Breakdown of Questa non è una premonizione e non c'entra niente, glielo assicuro.
essere
to be
una
a / an (feminine)
e
and
questa
this (feminine)
non
not
niente
nothing
glielo
it to him/her
assicurare
to assure
entrarci
to have to do with
la premonizione
the premonition
Questions & Answers about Questa non è una premonizione e non c'entra niente, glielo assicuro.
What exactly does the lo in glielo refer to in this sentence?
This is a perfect example of the pro-clausal lo. Instead of replacing a specific masculine noun, it replaces the entire preceding idea: the fact that "this is not a premonition and has nothing to do with it." While English might say "I assure you of this" or just "I assure you," Italian cleanly packages the whole statement into the pronoun lo.
The translation says "I assure you," but doesn't glie- usually mean "to him" or "to her"?
It does, but it is also used for the formal "to you" (A Lei). When the formal indirect object pronoun Le combines with a direct object pronoun like lo, it changes to glie- to form the single word glielo. If the speaker were talking informally to a friend, they would use ti, making the phrase te lo assicuro.
Why does assicurare take an indirect object for the person being assured?
Because the structure in Italian is assicurare qualcosa a qualcuno (literally "to assure something to someone"). The "something" is the direct object (the pro-clausal lo), and the person receiving the assurance is the indirect object (the gli- part of glielo).
How does c'entra translate to "has to do with it"?
The verb here is entrarci, a very common idiomatic pronominal verb. By attaching the particle ci (which drops its vowel before entra), the verb entrare changes from "to enter" to "to be relevant" or "to have to do with [something]." The phrase non c'entra niente is a set expression meaning "it has absolutely nothing to do with it."
Learn Questa non è una premonizione e non c'entra niente, glielo assicuro 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