Impone

Impone is a form in Italian that mainly appears as the third-person singular present indicative of the verb imporre, meaning to impose. It is used for statements about rules, norms, duties, or penalties that are imposed by an authority. For example, La legge impone nuove norme means The law imposes new rules. The phrase Il governo impone tasse ai cittadini translates to The government imposes taxes on citizens.

Etymology and related usage

The Italian verb imporre derives from the Latin imponere, a combination of in- (upon) and ponere (to place). The present tense pattern of imporre yields: io imposto, tu imponi, lui impone, noi imponiamo, voi imponete, loro impongono. Thus impone specifically corresponds to the third-person singular form "he/she/it imposes."

Grammatical notes

In addition to non-reflexive use with imporre, impone can appear in a reflexive construction with imporsi, where the literal sense is “to impose oneself.” In this form, the phrase si impone is common and means “it imposes itself” or “one is obliged by it.” Example: Si impone una scelta difficile, meaning A difficult choice imposes itself.

See also

Imporre, to impose; Imporsi, to impose oneself. These verbs share related meanings but appear in different grammatical constructions and nuances of obligation versus self-assertion.