Mi lavo le mani

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I wash my hands

Listen to the audio file and find the corresponding characters in the pictures below. Do you notice any difference between the expressions? 

Click here for the answers.

What is the difference between these actions? In some cases the subject simply does something or does something to someone, in others the action carried out by the subject is performed on the same subject. In this case reflexive verbs are used.

  • lei si lava le mani (she whashes her hands) / lui lava la sua  auto (he washes his car)
  • lei si fa il bagno (she takes a bath)/ lui fa il bagno al cane (he gives his dog a bath)
  • lui si sveglia (he wakes up)/ lei sveglia sua figlia (she wakes up her daugther)

You are familiar with verbs of the second kind, but not yet with those indicating an action performed by the subject that refers back to the same subject. Actually, you have already met this kind of verbs when you learned chiamarsi (io mi chiamo, tu ti chiami, lui/lei si chiama) that is is formed in the same way . The verb chiamarsi is actually a reflexive verb litterally meaning ‘to call oneself‘. Now compare it with the regular verb chiamare (to call)

  • io mi chiamo Marco (my name is Marco) / io chiamo Marco (I call Marco)
  • tu ti chiami Lia (your name is Lia) / tu chiami Giovanna (you call Lia)
  • lui si chiama Aldo (his name is Aldo) / lui chiama Aldo (he calls Aldo)
Reflexive verbs Here are some more useful reflexive verbs with an example of their use. To practice vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet.
addormentarsi
to fall asleep		 Lui si addormenta sempre alle undici
He always falls asleep at eleven o’clock
alzarsi
to get up		 Gianni si alza presto per andare a scuola
Gianni gets up early to go to school
annoiarsi
to get bored		 Io non mi annoio mai
I never get bored
arrabbiarsi
to get angry		 Matteo si arrabbia spesso
Matteo often gets angry
divertirsi
to have fun		 Ci divertiamo molto in discoteca
We have a lot of fun in the disco
farsi il bagno/la doccia
to bath/shower oneself		 Quando ti fai il bagno?
When do you take a bath?
farsi la barba
to shave onself		 Mio padre si fa la barba ogni mattina
My father shaves every morning
innamorarsi (di)
to fall in love (with)		 Perché tutti si innamorano di qualcuno?
Why does everyone fall in love with someone?
lavarsi
to wash oneself		 Mio figlio si lava sempre le mani prima di mangiare
My son always washes his hands before eating
pettinarsi
to comb oneself		 Maria non si pettina mai
Maria never combs her hair
riposarsi
to rest		 Che bello riposarsi!
How nice is to rest!
sdraiarsi
to lie down		 Mi sdraio e dormo subito
I lie down and fall asleep immediately
sedersi
to sit		 Mi siedo qui
I sit here
sentirsi
to feel		 Non ti senti bene?
Are not you feeling well?
svegliarsi
to wake up		 Mia figlia si sveglia alle 8:00
My daughter wakes up at 8:00

A verb has a reflexive form also when the action performed by a compound subject is done reciprocally to each other. Verbs of this kind are

abbracciarsi
to hug each other 		Franca e Alessia si abbracciano
Franca and Alessia hug each other
baciarsi
to kiss each other 		Loro si baciano
Loro kiss each other
fidanzarsi
to get engaged		 Oggi Mara e Lorenzo si fidanzano ufficialmente
Today Mara and Lorenzo are officially engaged
sposarsi
to get married		 Domani loro si sposano
Tomorrow they get married
GRAMMAR

Reflexive verbs and pronouns
A verb is reflexive when the action performed by the subject refers back to the same subject directly:

  • Marco si lava ‘Marco washes himself’ (Marco is the subject because he performs the action and at the same time he is the object of the action because he washes himself)

or indirectly:

  • Marco si lava le mani ‘Marco washes his hands’ (Marco is the subject who performs the action, his hands are the object of the action. The hands that Marco washes are his own, so Marco benefits from the action, even if just in part).

