Breakdown of Ci è stato ordinato di aspettare in carcere.
essere
to be
in
in / made of (material)
aspettare
to wait / to wait for
ordinare
to order
ci
to us
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
il carcere
the prison
Questions & Answers about Ci è stato ordinato di aspettare in carcere.
Why is the verb singular (è stato ordinato) when the English translation is plural (We were ordered)?
This is the core of the impersonal passive for verbs that take an indirect object. In active voice, you order 'to' someone (ordinare a qualcuno). Because we are the indirect object (ci), we cannot become the grammatical subject of the passive sentence. Instead, the sentence is structured impersonally as 'It was ordered to us'. The passive verb therefore remains in the third-person singular.
Could I say siamo stati ordinati di aspettare instead?
No, that would actually mean 'we were sorted' or 'we were tidied up'. When ordinare means 'to arrange' or 'to tidy', it takes a direct object and can be made into a standard passive. But when it means 'to command', it requires an indirect object, so you must use the impersonal form ci è stato ordinato.
Why do we need the preposition di before aspettare?
The verb ordinare requires the preposition di when it is followed by an infinitive verb. The complete pattern is ordinare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa (to order someone to do something).
Why is there no definite article used in the phrase in carcere?
Just like the English phrase 'in prison', Italian drops the article and simply says in carcere when referring generally to the state of being locked up. If you were talking about something happening inside a specific physical building, you would use the articulated preposition nel carcere.
Learn Ci è stato ordinato di aspettare in carcere 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