rompersi

Rompersi is a pronominal Italian verb meaning to break or to become broken. It is used for both objects and body parts, usually to express an accidental break or damage that affects the subject or the thing in question. The verb is typically used with the reflexive si and with the auxiliary essere in the perfect tenses.

Conjugation and usage notes: In the present tense, the forms are io mi rompo, tu ti rompi, lui/lei si rompe, noi ci rompiamo, voi vi rompete, loro si rompono. In compound tenses, rompersi takes essere as the auxiliary, and the past participle agrees with the subject: Mi sono rotto (I broke, masculine), Mi sono rotta (I broke, feminine); ci siamo rotti (we broke, masculine) or ci siamo rotte (we broke, feminine); si è rotto (he broke) / si è rotta (she broke). The verb can describe injuries to a person or damage to objects: La bottiglia si è rotta (the bottle broke); Mi sono rotto una gamba (I broke my leg).

Examples of use: La tazza si è rotta cadendo. (The cup broke when it fell.) Mi sono rotto il polso giocando a calcio. (I broke my wrist playing soccer.) Le lampade si sono rotte durante la pioggia. (The lamps broke during the rain.)

Etymology and nuance: Rompersi derives from rompere, with the reflexive pronoun si indicating an involuntary or accidental action affecting the subject or the item. In everyday speech, it is commonly used for accidents and injuries, as opposed to the transitive rompere, which takes a direct object (rotto means broken) and uses avere in compound tenses. Rompersi can be paired with altre.pro LE? No; it simply communicates the sense of something breaking or being damaged, whether physical or metaphorical, such as an argument “si è rotto”? Note: for non-physical failures, Italian often uses other verbs or constructions.