Did you know that some Italian verbs can use both essere and avere as auxiliaries?
This is something that drives my students crazy and so I thought it could be another interesting topic for a blog post. As I always do for this type of post, I have also created a downloadable pdf file for you to keep for future reference.
You can find the downloadable pdf file in Your Italian Toolbox, the page on my website where I upload all language-learning material, which you can access if you subscribe to my newsletter. In Your Italian Toolbox, you’ll find a lot of pdf and audio files about grammar rules and Italian vocabulary.
But let’s find out more about these Italian verbs with both auxiliaries.
Let’s start with an example using the verb cambiare.
Marcella ha cambiato la borsa perché quella che aveva era troppo piccola (Marcella has changed her bag because the one she had was too small)
Marcella è molto cambiata ultimamente, non capisco cosa le sia successo (Marcella has changed a lot lately, I really don’t understand what has happened to her).
These two examples show that the use of essere or avere depends on the specific use of the verb. In the first sentence, the verb is followed by an object and this makes it transitive, so the verb needs avere as auxiliary. In the second sentence, there is no object after the verb, so the verb is intransitive and takes essere as auxiliary.
As a general rule, we can say that the verbs that have two auxiliaries take avere if the action expressed by the verb is not reflected on the subject but it is performed on something or somebody else (transitive verb), while they take essere if the action expressed by the verb is reflected on the subject itself (intransitive verb).
For example, referring to the two sentences above, in the sentence using avere as auxiliary Maria has changed an object (the bag), so her action has an impact on something different than herself, while in the sentence using essere as auxiliary the action expressed by the verb is actually happening to Maria herself, it’s her who has changed.
These grammar explanations can be quite obscure, so let me give you more examples using the most common Italian verbs that have both auxiliaries: cominciare, iniziare, finire, crescere, passare.
Cominciare
La scuola è cominciata presto quest’anno (School has started early this year)
Marco ha cominciato la scuola superiore la scorsa settimana (Marco started high school last week)
Iniziare
Lo spettacolo è iniziato alle dieci e mezza (The show started at 10.30)
Mia figlia ha iniziato a suonare il pianoforte quando aveva dieci anni (My daughter started playing the piano when she was ten)
Finire
Il loro matrimonio è finito malissimo, mi dispiace molto (Their marriage ended very badly, I am really sad)
Ho finito di studiare presto e adesso vado al mare (I finished studying early and I’m going to the beach now)
Crescere
Tuo figlio è cresciuto tantissimo! Sembra già un uomo (Your son has grown so much! He looks like a man)
Quella donna ha cresciuto quattro figli da sola, la ammiro molto (That lady has raised four children as a single mom, I really admire her)
Here is a list of some of the most common verbs that can have both auxiliaries: aumentare, diminuire, salire, scendere, migliorare, peggiorare, cambiare, cominciare, finire, iniziare, terminare, crescere, volare, suonare, cuocere, guarire, passare, sfumare, affogare, annegare, avanzare, esplodere, invecchiare, schizzare, fallire.
Please note: there are other verbs that can have both auxiliaries and those are the verbs that are used to express the weather (piovere, nevicare, tuonare, tempestare and grandinare). In this case, the use of essere or avere doesn’t have anything to do with the meaning of the sentence, they can be used both and the meaning always stays the same. So you can say: ieri è nevicato or ieri ha nevicato and both sentences are correct.
I hope this post helps you better understand the use of double auxiliary with certain Italian verbs. Please leave a comment below if you have questions!
As I always do with posts about the Italian language, I have created a downloadable pdf file for you to keep for future reference. You will find it in Your Italian Toolbox, the private page on my site where I upload all language learning materials, under the section Grammar. If can access the page by simply subscribing to my newsletter.
If you are interested in working on Italian grammar and want to focus on some specific topics, I suggest you check Ti aiuto io, my online Italian language tutoring service.
If you purchase Ti aiuto io, I will work as your private tutor, giving you tasks and homework and spending time over Skype with you to clarify and work together on each topic. If you want to give it a try, you can request a 30-minute free chat, so that we can meet each other and see if you like the service.
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