3.6: Struttura- i verbi riflessivi

Obiettivo

In this section, you will learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs

Studiamo !

I verbi riflessivi

We know that the subject of a verb is the person or thing that is performing the verb's action. The object of a verb is the person or thing acted upon or affected by that action. Here's an example in English:

Soggetto vs. Oggetto

Soggetto	Verbo	Oggetto
The dog	bites	the man.
The man	bites	the dog.

As we see here, the difference between subject and object depends on who or what is performing the action and who or what is affected by the action.

When the subject of a verb is the same as the object of the verb, we have a reflexive verb (un verbo riflessivo). For example:

Verbi riflessivi

Soggetto	Verbo	Oggetto
He	washes	himself.
I	love	myself.
They	look at	themselves (in the mirror).

In Italian, many of our daily routines and acts of personal hygiene are expressed with reflexive verbs. Here are the most common ones:

 

Verbi riflessivi

Italiano	Inglese
rivolgersi	to address, speak to
divertirsi	to have fun, to enjoy oneself
avvicinarsi	to approach something, someone
addormentarsi	to fall asleep
infastidirsi	to be annoyed, to get angry
annoiarsi	to be bored
vestirsi	to get dressed
allenarsi	to work out
stirarsi	to stretch
bagnarsi	to get wet
lavarsi i denti	to brush one's teeth
pettinarsi	to do one’s hair
coricarsi	to go to bed
sbrigarsi	to hurry, to hurry up
spogliarsi	to undress
farsi una doccia	to take a shower
lavarsi	to wash oneself
lavarsi il viso	to wash one's face
alzarsi	to get up
truccarsi	to put on make-up
spazzolarsi	to comb one’s hair
rasarsi	to shave
riposarsi	to rest
svegliarsi	to wake up
asciugarsi	to dry oneself

Flashcards

Study the Quizlet vocabulary flashcards. Listen and repeat the Italian pronunciation.

 

The English equivalent of asciugarsi is "to dry oneself", where the person doing the drying (= the subject) is the same person that is being dried (= the object): thus a reflexive action. However, many verbs that require reflexive pronouns in French do not require them in English. We do not need to say "he shaves himself" (si rade), and we never say "they rest themselves" (si riposano).

There are also many reflexive verbs in Italian that are not reflexive at all in English. For example, addormentarsi is reflexive in Italian, but to fall asleep is not reflexive in English. We have already seen this before with the reflexive verb chiamarsi (literally, to call oneself):

Io mi chiamo René. (≈ I call myself René ➔ My name is René).

Lui si chiama Charles. (≈ He calls himself Charles ➔ His name is Charles).

Come si chiama, Lei ? (≈ What do you call yourself? ➔ What is your name?)

For every reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun (i.e., object) always needs to match the subject in gender, number, and person.

Here are the reflexive pronouns you need to remember along with the conjugation of the reflexive verbs alzarsi and divertirsi:

 

Coniugazione dei verbi riflessivi

Pronomi riflessivo	alzarsi (to get up)	divertirsi (to have fun)
mi	io mi alzo	io mi diverto
ti	tu ti alzi	tu ti diverti
si	lui, lei, Lei si alza	lui, lei, Lei si diverte
ci	noi ci alziamo	noi ci divertiamo
vi	voi vi alzate	voi vi divertite
si	loro si alzano	loro si divertono

 

The reflexive pronoun always goes right before the conjugated verb. Together they form an inseparable "block" (mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza, etc.). When you negate a reflexive verb, you place non in front.

 

Al negativo

preparasi (to get ready)	Au négatif (non)
mi preparo	non mi preparo
ti prepari	non ti prepari
si prepara	non si prepara
ci prepariamo	non ci prepariamo
vi preparate	non vi preparate
si preparano	non si preparano

While most of the verbs presented above are always reflexive, many verbs can be used reflexively and non-reflexively. For example:

guardare (to look [at]) => guardarsi (to look at oneself)

lavare (to wash) => lavarsi (to wash oneself)

parlare (to talk) => parlarsi (to talk to oneself.)

Even when the verb is in the infinitive form, it still needs to have the appropriate reflexive pronoun to match the subject.

