Breakdown of Dopo la preghiera, ci si è seduti in silenzio con devozione.
essere
to be
in
in / made of (material)
con
with
sedersi
to sit down
il silenzio
the silence
dopo
after
ci si
one (impersonal with reflexive verbs)
la preghiera
the prayer
la devozione
the devotion
Questions & Answers about Dopo la preghiera, ci si è seduti in silenzio con devozione.
Why do we use ci si here instead of just si for 'one sat down'?
Since the subject is the impersonal 'one', why is the past participle seduti in the plural instead of the singular seduto?
This is the core rule for the impersonal si and ci si in compound tenses. Whenever the verb takes essere as its helping verb—which all reflexive verbs do—the past participle must take the masculine plural ending -i. Even though 'one' feels singular in English, Italian requires the plural seduti here.
Could we use avere as the helping verb and say ci si ha seduti?
No, you must use essere here. Reflexive verbs like sedersi always take essere in compound tenses. Making the verb impersonal doesn't change this underlying rule, so the helping verb remains è.
Why do we say in silenzio but con devozione?
Italian often relies on fixed prepositional phrases for these descriptive states. In silenzio (in silence) is a standard fixed expression. However, for expressing emotions, attitudes, or virtues, Italian typically uses con (with), giving us phrases like con devozione (with devotion) or con gioia (with joy).
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