Breakdown of Il suo fidanzato è geloso e non si fida di lei.
essere
to be
lei
she
e
and
non
not
di
of, from
suo
his/her/Your
il fidanzato
the boyfriend
fidarsi
to trust
geloso
jealous
Questions & Answers about Il suo fidanzato è geloso e non si fida di lei.
Since this lesson is about reciprocal actions, does si mean "each other" here?
Not in this sentence. While si is used for reciprocal actions with plural verbs (like si parlano, meaning they speak to each other), it is also used for regular reflexive verbs. Here, the verb is fidarsi (to trust), and the subject is singular (the boyfriend). If they didn't trust each other, the verb would be plural: non si fidano.
Why is it Il suo fidanzato if the English translation says "Her boyfriend"? Doesn't suo mean his?
In Italian, possessive adjectives always match the gender and number of the thing being owned, not the owner. Since fidanzato is masculine, you must use the masculine suo, even though the boyfriend belongs to a female. The context of the conversation tells us it means "her boyfriend" rather than "his boyfriend".
Why is the word di used before lei?
Why do we use lei for "her" instead of a pronoun like la?
Because the verb fidarsi requires the preposition di, we have to use a stressed pronoun after it. Stressed pronouns include words like me, te, lui, and lei. Unstressed object pronouns like la cannot be attached to or placed right after a preposition.
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