace. The pattern is dispiace + se + indicativo or dispiace + infinitive.
What does mi conviene mean?
Mi conviene means I’d better, it’s worth my while, it’s the smart choice for me. The structure: mi conviene + infinitive (mi conviene partire = I’d better leave) or mi conviene + noun (mi conviene questo treno = this train suits me). It always carries a practical, calculative undertone. Italians use it constantly to give and receive advice.
Why do compound tenses use essere with these verbs?
Italian impersonal verbs in this group all take essere as auxiliary in compound tenses, with the past participle agreeing with the grammatical subject (the thing experienced, not the experiencer). Examples: mi è capitato (masculine), mi è capitata (feminine), mi sono capitate (feminine plural). Same rule as piacere.
What does mi va a genio mean?
Mi va a genio is an idiom meaning ‘is to my taste’ or ‘I take a liking to’. The literal phrase doesn’t translate cleanly. The opposite is non mi va a genio (I don’t take to). It’s more colloquial than the standard mi piace and carries a personal-chemistry shade.
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