essere uopo

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to be need”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛs.se.re ˈwɔ.po/
• Hyphenation: ès‧se‧re‧uò‧po

Verb

èssere uopo (impersonal, third-person singular present (with written accent) è uopo, third-person singular past historic (with syntactic gemination after the verb) fù uopo, past participle stàto uopo, third-person singular imperfect èra uopo, third-person singular future sarà uopo, third-person singular subjunctive sìa uopo, third-person singular imperfect subjunctive fósse uopo, auxiliary èssere)

1. (archaic, literary, intransitive) to be necessary, to be needed
   • 13th c., Albertano da Brescia, Tre trattati d'Albertano giudice da Brescia‎^[1], Florence, published 1610, page 160:

     Primamente errasti in aunar lo consiglio, imperocchè primamente dovevi aunare pochi ben savi, poi, se fosse uopo, molti.

     Your first error was gathering the council, because you were to gather a few sapients at first, then – if it was needed – more.

   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXVI”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory]‎^[2], lines 19–21; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[3], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Né solo a me la tua risposta è uopo;
     ché tutti questi n'hanno maggior sete
     che d'acqua fredda Indo o Etïopo.

     Nor to me only is thine answer needful;
     for all of these have greater thirst for it
     than for cold water Ethiop or Indian.

   • 1581, “Libro V [Book 5]”, in Annibale Caro, transl., Eneide [Aeneid]‎^[4], Florence: Leonardo Ciardetti, translation of Aeneis by Virgil, published 1827, page 247:

     […] poichè instrutta l’ebbe
     Di ciò ch’era uopo, a la troiana armata
     Le commise ch’andasse. […]

     After instructing her
     on what was needed, to the Trojan army
     she ordered her to go

Conjugation

    Conjugation of èssere uopo (root-stressed -ere; impersonal; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)

infinitive	èssere uopo
auxiliary verb		èssere	gerund		essèndo uopo
present participle		—	past participle		stàto uopo
person	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	io	tu	lui/lei, esso/essa	noi	voi	loro, essi/esse
present	—	—	è uopo1	—	—	—
imperfect	—	—	èra uopo	—	—	—
past historic	—	—	fù uopo2	—	—	—
future	—	—	sarà uopo	—	—	—
conditional	—	—	sarèbbe uopo, sarébbe uopo	—	—	—
subjunctive	che io	che tu	che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa	che noi	che voi	che loro, che essi/che esse
present	—	—	sìa uopo	—	—	—
imperfect	—	—	fósse uopo	—	—	—
imperative	—	tu	Lei	noi	voi	Loro
		—	—	—	—	—
negative imperative		—	—	—	—	—

¹With written accent.
²With syntactic gemination after the verb.

Related terms

• all'uopo