How to Use the Tricky Verb “Mettersi” in Italian

Ero al parco e si è messo a piovere.

In every language, there are verbs that are used over and over again to mean a handful of different things. One that comes to mind is the English verb “to get”, where you can “get to someone’s house at 7 PM”, “get caught”, or “get a new purse”.

One verb that’s used all of the time in Italian is the reflexive verb “mettersi”, which can mean:

• To start

• To get

• To put

• To take

To help you unravel the mystery behind “mettersi”, here are examples of how to use it for each of the definitions above.

TO START

• La campanella si è messa a suonare. – The doorbell started to ring.

• Ero al parco e si è messo a piovere. – I was at the park, and it started to rain.