The Many Meanings of “Entrare” and “Entrarci”

The Italian verb  entrare  is often used to describe physically entering a place and can be translated as “to enter,” “to go in” or “to come in.” In fact, the Italian and English verbs entrare and enter are cognates; both verbs share a common origin in the Latin language. Also, along with carrying the same primary definition,  entrare and enter have a similar sound when pronounced in each language, and are used in a similar way.

Besides the basic meaning of “to enter a place,” entrare  and enter are also the verbs used to give direction to performers. For instance, the characters in a play are queued to “enter” the stage at specific points in a scene. When musicians play together, each  instrument must “enter” the piece of music by playing their part  at a precise beat in time. 

When talking about physical objects, the meaning of the Italian verb entrare is stretched a bit, and  can take on the meaning of “to fit” into a place. For instance, a piece of furniture may be the right size to  “enter into” and “fit” in a room. Or a jacket may be too small and therefore one’s arms cannot “enter” or “fit” into the sleeves.

Entrare and enter can also be used figuratively to describe the act of “entering” a competition, such as a political race or a sporting event. One can also “enter” into a particular business in both languages.  However, English speakers “join” a club but in Italian, entrare is used to describe when one “signs up for” an organization. If one persists in trying to  “join” or “get involved” with others where he or she is not welcome, the Italian verb entrare can  take on a negative connotation. In English we might use the verb “meddling” to describe this type of situation or say an individual is “sticking their nose into” matters that are none of their concern.

Entrarci, the pronominal cousin of entrare, has the pronominal particle “ci” at its end, which serves to change the meaning of the original verb.  In English, prepositions are used in a similar way to change a verb’s original meaning, and entrarci is translated with the English phrases “to have to do with” or “to be related to.” 

When speaking in Italian, simply put “ci” before the conjugated form of entrare
and you can describe if one thing “has to do with” another — or not! 

Finally, there are many common Italian expressions that use entrare, which are listed at the end of this blog.

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How to Conjugate Entrare and Entrarci

Entrare is a regular -are verb in the present tense. The full conjugation is given in the table below:

Present Tense Entrare — To Enter

io	entro	I enter
tu	entri	You (familiar) enter
Lei, lei, lui	entra	You (polite), he, she enters
noi	entriamo	We enter
voi	entrate	You all enter
loro	entrano	They enter

 

Past Tense Entrare:

Passato Prossimo: The past participle is regular, and is entrato. Since entrare is a verb that describes directional motion (from one place to another), entrare takes essere as the helping verb and the ending of the past participle will change to reflect the gender and number of the speaker. The full conjugation is:
sono entrato(a), sei entrato(a), è entrato(a), siamo entrati(e), sieti entrati(e), sono entrati(e)

Imperfetto: Entrare has a regular conjugation in the imperfetto past tense (entravo, entravi, entrava, entravamo, entravate, entravano).

 

Future tense Entrare: Entrare is a regular verb in the future tense: entrerò, entrerai, entrerà, entreremo, entrerete, enttereranno.

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As mentioned in the first section, entrarci is conjugated in the same way as entrare. The difference is that the pronominal particle ci must be placed before the conjugated form of entrare in order to change the meaning of the verb from “to enter”  into “to have to do with” or “to be related to.”

See the full conjugation of entrarci in the present tense in the table below. The original conjugation table for entrare given above in the previous section has been modified for entrarci. Notice how the meaning has changed compared with the first table.

Present Tense Entrarci — To Have to Do With

io	Non c’entro niente con… Non c’entro niente! C’entro con…	I have nothing to do with… I have nothing to do with it! I have (something) to do with…
tu	Non c’entri niente con… Non c’entri niente! C’entri con…	You (fam.) have nothing to do with… You (fam.) have nothing to do with it! You (fam.) have (something) to do with…
Lei, lei, lui	Non c’entra niente con… Non c’entra niente! C’entra con…	You (pol.), he, she has nothing to do with… You (pol.),he, she has nothing to do with it! You (pol.), he, she has (something) to do with…
noi	Non c’entiramo niente con… Non c’entriamo niente! C’entriamo con…	We have nothing to do with… We have nothing to do with it! We have (something) to do with…
voi	Non c’entrate niente con… Non c’entrate niente! C’entrate con…	You all have nothing to do with… You all have nothing to do with it! You all have (something) to do with…
loro	Non c’entrano niente con… Non c’entrano niente! C’entrano con…	They have nothing to do with… They have nothing to do with it! They have (something) to do with…

