Common Italian verb
| Pronunciation | |
| Meaning | To turn on |
| Conjugation | Irregular (PP is acceso, with irregular passato remoto) |
| Transitive or intransitive? | Transitive |
Different meanings
1) To set fire to sth
| Il prete accende una candela in chiesa. | The priest lights a candle in the church. |
| I campeggiatori accesero un fuoco. | The campers lit a fire. |
1) To turn on a device
| Enrico lascia sempre il televisore acceso. | Enrico always leaves the television set on. |
| Accendi la luce, per favore. Non si vede niente. | Turn on the light, please. I can’t see anything. |
1) To light up
| La felicità gli accendeva il viso. | Happiness lit up his face. |
1) To spur, to cause
| Le parole del presidente hanno acceso una furiosa polemica. | The president’s words ignited a furious controversy. |
| Ligabue accende il pubblico dell’Arena con le sue canzoni. | Ligabue lights up the Arena audience with his songs. |
| Il discorso del soldato ai compagni accese i loro animi. | The soldier’s speech to his comrades kindled their spirits. |
Accendersi
Use accendersi to translate “to light up”, “to get excited”.
| Il cielo si accende di rosso al tramonto. | The sky lights up red at sunset. |
| Martina è sempre piena di energie. Si accende molto facilmente. | Martina is always full of energy. She lights up very easily. |
Collocations and expressions
| Accendere le luci | To turn on the lights |
| Accendere la passione | To ignite the passion |
| Accendere un fuoco | To start/light a fire |
| Accendere un mutuo | To take out a mortgage |
| Avere da accendere | To have a light (for cigarettes) |
More free Italian resources
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