Breakdown of Ci si è comportati in modo neutrale, senza alcun pregiudizio.
essere
to be
in
in / made of (material)
senza
without
il modo
the way
ci si
one (impersonal with reflexive verbs)
comportarsi
to behave
alcuno
any (in negative contexts)
il pregiudizio
the prejudice, bias
neutrale
neutral
Questions & Answers about Ci si è comportati in modo neutrale, senza alcun pregiudizio.
Why is it ci si è comportati instead of just si è comportati?
Why does the past participle comportati end in -i if the subject is the impersonal 'one'?
When using the impersonal ci si construction with a reflexive verb, the past participle always takes the masculine plural ending -i. Even though we translate it as singular 'one behaved', Italian grammar treats this impersonal reflexive as a collective group.
How does senza alcun fit into expressing disregard, and could I use nessun instead?
Phrases of disregard often express the absence of a factor. The preposition senza (without) has a negative meaning, which allows us to use alcun (any) to mean 'without any'. You could absolutely say senza nessun pregiudizio (without no prejudice), but senza alcun is a very elegant and common way to express total disregard for something.
Why is the word shortened to alcun rather than using the full alcuno?
The adjective alcuno follows the exact same shortening rules as the indefinite article uno. It drops its final -o before masculine singular nouns that begin with a vowel or most consonants. Since pregiudizio starts with pr- (just like you would say un pregiudizio), it becomes alcun pregiudizio.
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