Il capitano è infortunato e non se la sente di giocare.

Questions & Answers about Il capitano è infortunato e non se la sente di giocare.

How does sentirsela break down in non se la sente?
Sentirsela means to feel up to doing something. It is made of the reflexive pronoun si, the pronoun la (which acts as a fixed part of the expression here), and the verb sentire. Because the captain is the one doing the feeling, we use the third-person form. The si changes to se before la, resulting in se la sente.
Why is there a di before giocare?
When you use sentirsela followed by another action, you must connect it to the infinitive verb with the preposition di. Therefore, to feel up to playing becomes sentirsela di giocare.
Could I use ferito instead of infortunato for the captain's injury?
It would sound unnatural here. Infortunato is the specific word for sports injuries or accidents, like pulling a muscle or twisting an ankle. Ferito translates closer to wounded, implying a cut or physical trauma from a weapon or a crash.
Where does the negative non go when using a pronominal verb like this?
The non always goes right before the pronoun block. You treat the pronouns (se la) and the verb (sente) as a single inseparable unit, so the negative word sits at the very front to make non se la sente.

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