Risorse supplementali

 

• Verbi riflessivi https://youtu.be/vM6A8e_ompc
• https://youtu.be/IIJhRvg8Q5c
•  

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Verbi riflessivi a senso reciproco

(a) Reciprocal pronominal verbs (or reciprocal reflexives) express a shared or reciprocal action between two or more people or things. In this context, the reflexive pronouns mean "(to) each other" or "(to) one another".

As usual, context is key. Look at the difference between these two sentences.

• Midori si parla spesso. (Midori talks "to herself" often.)
• Kathy e Michelle si parlano spesso. (Kathy and Michelle talk "to each other" often.)

In (1) the pronoun si means to "herself". In (2) si means to "each other".

Here are some common reciprocal verbs:

 

verbi riflessivi a senso reciproco

Verbi	Verbi
ammirarsi	to admire each other
adorarsi	to adore one another
aiutarsi	to help one another, each other
amarsi	to love (like) one another
scriversi	to write one another
abbracciarsi	to hug each other
baciarsi	to kiss each other
comprendersi	to get along well (with one another)
capirsi bene	to understand each other
conoscersi	to know each other
detestarsi	to hate one another
dirsi	to tell each other
darsi	to give one another
battersi	to fight with someone
sposarsi	to marry each other
parlarsi	to talk to each other
lasciarsi	to leave one another
rincontrarsi	to meet one another
ritrovarsi	to meet (up with) one another
telefonarsi	to call (phone) each other

Note

In English, each other and one another are often interchangeable. You don’t have to make this kind of choice in Italian; just use the correct reflexive plural pronoun (si, vi, or ci).

Tracy e Paul si danno dei regali a Natale. (Tracy and Paul give each other gifts at Christmas.)

I pompieri si aiutano a spegnere l'incendio. (The firefighters help each other put out the fire.)

 Ci ritroviamo spesso al ristorante U. (We meet each other often at the restaurant U.)

Mathieu e Gina decidono di lasciarsi. (Mathieu and Gina decide to leave each other.)

Verbi riflessivi con significato idiomatico

Unlike the verbs we studied above, where the action reflects back on the subject or between two subjects, these reflexive verbs should be learned as idiomatic expressions. This means that there is really no explanation as to why they have a reflexive pronoun, but they do. These reflexive verbs don't have any obvious reflexive or reciprocal meaning, for example infastidirsi (to be annoyed) or interessarsi (to be interested in). Here's a good list to start with:

 

Vocabolario

Italiano	Inglese
arrangiarsi	to manage, to get by
abituarsi	to get used to
perdersi	to get lost
aspettarsi	to expect
andarsene	to leave, go away
sentirsi	to feel (good, bad)
sbagliarsi	to be mistaken
rammentarsi	to remember
ricordarsi	to remember
preoccuparsi	to worry
prendersi cura di	to take care
interessarsi	to be interested
godersi	to enjoy oneself

Flashcards

Study the Quizlet vocabulary flashcards https://quizlet.com/_bh2udh?x=1qqt&i=4cwgmo. Listen and repeat the Italian pronunciation.

 

Esercizi

Attività A

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs in parentheses at the Present tense:

1. Lisa ________ allo specchio. (guardarsi)
2. Daniele e Gianni non ________ tutti i giorni. (radersi)
3. Non mi piace ________. Preferisco fare il bagno (farsi la doccia).
4. Voi______________(lavarsi) presto la mattina?
5. I mieu due fratelli  ________(lavarsi) le mani troppo spesso.
6. I tuoi genitori, come _____________(chiamarsi) ?
7. Di solito noi _______________(addormentarsi) facilmente.

Attività B

Coniuga al presente. 

1. Noi (aiutarci) ________.
2. Loro (telefonarsi) ________.
3. Voi (guardasi) ________.
4. Loro (parlarsi) ________.
5. Kate e Lin (abbracciarsi) ________.
6. I politici (deterstarsi) ________.
7. Noi  (amarci) ________.
8. Tu e Daniel (conoscersi) ________.

Attività C

Rispondi a queste domande.

1. Ti diverti con i tuoi fratelli o cugini?
2. Ti interessano i giochi a carte?
3. Che cosa ti infastidisce d'estate?
4. A volte tu e i tuoi amici vi arrabbiate ?
5. Che cosa ti infastisce?
6.  Che cosa non ti ricordi?
7. Ti prendi cura di un animale?