Italian Grammar Bank
ITALIAN MODAL VERBS
Servile verbs are modal verbs that, in combination with the infinitive of another verb, serve to express nuances of meaning such as necessity, possibility, duty, ability, or will.
In Italian, the main servile verbs are ‘dovere’ (must) ‘potere’ (can) and ‘volere’ (want).
INTRODUCTION
These servile verbs, also known as modal verbs, are powerful grammatical tools that enrich the language, allowing for the expression of nuances and gradations of meaning that would otherwise be difficult to communicate.
They act as auxiliaries to the infinitive verb that follows, modifying its meaning in specific ways depending on the servile verb used.
In some situations, servile verbs can also be used together to create additional shades of meaning, as in [speaker Devo poter uscire stasera] (I must be able to go out tonight), where there is both an element of necessity (‘devo’) and possibility (‘potere’).
HOW TO USE MODAL VERBS
Servile verbs are a particular category of verbs that, just like the auxiliaries essere and avere, can have two main uses:
Independent meaning
On the one hand, they have their own independent meaning, i.e. they can be used alone in sentences such as:
| Devo cinque euro ad Alessio. | I owe Alessio five euros. |
| Voglio un cellulare nuovo. | I want a new mobile phone. |
| Vorrei un caffè, per favore! | I would like a coffee, please! |
| La prevenzione può molto contro le malattie. | Prevention can go a long way against disease. |
| Ti devo una cena. | I owe you dinner. |
Service verbs
On the other hand, they can be used as ‘service’ verbs, i.e. they link to other verbal predicates to give a specific semantic value to the whole sentence.
Let us consider the examples:
| Valentina, devi ringraziare la zia per il regalo che hai ricevuto! | Valentina, you must thank your aunt for the gift you received! |
| Nella sua posizione, Michele può fare ciò che gli pare. | In his position, Michele can do what he likes. |
| Eugenia vuole andare in spiaggia. | Eugenia wants to go to the beach. |
| Letizia avrebbe voluto fare l’astronauta. | Letizia would have liked to be an astronaut. |
| Andrea e Roberta non sono potuti venire. | Andrea and Roberta could not come. |
As can be seen from the examples above, the servile verb modifies the overall meaning of the expression, giving it a specific nuance:
• of duty: Valentina is ordered to thank her aunt for the gift.
• of possibility: Michele has the power to do what he wants.
• of will: Eugenia has the desire to go to the beach.
The construction of a servile verb generally follows three basic rules:
• They directly support an infinitive.
• The servile verb and the infinitive always have the same subject.
• Atonic pronouns, in sentences with servile verbs, can be placed before the servile verb or after the infinitive.
CONCORDANCE
Servile verbs in compound tenses take the auxiliary that is required by the verb they go with. For example:
Nicola è andato a Roma becomes Nicola è dovuto andare a Roma per lavoro .
‘Nicola went to Rome’ → ‘Nicola had to go to Rome for work’
OR
Ho conosciuto il mio cantante preferito becomes Grazie ad un concorso a premi ho potuto conoscere il mio cantante preferito .
‘I met my favourite singer’ → ‘Thanks to a competition I was able to meet my favourite singer’.
In the living use of the language, however, this rule has been gradually lost and we are witnessing a slow shift from the use of the ausiliary essere (to be) to that of the auxiliary avere (to have) (which, in any case, is obligatory when the verbs volere, dovere e potere are servile to essere).
So now one can say indifferently:
Ambra non è voluta andare al cinema and Ambra non ha voluto andare al cinema .
‘Amber did not want to go to the cinema’.
DOVERE & POTERE NUANCES
In some cases, dovere and potere take on particular shades of meaning; potere sometimes expresses a permission or a hypothetical concession, as in the sentence:
DOVERE
Dovere, on the other hand, has two further uses:
• An epistemic use, in which the verb takes on a nuance of possibility:
I.e.: Giulio probably left the house, since I can’t find him there.
• A use with future value, in the construction with dovere + infinitive. For example:
| Pietro deve compiere quindici anni tra una settimana. | Peter will turn fifteen in a week. |
| Devi andare via di qui tra una settimana. | You have to leave here in a week. |
SAPERE
Also the verb sapere can be a servile verb when you want to express knowledge or information about something.
It can be followed by an infinitive verb to indicate the ability to perform an action or by a noun to indicate specific knowledge.
Look at the following examples:
| Carlo non sa nuotare. | Carlo can’t swim |
| Alessandro sa pattinare benissimo. | Alessandro can skate very well. |
| So andare in bici da quando avevo 5 anni. | I’ve known how to ride a bike since I was five. |
| Nessuno sa cucinare meglio della nonna. | No one can cook better than Grandma. |
As you can see from these examples, the verb sapere here acquires the meaning of ‘to be able’ to do something.
However, when it has the meaning of conoscere (‘to know’) or riconoscere (‘to recognise’) (and not ‘to be able to’), sapere carries a complementary preposition, as in the following examples:
| Giuseppe sa di aver sbagliato e chiederà scusa a Vittorio. | Giuseppe knows he has made a mistake and will apologise to Vittorio. |
| So di avere ragione su questo! | I know I’m right about this! |
| Sai di cosa sono fatti i sogni? | Do you know what dreams are made of? |
| Come diceva Socrate, so di non sapere. | As Socrates said, I know that I don’t know. |
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FAQs
What are servile verbs in Italian?
Servile verbs (also known as modal verbs) in Italian are verbs that modify the meaning of the main verb, indicating ability, necessity, or desire.
The most common servile verbs are potere (to be able to), volere (to want), and dovere (to have to).
How do modal verbs function in a sentence?
Servile verbs are followed by the infinitive form of the main verb without any preposition in between.
For example: Posso mangiare (I can eat), Devi studiare (You have to study), Voglio andare (I want to go).
Do modal verbs change tense?
Yes, servile verbs conjugate in different tenses (present, past, future, etc.) just like regular verbs, and the tense of the servile verb influences the meaning of the sentence.
For example: Volevo uscire (I wanted to go out), Dovevi studiare (You were supposed to study).
Can servile verbs be used in compound tenses?
Yes, servile verbs can be used in compound tenses with avere or essere as auxiliary verbs, depending on the main verb.
For example: Ho dovuto partire (I had to leave), Ho potuto fare (I was able to do it).
What is the difference between dovere, potere, and volere?
Dovere expresses obligation or necessity (must, have to), potere expresses ability or permission (can, to be able to), and volere expresses desire or intention (to want).
These verbs are key in expressing actions and responsibilities.
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