Breakdown of Gli escursionisti dispersi vengono soccorsi dall'elicottero.
l'elicottero
the helicopter
da
by (agent of a passive verb)
l'escursionista
hiker
disperso
missing
venire
to be (passive auxiliary)
soccorrere
to rescue
Questions & Answers about Gli escursionisti dispersi vengono soccorsi dall'elicottero.
The current lesson is about using "rimanere" or "restare" for the passive voice, but this sentence uses "vengono". Why?
The lesson focuses on the resultative passive (describing a state resulting from an action, like rimangono feriti - they are left injured). However, vengono soccorsi uses venire to form a dynamic passive. Using venire emphasizes the actual action of the rescue taking place, contrasting with rimanere or restare, which emphasize the state or condition the subject is left in.
Could we use "sono" instead of "vengono" to say "they are rescued"?
You could, but vengono soccorsi is much more common and clear. In Italian, using essere + past participle can sometimes be ambiguous because it often describes a finished state. Using venire as the auxiliary verb makes it 100% clear that the action is actively happening right now, rather than a state that has already been achieved.
Why use "dispersi" for "missing" instead of "mancanti"?
Disperso is the specific term used for people who are lost in the wilderness, unaccounted for after a disaster, or missing in action. Mancante, on the other hand, means "lacking" or "absent from a set," like a missing puzzle piece, a missing ingredient, or a missing document.
In the passive voice with "venire", does the past participle always change its ending?
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