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### Impersonal necessity with *bisogna*

To talk about general rules or what "one must" do, Italian uses the impersonal expression **bisogna**. 

Because it is impersonal, **bisogna** doesn't change to match a specific subject. It is always followed directly by an infinitive. This makes it perfect for discussing general obligations like the rules of the road.

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To say "one must not" do something, place **non** before **bisogna**.

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When using a reflexive verb, attach the pronoun **si** to the end of the infinitive, dropping the final *-e*.

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### Other ways to state rules

You can express similar ideas using **è** (it is) plus an adjective, such as **è importante** (it is important) or **è pericoloso** (it is dangerous), followed by an infinitive.

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### Impersonal rules vs. personal obligations

**Bisogna** only works for *general* statements without a specific subject. To say that a *specific* person must do something, use the verb **dovere** (must) conjugated for that person, or simply conjugate the action verb normally.

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Impersonal necessity (bisogna)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
to be necessary	bisognare
one must, it is necessary (frozen impersonal of bisognare)	bisogna
cautious	prudente
Since there is a lot of traffic, one must be cautious.	Siccome c'è molto traffico, bisogna essere prudenti.
the limit	il limite
the speed	la velocità
The speed limit is fifty, so one must slow down.	Il limite di velocità è cinquanta, allora bisogna rallentare.
to fasten	allacciare
the belt	la cintura
One must always fasten the seatbelt in the car.	Bisogna sempre allacciare la cintura in macchina.
the pedestrian	il pedone
the sidewalk, the pavement	il marciapiede
to cross	attraversare
When a pedestrian crosses the street, one must stop.	Quando un pedone attraversa la strada, bisogna fermarsi.
It is important to respect speed limits.	È importante rispettare i limiti di velocità.
the helmet	il casco
One must put on a helmet to use the bicycle.	Bisogna mettere il casco per usare la bicicletta.
to overtake	sorpassare
It is dangerous to overtake another car here.	È pericoloso sorpassare un'altra macchina qui.
Since there are some pedestrians, one must not overtake now.	Siccome ci sono alcuni pedoni, non bisogna sorpassare adesso.
Why do you never fasten your seatbelt?	Perché non allacci mai la cintura?
I always put on my helmet when I use the bicycle.	Metto sempre il casco quando uso la bicicletta.
Pedestrians must be cautious when they cross.	I pedoni devono essere prudenti quando attraversano.
the petrol, the gasoline	la benzina
In the car you must fasten your seatbelt.	In macchina bisogna allacciare la cintura.
One must be cautious when there is traffic.	Bisogna essere prudenti quando c'è traffico.
The car is out of petrol.	La macchina è senza benzina.
Petrol costs a lot this month.	La benzina costa molto questo mese.
Pedestrians walk on the sidewalk.	I pedoni camminano sul marciapiede.
I cross the street and walk on the sidewalk.	Attraverso la strada e cammino sul marciapiede.

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