Reflexive verbs Reflexive verbs are used to tell that a person does something to or for him- or herself. Lets 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.

Whats 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?Huh? There are two ways to talk about washing in Italian: Lavare: to wash something else Lavarsi : to wash part of ones 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)

LavarsiLavarsi 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.

Lets try one. chiamarsi: to call oneself io______ tu______ Lui/ lei ______ noi ______ voi loro ______

ChiamarsiChiamarsi 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?

Whats 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!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

alzarsialzarsi 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

addormentarsiaddormentarsi Io mi addormento Tu ti addormenti Lui/ lei si addormenta Noi ci addormentiamo Voi vi addormentate Loro si addormentano

VestirsiVestirsi 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 illriposarsi- to rest coricarsi- to lay downscusarsi- to apologize dimenticarsi- to forgetsentirsi- to feel incontrarsi- to meetsvegliarsi- to awake lamentarsi- to complainvestirsi- to dress onself lavarsi- to wash oneself ricordarsi- to remember

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 male to 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 pronouns go before the verb: Sto lavandomi la pele Ci stiamo lavando la pele

What about past tense? In past tense we use essere with ALL reflexive verbs. Dont forget we need a helping verb (essere), a past participle, and agreement! Esempio: Mi sono lavato/aci siamo lavati/e Ti sei lavato/avi siete lavati/e Si è lavato/asi sono lavati/e

Whew! Thats 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.