Reflexive Verbs in Italian: Conjugation, Use and Examples

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“Mi sveglio alle sette, mi lavo, mi vesto e poi esco.” As soon as you describe your day in Italian, you meet reflexive verbs: actions that the subject performs on himself or herself. In English you say “I wake up, I wash, I get dressed”, often with no pronoun; in Italian the pronoun is compulsory, which is exactly why it is a constant source of mistakes. Getting up, washing, getting dressed, meeting again: all our days are full of reflexive verbs. They seem difficult because of the little pronouns, but they follow a simple pattern, which we will go through calmly together with the reciprocal forms and the past with essere. The explanations are checked on the sources listed at the end; examples, exercises and advice come from my lessons.

What a reflexive verb is

The Enciclopedia dell’italiano defines reflexive verbs as pronominal verbs to which a reflexive pronoun is attached. In the simplest case, the direct reflexive, subject and object are the same person: the verb is transitive and the pronoun is the object. The source’s example is Mario si nascose nell’armadio (Mario hid in the wardrobe), equivalent to “Mario hid himself”. The clearest examples come from everyday life: Mi lavo. Ti pettini. Si veste. (I wash. You comb your hair. She gets dressed.)

In the infinitive the pronoun is attached to the end of the verb, which loses its final -e: lavare → lavarsi, vestire → vestirsi, mettere → mettersi. When the verb is conjugated, the pronoun goes before it.

The reflexive pronouns

Person	Pronoun	lavarsi (to wash)	divertirsi (to have fun)
io	mi	mi lavo	mi diverto
tu	ti	ti lavi	ti diverti
lui/lei/Lei	si	si lava	si diverte
noi	ci	ci laviamo	ci divertiamo
voi	vi	vi lavate	vi divertite
loro	si	si lavano	si divertono

Note that divertirsi is an -ire verb without -isc-: to review that pattern, read the guide to Italian -ire verbs in the present tense.

The most useful reflexive verbs to start with

• Daily routine: svegliarsi (to wake up), alzarsi (to get up), lavarsi (to wash), vestirsi (to get dressed), pettinarsi (to comb one’s hair), truccarsi (to put on make-up), radersi (to shave), addormentarsi (to fall asleep);
• Feelings: arrabbiarsi, preoccuparsi, annoiarsi, divertirsi, sentirsi (bene/male), innamorarsi;
• Habits and relationships: chiamarsi (to be called), ricordarsi, sposarsi, trasferirsi, fermarsi, sedersi (io mi siedo).

Some are inherent reflexives: they do not exist without the pronoun, or change meaning. The source cites arrabbiarsi, pentirsi, vergognarsi, congratularsi as examples. You cannot say “arrabbio”: you must say “mi arrabbio”.

A special case: parts of the body

With reflexives that describe body care, Italian uses the article, not the possessive: Mi lavo le mani, not “Mi lavo le mie mani”; Si pettina i capelli. Treccani’s entry on possessives notes that in sentences like Marco si gratta la testa the possessive is excluded. If this interests you, also read the article on Italian possessive adjectives.

Present perfect: always with essere

Reflexive verbs form their compound tenses with the auxiliary essere, and the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:

Person	masculine	feminine
io	mi sono alzato	mi sono alzata
tu	ti sei alzato	ti sei alzata
lui/lei	si è alzato	si è alzata
noi	ci siamo alzati	ci siamo alzate
voi	vi siete alzati	vi siete alzate
loro	si sono alzati	si sono alzate

Watch the case of the indirect reflexive. The Treccani entry gives the examples Mario si è comprato una bicicletta nuova and mi sono rotto un braccio: the pronoun is not the object (the object is “una bicicletta”, “un braccio”) but shows who benefits or to whom it belongs. Even in these cases the auxiliary is essere and the participle agrees with the subject: Maria si è comprata una bicicletta.

Types of reflexive verbs

The classification in the Enciclopedia dell’italiano is more detailed than what is usually taught at A1. Here are the types you need, with the source’s examples and mine:

Type	What happens	Example
direct	the subject acts on itself	Mario si nascose nell’armadio. / Mi lavo.
indirect	the pronoun shows beneficiary or possession	Mario si è comprato una bicicletta. / Mi sono rotto un braccio.
reciprocal	two or more subjects act on each other	Quei due si detestano (a vicenda). / Ci vediamo domani.
inherent	the verb exists only (or with its own meaning) with the pronoun	arrabbiarsi, pentirsi, vergognarsi
anticausative	the pronoun marks the action as an event, not an intentional act	Il vaso si ruppe. (not “il vaso ruppe”)

The reciprocal is very frequent: ci scriviamo ogni settimana, si salutano, vi telefonate spesso (we write to each other every week, they greet each other, you phone each other often). It only works in the plural (noi, voi, loro) and can be clarified with a vicenda (“one another”). The author also notes that it is not always easy to tell what the si is doing in a sentence and that the categories overlap: this happens to teachers too. If you are interested in si with a passive or impersonal meaning, read the article on the si passivante as well.

