I verbi impersonali: bisogna, occorre, basta, conviene
I verbi impersonali: bisogna, occorre, basta, conviene means “"one must / it's enough / it's worth" — verbs with no subject”. Impersonal verbs are used only in the third-person singular and have no real subject — they describe a necessity, sufficiency or advisability in general. Formation: verbi solo alla 3ª persona singolare, senza soggetto — bisogna + infinito / che + congiuntivo · occorre · basta · conviene · succede · sembra — bisogna studiare · bisogna che tu studi
"one must / it's enough / it's worth" — verbs with no subject
B2Formation
verbi solo alla 3ª persona singolare, senza soggetto — bisogna + infinito / che + congiuntivo · occorre · basta · conviene · succede · sembra — bisogna studiare · bisogna che tu studi
Explanation
Impersonal verbs are used only in the third-person singular and have no real subject — they describe a necessity, sufficiency or advisability in general. The most important is bisogna (one must / it's necessary). It works two ways: bisogna + infinitive when the statement is general (bisogna studiare per imparare = you have to study to learn), and bisogna che + subjunctive when there's a specific person (bisogna che tu studi di più = you need to study more). Others in the same family: occorre (it's needed — occorre tempo, occorre partire subito), basta (it's enough — basta chiedere = you just have to ask, basta che tu venga), conviene (it's worth / better — conviene prenotare = it's best to book), and expression-verbs like succede (it happens), sembra/pare (it seems), capita (it happens). Note that bisogna is impersonal, but the related avere bisogno di is personal (ho bisogno di aiuto = I need help) — don't confuse them.
Examples
Note
bisogna is the workhorse: bisogna + infinitive (general) or bisogna che + subjunctive (specific person). Don't say *bisogno di or use it with a subject — for personal need, switch to ho bisogno di. basta and conviene follow the same two-way pattern (basta chiedere / basta che tu venga).
FAQ
I verbi impersonali: bisogna, occorre, basta, conviene — what does it mean and how is it used?
"one must / it's enough / it's worth" — verbs with no subject. Impersonal verbs are used only in the third-person singular and have no real subject — they describe a necessity, sufficiency or advisability in general. The most important is bisogna (one must / it's necessary). It works two ways: bisogna + infinitive when the statement is general (bisogna studiare per imparare = you have to study to learn), and bisogna che + subjunctive when there's a specific person (bisogna che tu studi di più = you need to study more). Others in the same family: occorre (it's needed — occorre tempo, occorre partire subito), basta (it's enough — basta chiedere = you just have to ask, basta che tu venga), conviene (it's worth / better — conviene prenotare = it's best to book), and expression-verbs like succede (it happens), sembra/pare (it seems), capita (it happens). Note that bisogna is impersonal, but the related avere bisogno di is personal (ho bisogno di aiuto = I need help) — don't confuse them.
I verbi impersonali: bisogna, occorre, basta, conviene — how do you form it?
verbi solo alla 3ª persona singolare, senza soggetto — bisogna + infinito / che + congiuntivo · occorre · basta · conviene · succede · sembra — bisogna studiare · bisogna che tu studi
I verbi impersonali: bisogna, occorre, basta, conviene — any usage notes?
bisogna is the workhorse: bisogna + infinitive (general) or bisogna che + subjunctive (specific person). Don't say *bisogno di or use it with a subject — for personal need, switch to ho bisogno di. basta and conviene follow the same two-way pattern (basta chiedere / basta che tu venga).