Breakdown of Non me la sentivo di giocare perché ero infortunato, ma lui se l'è presa.
essere
to be
lui
he
ma
but
non
not
perché
because, why
giocare
to play
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
infortunato
injured
sentirsela
to feel up to
prendersela
to take offense
Questions & Answers about Non me la sentivo di giocare perché ero infortunato, ma lui se l'è presa.
Why is it me la sentivo instead of just mi sentivo?
The regular reflexive verb sentirsi just means "to feel" (like an emotion or physical state). However, this sentence uses the pronominal verb sentirsela, which means "to feel up to" doing something. The la is just a built-in part of the verb, and when it is paired with the reflexive pronoun mi, the mi changes to me.
Why do we need the preposition di before giocare?
When you want to say what action you "feel up to" doing, the verb sentirsela must be followed by the preposition di plus an infinitive verb. So, "to feel up to playing" translates to sentirsela di giocare.
If the subject is lui (he), why does the sentence end with the feminine form presa?
This is a key rule for pronominal verbs that contain the pronoun la, like prendersela (to take offense). In the past tense (passato prossimo), the past participle must agree with the built-in direct object pronoun la. Because la is feminine, the past participle must become presa, completely ignoring the gender of the person who actually took offense!
Why use the imperfect tense (sentivo, ero) early in the sentence, but the passato prossimo (è presa) at the end?
The imperfect is used to describe the ongoing background state in the past (how you were feeling, and the fact that you were injured). The passato prossimo is used for the sudden, completed action that interrupted or reacted to that background state: the moment "he took offense."
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