A verb has a reflexive form also when the action performed by a compound subject is done reciprocally to each other:

Marco e Maria si abbracciano ‘Marco and Maria hug each other’ (Marco and Maria perform the action, which benefits both of them).

It’s important to know that not all verbs are reflexive, but a lot of them can be made reflexive when we want to stress out the fact that an action carried out by the subject is performed on the same subject. Note the difference between

  • a) Io guardo un film (I watch a movie) / b) Io mi guardo allo specchio (I look at myself in the mirrow)
  • a) Io pettino mia figlia (I comb my daughter) / b)  Io mi pettino (I comb myself)

In both cases a) and b), the verbs guardare and pettinare are used, but in a) they are regular present forms; in b) the reflexive form of them are used (guardarsi and pettinarsi).

Verbs that are reflexive in English, such as to wash oneself (lavarsi) or to enjoy oneself (divertirsi) are reflexive in Italian. In addition, many verbs that include get, for example to get up (alzarsi), to get bored (annoiarsi), to get angry (arrabbiarsi) etc. are reflexive verbs in Italian. Also the veb fare used in common idiomatic expressions can become reflexive when we want to stress out the fact that an action carried out by the subject is performed on the same subject: Maria si fa la doccia (Maria is taking a shower), Mio padre si fa la barba ogni mattina (My father shaves every morning).

In a few cases verbs change their meaning when used as reflexive verbs: Lui si alza (He gets up) / Lui alza il tavolo (He lifts the table); Lui sente un rumore (He hears a noise) / Lui si sente bene (He feels well).

Reflexive verbs are shown in dictionaries in their infinitive form –si. In order to make an infinitive reflexive form you must drop the -e of its infinitive form and add the pronoun –si. For example pettinare (to comb) becomes pettinarsi (to comb oneself), lavare (to wash) becomes lavarsi (to wash oneself) and so on. 

How to make the present tense of reflexive verbs? First, decide which reflexive pronoun to use. You can see how the reflexive pronouns correspond to the subject pronouns in the following table:

Subject pronoun Reflexive pronoun Meaning
(io) mi myself
(tu) ti yourself
(lui), (lei), (Lei) si himself, herself, itself,
yourself (formal)
(noi) ci ourselves
(voi) vi yourselves
(loro) si themselves

Then conjugate the verb as you ordinarily would with any –are, –ere or –ire verb. The following table shows the reflexive verb lavarsi (to wash oneself) in full.

io mi lavo
I wash myself		 noi ci laviamo
we wash ourselves
tu ti lavi
you wash yourself		 voi vi lavate
you wash yourselves
lui/lei
Lei (form.)		 si lava
he washes himself
she washes herself
you wash yourself (form.)		 loro si lavano
they wash themselves

Reflexive pronouns usually occur before a conjugated verb (Loro si lavano ogni mattina ‘They wash themselves every morning’) but

  • If they occur in their infinitive form, the infinitive drops its final -e and the pronouns attach to it: Hai bisogno di divertirti (You need to have fun), Mi piace alzarmi tardi (I like to get up late)
  • If the infinitive is preceded by a form of potere (can), dovere (must), or volere (to want), the pronouns may either attach to the infinitive or precede the entire verb phrase: Io posso/devo/voglio lavarmi  or  Io mi posso/devo/voglio lavare (I can/must/ want [to] wash myself), Tu puoi/devi/vuoi riposarti  or  Tu ti puoi/devi/vuoi riposare (You can/must/want [to] rest [yourself])
Tasks
  • Look at the picture and imagine yourself in those situations. Say first and then write what you do. Use  Speech to text to check your pronunciation and Spell and Grammar Checker to check if there are mistakes in your text.
  • Create a new sentence for each reflexive verb listed above. Then use Spell and Grammar Checker to check if there are mistakes in your text.
 
Practice

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