Saying “I’ll take care of it!”

 

Say “I’ll take care of it” in Italian
with Subject – Verb Inversion

Certain situations may require clarification of an individual’s responsibility to family members, friends, or co-workers. This leads to common phrases used on a daily basis. For instance, “I’ll take care of it,” can be rendered in Italian by a unique sentence structure using a verb of action and also with the reflexive verb occuparsi.

When in Italy, a simple way to emphasize that you will take responsibility for an action is to make a short statement and place the subject pronoun after the verb; in effect, invert the usual Italian subject-verb order.  Use this convention to say, “I’ll take care of it!” in a way that truly sounds like a native Italian!

Remember that the Italian subject pronouns  — such as io, tu, lei/lui, which mean I, you, she/he — are generally left out of an Italian sentence. Many blogs in this series have mentioned that Italian subject pronouns are not needed for conversational Italian since the speaker is understood by the unique Italian verb endings for each subject. Given the Italian convention to omit subject pronouns, then, the simple act of including a subject pronoun shifts the emphasis from the action verb in the sentence to the subject. When the subject pronoun-verb order is inversed by placing the subject pronoun after the verb, the effect is to stress the subject even more.

For instance, if you are enjoying dinner at home with your family and someone rings the doorbell, one individual in the group will need to take the responsibility to answer the door. That person might get up from the table and say, “Vado io,”  which simply means, “I’m going.” But by inverting the verb and subject pronoun order from “io vado” to “vado io,” a message has also been sent to the group that no one else need to be concerned about the situation because , “I am (the one who is) going (to take care of it)!”  In short, you are demonstrating your intention to take care of the issue at hand and will do so right away.*  You might also yell, “Vengo io!” for “I’m coming!”  so the person waiting at the door knows you are on your way.

This subject-verb inversion is useful in other situations as well. In Italy, there is an extra expense for the taxi driver to handle luggage. If you would like to manage your luggage on your own, simply say, “Porto io!” The way the sentence is constructed relays not only, “I will carry my luggage!” but emphasizes your strong desire to do so, as in, “I will take care of it!”

*Note for completeness: Another commonly used verb to signal you are on your way is, “Arrivo!” from arrivare (to arrive). The literal translation is, “I am arriving!” with the meaning of, “I am on my way!” In this case, though, the subject pronoun is usually omitted.

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Say “I’ll take care of it” in Italian
with “Occuparsi di” 

The Italian verb occupare has many meanings, including “to occupy (take up space),” “to seize (take over a place),” “to keep interested,” and “to keep busy.”

The reflexive verb occuparsi can be translated as “to deal with/to handle,” “to oversee,” and “to take care of. “  Use [occuparsi + di] in a work situation to relay that you will be the one to take control of the situation at hand. For instance, if Mr. Rossi, an important client, is visiting the company you work for, your boss may ask you pick him up at the airport and give him a tour of the facility. You could accept responsibility for this client by saying, “D’accordo. Mi occupo del Signor Rossi oggi,” for “Agreed. I will take care of Mr. Rossi today.” A note about this sentence structure: when speaking in Italian about an individual using their last name, the definite article applies, just as it would for any other Italian noun. Notice how Italians combine [di + il Signor Rossi] to make “del Signor Rossi.” If you need a refresher on how to combine di with the Italian definite article, visit the blog “How to Say ‘Some’ (Part 1).”

Another work situation: perhaps a product your company makes is not selling as it should. You may be asked to check how the marketing department is performing and to correct any deficiencies. To affirm you will evaluate how the marketing department functions you could say, “Mi occupo di marketing” for “I will deal with marketing.”

Along these lines, a polite way to ask what another does for a living is “Di che si occupa?”  for “What do you do?”  The answer using occuparsi is, “Mi occupo di…” followed by your general field of work or profession.

Although occuparsi is most commonly used in the setting of the workplace, this verb can also be used in the family setting, especially if one agrees to take on a challenging situation.

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Say “I’ll take care of it” in Italian
with “Ci penso io”  

Stating the phrase “Ci penso io!” is another common way Italians accept an obligation.

Pensare means  “to think” and the well-known meaning of “pensare a” is “to think about (something).”  But there is another use for the versatile Italian verb pensare:  to describe taking care of someone or something. “Penasare a” is also frequently used to mean, “to see to (something),” as in “to take care of (something).”  

For example, to tell someone you have to take care of your elderly mother using the verb pensare, you might say, “Devo pensare a mia mamma oggi e portarle la spesa.” for “I have to take care of my mother today and bring (to) her the groceries.” Notice the Italian use of the indirect object pronoun “le”  with the verb portare and the English use of the direct object pronoun her with the verb “to bring.”

To say that you have to take care of organizing a meeting at work on Monday, you could say, “Devo pensare alla riunione questo lunedì.” for “I have to take care of the meeting this Monday.” Notice here that the Italian preposition “a” has been combined with the required Italian definite article “la” before “la riunione.” 

Italians also use subject-verb inversion with the verb pensare, and this sentence structure will change the meaning of pensare from “to think” to “to take care of.” Although “Io penso…” or simply, “Penso…” mean, “I think…”  simply invert the subject pronoun and verb order to create the exclamation, “Ci penso io!” which means, “I’ll take care of it!” Notice that the pronoun ci has also been added to the Italian sentence, just as in English we use “it” as a stand-in for a specific action both of the speakers have already discussed. 

