Page 55 - verbo italiano

Verb Usage Review / 45

Il bambino sta dormendo. The baby is sleeping.
Stavano lavorando. They were working.
Penso che lui stia dormendo. I think he is sleeping.
Pensavo che loro stessero lavorando. I thought they were working.

The Reflexive Form

Italian verbs can have a reflexive form. A reflexive infinitive is identifiable by the
ending –si:
lavare + si = lavarsi
mettere + si = mettersi
divertire + si = divertirsi.

Note that the final –e of the infinitive is omitted. Reflexive pronouns are: mi, ti,
si, ci, vi, and si. The following chart shows the subject pronouns with their corre-
sponding Italian reflexive pronouns and English reflexive pronouns:

Subject Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns English Reflexive Pronouns
io mi myself
tu ti yourself
lui/lei si himself/herself
Lei Si yourself
noi ci ourselves
voi vi yourselves
loro si themselves

Note that the form for the third-person singular (lui/lei) and plural (loro) pronoun
is the same: si. Also, when the word “sì” means “yes,” it is spelled with an accent in
order to distinguish it from the pronoun “si.”

Reflexive verbs, like all other verbs, are conjugated in the various tenses and moods
according to the infinitive ending (alzarsi: –are; mettersi: –ere; divertirsi: –ire) and
according to any spelling changes or irregularities. Reflexive verbs, unlike other
verbs however, must be preceded by their appropriate reflexive pronoun.
For simple tenses, if you know the conjugation of a verb (for example, mettere,
“to put”), in order to conjugate it in a reflexive way (for example, mettersi “to put
oneself”), simply put the reflexive pronouns before the simple tenses (mi metto, ti
metti, si mette). Table 16 shows, as an example, the reflexive present tense of the
verbs alzarsi (“to get up”), mettersi (“to put oneself”), divertirsi (“to have fun”), and
trasferirsi (“to move”).