Question 1

Since this lesson is about proprio, could I use it here and say invade spesso il proprio spazio personale?

Accepted Answer

If you did, it would completely change the meaning! The word proprio always refers back to the subject of the sentence. The subject here is 'he' (the meddler). So, invade il proprio spazio would mean 'he invades his own space'. Because he is invading my space, you must stick to il mio.

Question 2

What does visto che mean here? Is it related to the verb vedere (to see)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, visto is the past participle of vedere, but the fixed phrase visto che translates to 'seeing that', 'given that', or simply 'since'. It is a very common way to introduce a cause or reason in everyday Italian, much like siccome.

Question 3

Why is there a -si attached to the end of intromettersi?

Accepted Answer

Intromettersi (to meddle / to interfere) is a reflexive verb, so it requires the reflexive pronoun -si for the 'he/she' form. Because it follows another conjugated verb (ama), it stays in the infinitive form, and the pronoun attaches directly to the end of it (dropping the final 'e' of intromettere).

Question 4

Why is spesso placed after the verb invade instead of before it?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, adverbs of frequency like spesso (often), sempre (always), and mai (never) typically go immediately after the conjugated verb. While English speakers naturally put them before the verb ('he often invades'), Italian prefers invade spesso.

Visto che ama intromettersi, invade spesso il mio spazio personale.

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