Breakdown of Si è misurato l'incremento del trimestre e ne abbiamo visti di grandi.
essere
to be
e
and
grande
big
avere
to have
vedere
to see
del
of the; than the (di + il)
ne
of it / of them / some (pronoun)
si
one (impersonal)
misurare
to measure
di
(linking an indefinite pronoun to an adjective)
il trimestre
the quarter
l'incremento
the increase (m)
Questions & Answers about Si è misurato l'incremento del trimestre e ne abbiamo visti di grandi.
Why does this sentence use è misurato instead of ha misurato?
This is the si passivante (passive 'si'). In compound tenses like the passato prossimo, the si passivante always takes essere as its auxiliary verb. Because it acts like a passive voice, the verb and its past participle (misurato) must agree with the subject receiving the action—in this case, the masculine singular noun l'incremento.
If the sentence starts by talking about the singular l'incremento, why is the second participle plural (visti)?
The second clause introduces the partitive pronoun ne, meaning 'of them' (referring to a broader plural concept of 'increases'). When you use ne as a direct object in a compound tense, the past participle must agree with the gender and number of the noun ne replaces. Since it replaces the masculine plural concept of 'increases', the participle becomes visti.
Why is there a di before grandi at the end of the sentence?
This is a specific rule triggered by the pronoun ne. When ne replaces a noun and you want to describe those replaced items with a standalone adjective (like saying 'big ones' in English), you must put the preposition di right before the adjective. So, 'we saw big ones' becomes ne abbiamo visti di grandi.
Could si è misurato also be translated as an impersonal 'one measured' or 'they measured'?
Yes! In Italian, the si passivante (the increase was measured) and the si impersonale (one measured the increase) overlap perfectly when there is a direct object. Even though grammatically l'incremento is the subject of a passive verb, Italians often use this exact structure to convey the general impersonal meaning of 'they/we/one measured the increase'.
Learn Si è misurato l'incremento del trimestre e ne abbiamo visti di grandi and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free