Breakdown of In passato, si è filato e si è faticato molto.
essere
to be
e
and
molto
a lot of / much
in
in / made of (material)
si
one (impersonal)
il passato
the past
filare
to spin (yarn/thread)
faticare
to toil / struggle
Questions & Answers about In passato, si è filato e si è faticato molto.
Why do we use è instead of ha for filare and faticare?
Both filare (to spin) and faticare (to toil) normally use the auxiliary verb avere (for example, ho faticato). However, this sentence uses the impersonal si (meaning "one" or "people in general"). Whenever you form a compound tense like the passato prossimo with the impersonal si, the auxiliary verb always shifts to essere, even if the verb usually takes avere.
Since the auxiliary is essere, why don't the past participles filato and faticato end in the plural -i to match "people"?
When a verb that normally takes avere is made impersonal with si, its past participle stays in the default masculine singular form (ending in -o). It only changes to the plural -i if the verb inherently takes essere (like verbs of motion, e.g., si è andati), or if the sentence has a plural direct object (known as the si passivante).
Is it necessary to repeat si è before faticato, or could I just say "si è filato e faticato"?
I've heard the word filare used differently. Does it always mean "to spin"?
Its literal meaning is "to spin" (like spinning yarn or thread), which was a very common, labor-intensive chore in the past. However, you will often hear it in modern Italian idioms! For example, filare liscio means "to go smoothly" (like a well-spun thread), and filarsela is common slang for "to run away" or "to scram".
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