A few more points taken from the conjugation table for entrarci in the present tense:

The sequence of [ci + entrare] brings up an additional grammatical point. Since Italian does not flow easily when consecutive words end and start with a vowel, the “i” in ci is replaced by an apostrophe and then  c’ is placed directly before each conjugated form of the root verb entrare. The pronominal particle and the conjugated verb are pronounced as one word that now begins with “c’e.” Remember that  in Italian ci is pronounced “chee” (like cheese). But, with the new c’e combination, the pronunciation will change to “cheh” (like cheddar).

Each conjugation of entrarci is given with both negative and positive examples, with the negative examples given first.  In fact, it is probably more common to use entrarci and its English equivalent phrase in the negative sense than the positive.  Entrarci is used in negative phrases with “non,” “niente” added to the Italian phrase and “nothing” is added to the verb-phrase in the English translation. A common expression in the first person in  both languages is, “I have nothing to do with it!”  To say, “That has nothing to do with it!” just use the third person singular conjugation. If one has “nothing at all” to do with it, this is expressed with “per niente.”

Add the English word “something” to create a positive statement when translating entrarci, as noted in the table above. 

Notice also from the English translation in our present tense table that the Italian preposition “con” for  “with” is included in the verb entrarci  in two situations: (1) when used with niente alone to create the phrase “… has/have nothing to do with it!” and (2) for a short phrase ends with someone’s name or a subject pronoun. For example: “Che c’entra Maria?” for “What does Maria have to do with it?” or “Che c’entro io?” for “What do I have to do with this?” In these two examples, it is not necessary to add “con” to the Italian phrase.

 

Past Tense Entraci:   

Passato Prossimo: The past participle is regular, and is entrato. Entrarci takes essere as the helping verb, just like entrare, and the ending of the past participle will change to reflect the gender and number of the speaker. The pronominal particle ci is again placed before the conjugated form of entrare. For the third person singular, the “ci + è” becomes “c’e.” 

The full conjugation is:
ci sono entrato(a), ci sei entrato(a), c’è entrato(a), ci siamo entrati(e), ci sieti entrati(e), ci sono entrati(e)

Imperfetto: Entrarci has a regular conjugation in the imperfetto past tense. When placing ci before each conjugated form of  entrarci, the “i” in ci will be replaced by an apostrophe and the pronominal particle and the conjugated verb will be pronounced as one word.  (c’entravo, c’entravi, c’entrava, c’entravamo, c’entravate, c’entravano).

 

Future tense Entrarci: Entrarci is a regular verb in the future tense. When placing ci before each conjugated form of  entrarci, the “i” in ci will be replaced by an apostrophe and the pronominal particle and the conjugated verb will be pronounced as one word:  c’entrerò, c’entrerai, c’entrerà, c’entreremo, c’entrerete, c’entrereranno.

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1. Use entrare with the literal meaning “to enter” (a place), “to go in” or “to come in.”

• As noted in the introduction, the verb entrare is a cognate with the English verb “to enter,” and both verbs are used in a straightforward way to describe someone physically entering a place.
• In Italian, a simple “Entra!” is used for the English phrase, “Come in!” when someone is at the door.  Often the person asking for entrance will say, “Posso?” for “May I?” with or without adding entrare to the phrase.
• Remember that in Italian the preposition to use with entrare will be linked to the place you are entering. For instance, one enters “in” an office, church, or pizzeria in Italian. But, one enters “al cinema” or “al museo.”  Notice in the second example below that the Italian preposition “a” is also used when in English we would say, “in” a city. If you need a refresher on when to use the Italian prepositions in and a, visit an earlier blog in this series, “Italian Preposition “A” or “In”?
• Entrata is the noun derived from entrare that means “entrance,” and like entrare is used both literally and figuratively.

Entro in ufficio alle otto di mattina dal lunedì al venerdì.
I go into the office at 8 in the morning from Monday to Friday.

