Italian impersonal form

In Italian language, when we speak in general (formal or informal) or we give direction we can use the infinitive or the imperative mood, but also we can use the Impersonal form. The easier impersonal form is “Essere“ in third person + “aggettivo“ = “to be” + adjective

e.g.

E’ bello imparare l’italiano	= It is beautiful to learn Italian
A Roma è necessario parlare italiano	= It is necessary to speak Italian in Rome

.

In Italian all the verb and all the tense can be constructed in the impersonal form using the “SI” + third person , because the subject is generic (formal or informal), not specified.

Generally Italian “SI” in English is “One” e.g.

.

Si vede che sei felice	= One can see you are happy
Non si è mai troppo vecchi per imparare l’italiano	= One is never too old to learn Italian
Come si dice “ciao” in inglese ?	= How does one say “ciao” in English? or How do you say “ciao” in English?

.

But also:

.

In Italia si beve molto caffè	= In Italy we [Italian people, in general] drink a lot of coffee
In Inghilterra si beve molto tè	= In England they drink a lot of tea

And

Si dice che Luca sia generoso	=[It is said] They said that Luca is generous
Si affittano appartamenti	= Flat to let