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Purtroppo, l'udito del nonno si va affievolendo.

Purtroppo, l'udito del nonno si va affievolendo.
Unfortunately, grandfather's hearing is gradually weakening.
From Lesson 325:Gradual actions (andare + gerundio)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Purtroppo, l'udito del nonno si va affievolendo.

How does va affievolendo differ from sta affievolendo?
The structure andare + gerund describes an action that is progressing gradually over time. If we used stare + gerund (si sta affievolendo), it would simply mean the hearing 'is weakening' right now. Using andare adds the specific nuance of 'is gradually weakening' or 'keeps getting weaker.'
Why is the reflexive pronoun si placed before va? Can it go anywhere else?
Yes! With continuous constructions like andare + gerund (or stare + gerund), you have two choices for pronoun placement. You can put it before the conjugated verb (si va affievolendo) or drop the final 'o' of the gerund and attach it directly to the end (va affievolendosi). Both are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing.
Where does the si come from in the first place?
It comes from the infinitive affievolirsi (to grow weak or to fade). This is the pronominal (reflexive) form of affievolire (to weaken). Because the grandfather's hearing is weakening intrinsically rather than acting upon an outside object, it requires the reflexive pronoun.
Why is 'hearing' translated as l'udito here?
L'udito refers strictly to the biological sense of hearing (one of the five senses). If you are talking about the deliberate act of listening to something, such as a listening comprehension exercise in a language class, you would use the word l'ascolto.

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