You can even ask someone, “Will you take care of it?” by conjugating pensare into the tu form, which is pensi, and using the short phrase, “Ci pensi tu?” Of course, if responsibility for the action is accepted, the answer will be, Si. Ci penso io!” for “Yes, I will take care of it!” These two phrases are commonly used between family members, as well as between peers at work. Use of ci and this sentence structure generally concludes a conversation, since both speakers have been made aware of the situation at hand and responsibility for the next action has been accepted. 

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Say “I’ll take care of it” in Italian
with “Mi prendo cura di” or “Bado a”

 

Even more importantly, family members often share responsibility for other family members. In Italian, this important concept of “taking care of others” is expressed with the phrase “prendersi cura.”

Italians often use the phrase “prendersi cura di” when they talk about taking care of family. The reflexive verb prendersi refers to the person who is taking care of another — with the person being taken care of linked to the caregiver by “di.”

For instance, to say, “I am taking care of my baby Anna,” conjugate prendersi into the io  form, which is “io mi prendo” and then add [di + la miabambina Anna]. As usual, the subject pronoun io is left out of the sentence and di is combined with the definite article la. The final sentence is, “Mi prendo cura della mia bambina Anna.”

At first glance, expressing caregiving in Italian with “prendersi cura di” may sound a little strange to an English speaker, since this concept is not reflexive in English. Instead, English speakers use the verb “to be” before  the phrase “taking care of.”  But if you know the Italian way of thinking, it is simple enough to follow the formula and conjugate the Italian reflexive -ere verb prendersi as to reflect the speaker. Or  just remember the phrase “mi prendo cura di…” if you are the one who usually takes care of others!

When taking care of something requires an action, “prendersi cura di” is followed by the infinitive verb for that action.

Some examples are below. Remember to combine di with the definite article when needed to create a possessive adjective. (If you need a refresher on how to create possessive adjectives, refer to our blog “Possessive Adjectives.”) Also, notice that the simple present tense in Italian can be translated several ways in English and also used to refer to the near future.

Ti prendi cura di mia figlia oggi?
Will you take care of my daughter today?
Will you be taking care of my daughter today?

Si prende cura dei miei figli oggi.
She takes/is taking care of my children today.

Si prende cura del giardino ogni mattina.
He takes care of the garden every morning.

Ci prendiamo cura di comprare la torta per la festa in chiesa.
We are taking care of buying the cake for the party at church.

Vi prendete cura di questo ?
Are you all taking care of this?  

Another Italian verb, badare, is often used to describe caregiving for children. Badare means, “to look after,” “tend to,” or “care for.” Badare is always followed by the preposition “a” and“a” will be combined with a definite article if one is needed. The meaning of “badare a” is only slightly different from “prendersi cura di,” possibly expressing a bit more tenderness, but the two verbs are interchangeable. Our original example sentence, “I am taking care of my baby Anna,” could also be translated into Italian as, “Bado alla mia bambina Anna.” 

Badare does have other uses to be aware of. Badare can also be used in an exclamation to warn another to “be careful,” with the negative connotations of, “beware” or “look out. For instance, “Bada a quello che tu dici!“ means “Be careful what you say!” 

Badare can also mean “to take an interest in” or “to mind” something, rather than a person.  “Io bado ai fatti miei,” means, “I mind my own business.”

Finally, if an Italian should hire a babysitter to take care of children, now-a-days, they refer to that person as a “babysitter” whose occupation is “fare la babysitter.”  Bambinaia is an old-fashioned Italian word that can also be used to refer to a caregiver outside the family, such as a babysitter or nanny and one can also “fare la bambinaia.”

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Say “Take care of yourself!” in Italian
with “Abbi cura” or “Stammi bene”

“Take care of yourself!” is a phrase many Americans use when ending a telephone conversation or when leaving a get-together with family or friends. Italians use this expression as well, and there are several ways to express good wishes in Italian upon parting with loved ones.

When leaving a family member or friend, you could use “prendersi cura” from our first section, and say, “Prenderti cura di te ,” which means, “Take care of yourself.”  In a more formal setting, the polite form of the phrase would be, “Prendersi cura di se,” using the third person polite “you.”

The verb avere (to have) can also be combined with the noun cura (care)  to express good wishes to a close friend or family member. Use the familiar command form of avere, which is abbi, to give this advice and show your concern with, “Abbi cura di te!” or even more strongly, “Abbi buon cura di te!” for “Take good care of yourself!”

Another common informal interjection uses the verb stare, which is the verb Italians use to refer to health and well-being. All beginning students of Italian learn early on to use stare to start a conversation by asking, “How are you?” with, “Come sta?” (polite) or “Come stai?” (familiar) and answer in the affirmative with, “Sto bene,” for “I am fine.” The use of stare to refer to one’s health was discussed in more detail in the blog, “How I feel… with Stare.”  The interjection “Stammi bene!” is derived from this use of stare.  This Italian phrase is translated as “Take care!”  A direct translation does not necessarily make sense, but to remember the phrase one might think of it as meaning, “Stay well for me!” 

 

Remember the many ways to say,
“I’ll take care of it!” and “Take care of yourself!” in Italian
and I guarantee you will use these phrases every day!