Immergere

Immergere is an Italian verb meaning to dip, submerge, or plunge something into a liquid, and also to immerse oneself in a task, activity, or environment. It can be used in literal senses, such as submerging an object in water, and in figurative senses, such as becoming deeply involved in something.

Etymology: The verb derives from Latin immeregere (formed from in- plus mergere), meaning to plunge in. In Italian the form acquired a double-m, producing immergere to preserve the pronunciation. It is treated as a regular -ere verb in conjugation.

Usage: In its transitive sense, immergere requires a direct object and the preposition in to indicate the medium: immergere qualcosa in qualcosa. Examples: Immergere le dita nell'acqua; Immergere un tessuto in una soluzione. The reflexive form, immergersi, is used for immersion in a activity or experience: si è immerso nella lettura, si è immerso nel lavoro. Figuratively, it can mean to involve someone deeply or to envelop an audience or atmosphere: immergere il pubblico nei racconti.

Conjugation: Present: io immergo, tu immergi, lui/lei immerge, noi immergiamo, voi immergete, essi immergono. Imperfect: immergevo, immergevi, immergeva, immergevamo, immergevate, immergevano. Passato prossimo: ho immerso. Gerund: immergendo. Past participle: immerso. Subjunctive: che io immerga, che tu immerga, che lui immerga, che noi immergiamo, che voi immergiate, che essi immergano. Use of the subjunctive follows typical Italian patterns.