si stava meglio

Si stava meglio quando si stava peggio.

"We were better off when we were worse off." A sentiment often expressed nel Sud about pre-Risorgimento (unification) times. Newfies say the same thing about Confederation. Which brings to mind a proverb that appeared in an earlier post - Tutt'il mondo è paese!

This proverb will help you remember the impersonal si, the imperfect (imperfetto), and the irregular comparatives for the adverbs bene (meglio) and male (peggio).