La commissione si riunisce oggi.

The committee meets today.

Breakdown of La commissione si riunisce oggi.

• oggi: today
• riunirsi: to meet
• la commissione: the commission; committee

Questions & Answers about La commissione si riunisce oggi.

Why is it la commissione and not just commissione?

In Italian, nouns are often used with an article where English might omit one. La is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

So la commissione means the commission.
The noun commissione is feminine singular, so it takes la.

Why is commissione feminine?

Because grammatical gender in Italian is a property of the noun itself. Commissione is a feminine noun, so it takes feminine articles and adjectives.

That does not mean the commission is female in any real-world sense. It is just how the noun behaves grammatically:

• la commissione
• una commissione

What is si riunisce? Is it reflexive?

Yes, riunirsi is a reflexive or pronominal verb, and here it means to meet or to gather.

So:

• riunire = to gather something / to bring together
• riunirsi = to gather together / to meet

In this sentence, si riunisce means meets or is meeting.

The si is not optional here. It is part of the verb riunirsi.

Why is it riunisce and not another form of the verb?