With the infinitive and the imperative

• With a modal verb the pronoun can go before the modal or be attached to the infinitive: Mi devo alzare presto / Devo alzarmi presto. Both are correct.
• Imperative (tu, noi, voi): the pronoun is attached to the end: Alzati! Vestiamoci! Svegliatevi!
• Negative imperative (tu): two forms: Non ti preoccupare! / Non preoccuparti!

Mistakes to avoid

German and French have reflexive verbs like ours (sich waschen, se laver), but the same verbs are not always reflexive: aufwachen (to wake up) is not reflexive in German, while se réveiller is in French. Someone who thinks in German may therefore forget the pronoun and say «io sveglio». Mistakes are welcome: they help show what to review.

• Io lavo ogni mattina. → Io mi lavo ogni mattina. In English the pronoun can be left out (“I wash”); in Italian it cannot.
• Ho alzato alle sette. → Mi sono alzato alle sette. Reflexives take essere, not avere.
• Mi sono alzata, ma lui si è alzata. → lui si è alzato. The participle agrees with the subject.
• Mi lavo le mie mani. → Mi lavo le mani. With parts of the body use the article.
• Lui chiama Marco. (if you mean “his name is Marco”) → Lui si chiama Marco. “Chiamare” and “chiamarsi” have different meanings.
• Ci vediamo in il centro. → Ci vediamo in centro. Here the pronoun is reciprocal and the expression is fixed.

A routine conversation

Anna: A che ora ti svegli di solito?
Marco: Mi sveglio alle sei e mezza, ma mi alzo solo alle sette. Poi mi lavo, mi vesto e faccio colazione.
Anna: Io invece mi alzo subito. Ieri però mi sono addormentata tardi e non mi sono svegliata presto.
Marco: Ci vediamo domani alle nove? Dobbiamo prepararci per la riunione.
Anna: Va bene. Non ti preoccupare: mi ricordo io della sala.

Translation: What time do you usually wake up? – I wake up at half past six, but I only get up at seven. Then I wash, get dressed and have breakfast. – I get up straight away. Yesterday, though, I fell asleep late and didn’t wake up early. – Shall we meet tomorrow at nine? We have to get ready for the meeting. – Fine. Don’t worry: I’ll remember the room.

Routine exercises

Exercise 1 – Conjugate in the present

1. Io (svegliarsi) ______ alle sei.
2. Tu (vestirsi) ______ in fretta.
3. Lei (annoiarsi) ______ al cinema.
4. Noi (divertirsi) ______ molto.
5. Voi (alzarsi) ______ tardi?
6. I bambini (lavarsi) ______ le mani.

Answers: 1. mi sveglio; 2. ti vesti; 3. si annoia; 4. ci divertiamo; 5. vi alzate; 6. si lavano.

Exercise 2 – Present perfect

1. Ieri io (alzarsi, f.) ______ tardi.
2. Marco e Luca (divertirsi) ______ alla festa.
3. Noi (vedersi, f.) ______ in stazione.
4. Anna (comprarsi) ______ un vestito nuovo.

Answers: 1. mi sono alzata; 2. si sono divertiti; 3. ci siamo viste; 4. si è comprata.

Exercise 3 – Correct the mistakes

1. Io lavo i denti prima di dormire.
2. Ho svegliato alle sette.
3. Lui chiama Marco e io chiamo Luca. (I mean: his name is Marco, mine is Luca)

Answers: 1. Io mi lavo i denti prima di dormire. 2. Mi sono svegliato (svegliata) alle sette. 3. Lui si chiama Marco e io mi chiamo Luca.

For you

• In your language do you use a pronoun to say “mi lavo”? What is the difference from Italian?
• Can you describe your morning in ten sentences using six different reflexive verbs?
• Which reflexive verbs do you use most often when talking about your emotions?

Remember them like this

Write a five-line diary of your day every evening, using at least three reflexive verbs in the present perfect. Within a week the agreement with essere becomes automatic. To enrich the story with how often things happen, add the adverbs of frequency: di solito mi sveglio presto, a volte mi alzo tardi (I usually wake up early, sometimes I get up late).

Shall we start the day together?

Telling your routine in Italian is an excellent exercise. Book a free trial lesson, take the level test and join the course waiting list, which is open.

Sources

• Treccani – M. Cennamo, “Riflessivi, verbi”, Enciclopedia dell’italiano (2011)
• Treccani – F. Ramaglia, “Possessivi, aggettivi e pronomi”, Enciclopedia dell’italiano (2011)

The conjugation of reflexive verbs, reciprocal and inherent reflexives and the past with essere are checked on the sources listed above. Tables, dialogue, exercises and advice are the result of my work in the classroom.