In Italia, la prima domenica di ogni mese, l’entrata al museo Palazzo Pitti a Firenze è libera.
In Italy, on the first Sunday of each month, the entrance to the Palazzo Pitti museum in Florence is free.

Posso entrare?
May I enter/come in?

Si, entra! L’aspettavamo.
Yes, come in! We have been waiting for you (polite).

 

2. Use entrare  to describe when a character in a performance goes on stage or when a musician starts to play their part.

• The verb entrare is an integral part of stage directions for plays, movies, and other performance arts. Characters are directed to “enter” and “exit” the scene at the appropriate time in the script. Again, remember which Italian preposition goes with which place the character is entering,  either in or a!
• Musicians also use entrare in Italian and enter in English describe the act of starting to play their part at a particular beat in time.

Il personaggio Maria deve entrare in salotto dopo aver sentito un rumore forte .
The character Mary must enter (in) the livingroom after she hears a loud noise.

I violini entrano due ritmi dopo i celli.
The violins enter/begin to play two beats after the cellos.

 

3. Use entrare in Italian to describe if an item “fits” into a room or if a piece of clothing “fits” on a person.

• The verb entrare is used in Italian to describe the physical presence of one item with regard to a certain space; in English that concept is described with the verb “to fit.”
• Entrare in Italian and to fit in English also describes the nature of clothing with respect to the person wearing the clothing.
• Italians today also use the popular phrase “va bene” to describe how an article of clothing fits someone. This expression is commonly used to mean, “It goes well.”  But if an Italian is trying on clothing,  he or she may also use this expression to say, “(Questa maglietta) Mi va bene?“ meaning, “Does this (T-shirt) fit me?” If yes, the answer would be, “Si, ti va bene!” for “Yes, it fits you!” If you think an article of clothing does not fit you properly, you might say, “Non mi va!”
• To describe if an item of clothing “looks good” on someone in Italian, use the verb stare. The Italian expressions that use stare (to stay/to be) don’t translate word-for-word into English. For instance, “Come sto?” is used to ask a friend, “How do I look?” when trying on a piece of clothing but if taken literally, means, “How am I staying?” If the person wearing the article of clothing in question looks good in his or her outfit, a friend might say, “ Ti sta bene,” or even ” Ti sta benissimo!” for “It looks (really) good on you!”  Of course, if the clothing doesn’t look right for some reason, the opposite phrase would apply — your friend might say, “Non ti sta bene!” for “It doesn’t look good on you!”
• For an in-depth explanation about the different verbs Italians use to describe getting dressed, visit a previous blog in this series, “Vestirsi — How We Dress.”
• Remember that you want to say, “at all” in Italian, use “per niente.”

Questo piano è troppo grande per la stanza; non entra in salotto.
This piano is too big for the room; it won’t fit in the livingroom.

Questo vestito è troppo stretto; non entra per niente!
This dress is too tight; it didn’t fit at all!

 

4. Use “entrare in” figuratively to describe one’s involvement in a competition, joining an organization, or negative involvement in someone else’s business!

• Entrare and enter can also be used figuratively to describe the act of “entering in” a competition, such as a political race or a sporting event. One can also “enter into”  business.
• However, in English, one is said to “join” a club but in Italian, entrare is used instead to describe one’s initiation in an organization. In some situations, the preposition in is used alone; in others, it is combined with the definite article. 
• Note that the Italian preposition “in” is always used after entrare when entrare is used figuratively. In some cases, the Italian preposition in is combined with the definite article (il, la, etc), while in others it is not. This is simply by convention and a good example of how listening to Italian is just as important as learning Italian grammar!
• If one persists in trying to  “join” or “get involved” with others where he or she is not welcome, the Italian verb entrare can  take on a negative connotation.  In English we might use the verb “meddling” to describe this type of situation or say an individual is “sticking their nose into” matters that are none of their concern.

In America, di solito  due persone entrano in corsa per la presidenza.
In America, usually two people enter the race for president.

Mio fratello Marco è entrato nel torneo di calcio.
My brother Mark entered the soccer tournament.

Mio nonno è entrato in affari trenta anni fa.
My grandfather entered in business thirty years ago.

In Italia, molto uomini entrano nel circolo del loro paese.
In Italy, many men join (in) their town’s club.

Non entrare in questa discussione; tu sei troppo piccolo per capire il problema!
Don’t get involved this discussion; you are too young to understand the problem!

