Learn Italian: È difficile cavarsela quando hai nostalgia di casa. - It is hard to manage when you are homesick.

È difficile cavarsela quando hai nostalgia di casa.

It is hard to manage when you are homesick.

Breakdown of È difficile cavarsela quando hai nostalgia di casa.

Questions & Answers about È difficile cavarsela quando hai nostalgia di casa.

How is the word cavarsela formed?

It is a pronominal verb made of three parts: the root verb cavare (to pull out or extract), the reflexive pronoun si (which changes to se before another pronoun), and the direct object pronoun la (it). Combined, they create the fixed idiom meaning "to get by" or "to manage."

Why is cavarsela left in the infinitive here instead of being conjugated?

It stays in the infinitive because it follows the impersonal expression è difficile (it is difficult). In Italian, an adjective describing a general action is directly followed by the infinitive of the verb. Notice how the final -e of cavare is dropped to attach the pronouns: cavar + se + la.

If the second half of the sentence uses "you" (hai), shouldn't the first half use cavartela instead of cavarsela?

That's a great observation! You absolutely could say è difficile cavartela to match the "you" in hai. By using cavarsela, the speaker makes the first part a broad, universal statement ("It is hard for anyone to get by"), before switching to the informal, general "you" in the second half. Both are perfectly natural.

Why does Italian use hai nostalgia instead of an adjective for "homesick"?