“Mettersi a” in Italian
“Mettersi a” Meaning
Mettersi a is an Italian construction used to express the idea of starting or beginning an action, often with a sense of spontaneity or casualness.
Linguistically speaking, it is composed of:
- Mettersi: a reflexive verb, meaning it requires a reflexive pronoun. The fact that it makes use of a reflexive verb shows that the action is being done by and directed back toward the subject
- A: this preposition follows mettersi and connects it to a present infinitive verb, indicating what action the subject is beginning.
This structure gives a sense of starting something spontaneously or without much planning, which differs from the straightforward iniziare a or cominciare a (both meaning “to begin”, “to start).
How to use “Mettersi a” in Italian
In Italian, mettersi a is used flexibly across various verb tenses. However, no matter the tense mettersi is conjugated in, it is always followed by a present infinitive verb.
For instance:
Fra poco mi metto a studiare.
In a bit I’ll start studying.
Mi sono messo a studiare alle 3.
I started studyingat 3.
Mi metterò a studiare dopo.
I will start studying later.
In all cases, studiare is kept in the infinitive form.
“Mettersi” Conjugation
Here I will conjugate mettersi in different main indicative tenses:
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| io | mi metto |
| tu | ti metti |
| lui/lei/Lei | si mette |
| noi | ci mettiamo |
| voi | vi mettete |
| loro | si mettono |
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| io | mi sono messo/a |
| tu | ti sei messo/a |
| lui/lei/Lei | si è messo/a |
| noi | ci siamo messi/e |
| voi | vi siete messi/e |
| loro | si sono messi/e |
Notice that the auxiliary verb is essere given the fact that mettersi is a reflexive verb, and as a consequence, the past participle changes depending on gender and number of the subject.
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| io | mi mettevo |
| tu | ti mettevi |
| lui/lei/Lei | si metteva |
| noi | ci mettevamo |
| voi | vi mettevate |
| loro | si mettevano |
| Subject Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| io | mi metterò |
| tu | ti metterai |
| lui/lei/Lei | si metterà |
| noi | ci metteremo |
| voi | vi metterete |
| loro | si metteranno |
Common Expressions With “Mettersi a”
Mettersi a is often used in common expressions to convey actions that begin suddenly, as well as figurative expressions that are frequently used in Italian.
- Mettersi a piovere – to start raining
Siamo usciti, e subito si è messo a piovere.
We went out, and it immediately started to rain.
- Mettersi a dieta – to start a diet
Dopo le feste, mi sono messo a dieta.
After the holidays, I started a diet.
- Mettersi a lavorare – to start working
Adesso basta scherzare, mettiamoci a lavorare.
Enough joking around, let’s start working.
- Mettersi a ridere – to start laughing
Appena ha sentito la battuta, si è messo a ridere.
As soon as he heard the joke, he started laughing.
