Learn Italian: È consapevole della situazione, quindi ne approfitta. - He is aware of the situation, so he takes advantage of it.

È consapevole della situazione, quindi ne approfitta.

He is aware of the situation, so he takes advantage of it.

Breakdown of È consapevole della situazione, quindi ne approfitta.

Questions & Answers about È consapevole della situazione, quindi ne approfitta.

Why do we use ne before approfitta instead of a direct object pronoun like lo or la?

The base verb is approfittare di (to take advantage of). In Italian, when a verb requires the preposition di, you must use the pronoun ne to say 'of it' or 'about it'. You cannot use lo or la because those are reserved for direct objects.

Is ne referring directly back to della situazione?

Exactly! To say 'he takes advantage of the situation' you would normally say approfitta della situazione. To avoid repeating it in the second half of the sentence, ne steps in to replace di + la situazione, neatly translating to 'of it'.

Could I attach the pronoun to the end and write approfittane?

Not in this sentence. Because the verb is conjugated in the present tense (he takes advantage), the pronoun ne must go before it. You only attach pronouns to the end of infinitives like approfittarne (to take advantage of it), gerunds, or imperative commands.

Does the adjective consapevole always require the preposition di?