Mia madre entra sempre nella mia vita; mi domanda molte cose su mio marito, e  non mi piace!
My mother always sticks her nose into my life; she asks me about my husband a lot, and I don’t like this!

 

5. Use “entrarci“ to mean “to have to do with” or “to be related to”

• Many common expressions use entrarci to ask the question, “What do I, you, he/she, etc.” have to do with it? In this case, the subject pronoun or the name of a person or persons is placed after the verb for emphasis.
• The Italian expressions listed below, given in the form of a question, are given in response to a topic under discussion. The same Italian phrase can also mean, “What do I have to do with it?” as well as, “What do I have to do with this/that?”
• There are many variations of the basic phrase, “What do I have to do with it?” in Italian. “Cosa” or “che cosa” can be used instead of “che,”  and all mean “what.”  In another variation,  [E + subject pronoun] can begin the sentence as another way to emphasize the subject.  To emphasize the topic being discussed, end the sentence with “in questo.” 

Che c’entro io?  
What do I have to do (with it)? / What (does it) have to do with me?

E tu, che c’entri in questo?  
And you, what do you have to do with this? / What (does this) have to do with you?

Cosa c’entra Maria?  
What does Maria have to do (with it)? / What (it) have to do with Maria?

Che cosa c’entriamo noi?  
What do we have to do (with it)? / What (does it) have to do with us?

Che c’entrate voi?  
What do you all have to do (with it)? / What (does it) have to do with you?

Che  c’entrano Maria e Marco?  
And them, what do Mary and Mark have to do (with it)?

• To be more specific, after entrarci  you can mention  the topic being discussed. Just as in English use [with + topic under discussion]. In this case, the Italian subject pronoun is left out of the sentence. If referring to another individual, their name may be included for clarity.
• Notice in the first example where “E io” is used for emphasis in Italian, the English translation is, “And me?”

E io, che c’entro con il tuo problema?  
And me, what do I have to do with your problem?

Cosa c’entra Maria con questo gruppo ?  
What does Maria have to do with this group?

Che c’entrano Maria e Marco con il programma?  
What do Mary and Mark have to do with the plan?

• As noted in the translation table for entrarci  in the last section, entrarci is often used to make a negative statement, as in, “I have nothing to do with it!”
• By conjugating entrarci in the past tense, you can also say, “I had nothing to do with it!” The passato prossimo is used here since the event under discussion has already ended.
• Conjugate entrarci in the future tense, to say, “I’ll have nothing to do with it!”
• Also check out the third person singular examples below. For the past tense remember to replace the “i” in ci with an apostrophe to make c’è. For the past tense, notice again that the last letter of the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
• When speaking in other than the present tense, the Italian prepositional phrase “per niente” is consistently used, rather than simply “niente.” Grammatically speaking, per niente is always correct, but the phrase has been shortened in colloquial Italian for every day, present tense phrases.

Non c’entro niente!
I have nothing to do with it!

Non ci sono entrato(a) per niente!
I had nothing to do with it at all!

Non c’entrerò per niente! 
I’ll have nothing to do with it at all!

Maria non c’entra niente!
Mary has nothing to do with it!

Marco non c’e entrato  per niente!
Mark had nothing to do with it at all!

Maria non c’e entrata per niente!
Mary had nothing to do with it at all!

Maria non c’entrerà per niente! 
Maria will have nothing to do with it at all!

 

6. Entrare is an integral part of many Italian phrases, listed below

entrare in argomento	get into the conversation
entrare in azione	spring into action
entrare in campo	get in the game
entrare in collisione	to collide (collision with a car)
entrare in collisione con	come into conflict with
entrare in confidenza	gain the trust of
entrare in contatto	run into come into contact with
entrare in gioco	come into play become involved
entrare in guerra	go to war/join a war
entrare in società	to debut in society
entrare in tasca	to make, to gain, to net
entrare in un giro	get into bad company
entrare in vigore	become law
entare nei dettagli	get into detail/go into detail
entrare nella leggenda	become legend

 

Remember the many uses of
entrare and entrarci 
and you will be able to “enter into” any conversation
like a native Italian!

Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” book downloaded to a cell phone from www.learntravelitalian.com

 

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