Reflexive verbs
 Reflexive
verbs are used to tell
that a person does something
to or for him- or herself.
 Let’s
start out by thinking of the
English verb wash. List
several things that you can
wash.
Some examples
I
wash my clothes, I wash
the dishes, I wash the car,
I wash the windows.
 I wash my hands, I wash
my hair, I wash my face.
What’s the difference?
I
can wash things that are
not part of me, that is, not
attached to my body.
 In
Italian, we say, “Lavo la
bancheria, lavo i piatti,
lavo la macchina, lavo la
finestra.”
… and…
I
also wash things that are
attached to my body –
hands, face, hair (unless
you wear a toupee!).
 In Italian, we say, “Mi lavo
le mani, mi lavo i capelli,
mi lavo la faccia.”
And your point is…?
 Lavo
la bancheria, lavo i piatti,
lavo la macchina, lavo la
finestra.
 Mi lavo le mani, mi lavo i capelli,
mi lavo la faccia.
 If you are washing something
that is attached, you need to add
the word “mi.”
Huh?
 There
are two ways to
talk about washing in
Italian:
 Lavare:
to wash
something else
 Lavarsi: to wash part of
one’s body.
Placement of Indirect Object
Pronouns
Indirect Object Pronouns, mi, ti, si,
ci, vi, and si are placed before a
conjugated verb or in some cases
they are attached to the end of an
infinitive.
Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs have two parts:
1. a reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si,
ci, vi, si)
2. a verb form
Reflexive Pronouns
mi (to or for myself)
ti (to or for yourself)
si (to or for himself,
herself, it)
ci (to or for ourselves)
vi (to or for you all)
si (to or for themselves,
you all, or
each other)
Lavarsi
 Here
are the forms:
 mi
lavo
 ti lavi
 si lava
 ci laviamo
 vi lavate
 si lavano
 The
“mi, ti, si, ci, vi” forms
are called reflexive
pronouns.
How do you get those forms?
 The
infinitive has a –si
attached to it to show that the
subject is doing something to
him/herself.
 Drop the –si.
 Change the verb as usual.
 Put the appropriate reflexive
pronoun in front of the verb.
Let’s try one.
 chiamarsi: to
call oneself
 io______
 tu______
 Lui/
lei ______
 noi ______
 voi
 loro ______
Chiamarsi
 Chiamarsi
 Chiamar
-si
 Io
mi chiamo
 Tu ti chiami
 Lui /lei si chiama
 Noi ci chiamiamo
 Voi vi chiamate
 Loro si chiamano

Does this look familiar?
What’s going on here?
 Io
mi chiamo
 Tu ti chiami
 Lui /lei si chiama
 Noi ci chiamiamo
 Voi vi chiamate
 Loro si chiamano
 The
verb endings are
the usual ones.
Brillante!
 Io
mi chiamo
 Tu ti chiami
 Lui /lei si chiama
 Noi ci chiamiamo
 Voi vi chiamate
 Loro si chiamano
 The only difference is that
we have to add the
reflexive pronoun (before
the verb).
Okay, how about some more reflexive verbs?
 alzarsi:
to rise/get up
 Sedersi: to sit down
 addormentarsi: to fall asleep
 vestirsi: to dress onself
alzarsi
 Io
mi alzo
 Tu ti alzi
 Lui/ lei si alza
 Noi ci alziamo
 Voi vi alzate
 Loro si alzano
 This
verb has regular endings.
Sentirsi (to feel)
 Io
mi sento
 Tu ti senti
 Lui/ lei si sente
 Noi ci sentiamo
 Voi vi sentite
 Loro si sentono
addormentarsi
 Io
mi addormento
 Tu ti addormenti
 Lui/ lei si addormenta
 Noi ci addormentiamo
 Voi vi addormentate
 Loro si addormentano
Vestirsi
 Io
mi vesto
 Tu ti vesti
 Lui/ lei si veste
 Noi ci vestiamo
 Voi vi vestite
 Loro si vestono
Altri verbi riflessivi
radersi
truccarsi
Lavarsi i denti
Spazzolarsi
capelli
More reflexives…
ammalarsi-
to fall ill
coricarsi- to lay down
dimenticarsi- to forget
incontrarsi- to meet
lamentarsi- to complain
lavarsi- to wash oneself
ricordarsi- to remember
riposarsi- to rest
scusarsi- to apologize
sentirsi- to feel
svegliarsi- to awake
vestirsi- to dress onself
COMMON ITALIAN REFLEXIVE VERBS
 accorgersi
(di)to notice
 Addormentarsii to fall asleep
 Alzarsi to get up
 arrabbiarsi to get angry
 Chiamarsi to be named
 Coprirsi to cover oneself
 Divertirsi to have fun, to enjoy oneself
 Farsi il bagno to bathe oneself
 Farsi la doccia to take a shower
 Farsi maleto get hurt, hurt oneself
 Innamorarsi (di)to fall in love with
 Lavarsi to wash oneself
COMMON ITALIAN REFLEXIVE VERBS
 Laurearsi
to graduate
 Mettersi to put (clothing) on
 Pettinarsi to comb one's hair
 Radersi to shave
 Sedersi to sit down
 Sentirsi to feel
 Spogliarsi to undress
 Sposarsi (con)to get married
 Svegliarsi to wake up
 Vestirsi to get dressed
A morning routine
 Tutti
i giorni, io ______ (alzarsi) a le
7:00. e vado al bagno, _______
(lavarsi) la faccia, e _______ (radersi).
Poi ______ (vestirsi) e ______
(mangiare) un po di colazione. Per
finire, _______ (lavarsi) i denti.

Hint: not all the verbs in this paragraph are reflexive!
A morning routine
Tutti
i giorni, io mi alzo
a le 7:00. e vado al
bagno, mi lavo la faccia,
e mi rado. Poi mi vesto
e mangio un po di
colazione. Per finire, mi
lavo i denti.
What about gerunds?
 Remember
that progressives are also
two-part verb combinations:
 Sto
mangiando
 Stiamo scrivendo
 Refelxive
 Sto
pronouns go before the verb:
lavandomi la pele
 Ci stiamo lavando la pele
What about past tense?
In
past tense we use essere with ALL reflexive
verbs.
Don’t forget we need a helping verb (essere), a
past participle, and agreement!
Esempio:
Mi sono lavato/a
Ti sei lavato/a
Si è lavato/a
ci siamo lavati/e
vi siete lavati/e
si sono lavati/e
Whew! That’s a lot to remember!
 True!
But keep in mind that the
verb changes as it always does.
You just have to remember to
use the reflexive pronoun if you
see an infinitive that ends in –si.