Daily routines and reflexive verbs
Every day we perform many everyday actions: we wake up, wash, dress, eat, work and go to sleep. But how do we describe these actions in Italian?
Let's see together how to describe our day, step by step, using verbs that express actions do"on ourselves".
Reflexive verbs and daily actions
Many daily actions use reflexive verbs, which indicate an action that falls on the person who is doing it.
For example:
- Svegliarsi (to wake up) → Io mi sveglio alle 7:00. (I wake up at 7 a.m.)
- Alzarsi (to get up) → Tu ti alzi presto? (Do you get up early?)
- Lavarsi (to wash oneself) → Lui si lava le mani prima di mangiare. (He washes his hands before eating)
- Vestirsi (to get dressed) → Noi ci vestiamo velocemente. (We get dressed quickly)
- Rilassarsi (to relax) → Voi vi rilassate la sera? (Do you relax in the evening?)
- Addormentarsi (to fall asleep) → Loro si addormentano tardi. (They fall asleep late)
In Italian, we use reflexive verbs to describe many actions in our daily lives. This means that we always need to use a reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) with the verb to indicate that the action reflects back on the subject.
What are reflexive verbs?
Click here to learn more about this topic.
For example:
- Mi sveglio
Reflexive verbs are made up of two parts:
2. The verb conjugated in the correct form (mi sveglio, ti svegli...)
Io mi sveglio
Tu ti svegli
Lui/lei si sveglia
Noi ci svegliamo
Voi vi svegliate
Loro si svegliano
The three families of reflexive verbs
Like all Italian verbs, reflexive verbs are divided into three groups based on their infinitive endings (click here to learn more about the three families of verbs in Italian):
-ARE → svegliarsi, alzarsi, lavarsi
-ERE → mettersi, accorgersi, vedersi
-IRE → vestirsi, divertirsi, addormentarsi
Some examples:
-ARE
svegliarsi → mi sveglio, ti svegli, si sveglia, ci svegliamo, vi svegliate, si svegliano
alzarsi → mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza, ci alziamo, vi alzate, si alzano
lavarsi → mi lavo, ti lavi, si lava, ci laviamo, vi lavate, si lavano
-ERE
mettersi → mi metto, ti metti, si mette, ci mettiamo, vi mettete, si mettono
accorgersi → mi accorgo, ti accorgi, si accorge, ci accorgiamo, vi accorgete, si accorgono
vedersi → mi vedo, ti vedi, si vede, ci vediamo, vi vedete, si vedono
-IRE
vestirsi → mi vesto, ti vesti, si veste, ci vestiamo, vi vestite, si vestono
divertirsi → mi diverto, ti diverti, si diverte, ci divertiamo, vi divertite, si divertono
addormentarsi → mi addormento, ti addormenti, si addormenta, ci addormentiamo, vi addormentate, si addormentano
Knowing which family a verb belongs to helps us to conjugate it correctly.
Conjugating verbs after a reflexive pronoun
Now that we have seen how verbs are divided into three groups, let's see how to apply these rules to correctly conjugate reflexive verb.
When using a reflexive verb, the verb that follows the pronoun must be conjugated according to the correct tense and person. In short, this means that you simply take the conjugation of the regular verb and add the appropriate reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) before it.
For example, starting with the verb svegliare (to wake someone up), which belongs to the -are verb family. If we conjugate it in the present indicative (without reflexive pronouns), we get:
- io sveglio (I wake someone up)
- tu svegli (you wake someone up)
- lui/lei sveglia (he/she wakes someone up)
To form the reflexive version (svegliarsi – to wake up oneself), we simply add the reflexive pronoun before the verb:
- io mi sveglio (I wake up)
- tu ti svegli (you wake up)
- lui/lei si sveglia (he/she wakes up)
Knowing the three-family rule (-are, -ere, -ire) is very important because it not only allows us to form the present tense correctly, but also applies to other verb tenses. For example, in the passato prossimo (present perfect), we follow the same pattern:
- io ho svegliato (I woke someone up) → io mi sono svegliato/a (I woke up)
- tu hai svegliato (you woke someone up) → tu ti sei svegliato/a (you woke up)
- lui/lei ha svegliato (he/she woke someone up) → lui/lei si è svegliato/a (he/she woke up)
So, once you know how to conjugate regular verbs, you can easily form reflexive verbs by just adding the correct reflexive pronoun!
In summary, knowing which family the verb belongs to allows us to:
- Conjugate correctly the present indicative after the reflexive pronoun (e.g. mi sveglio).
- Apply the same rules to the formation of other tenses, such as the present perfect or simple past in English (e.g., I have woken up / I woke up for mi sono svegliata in Italian).
This knowledge is essential for speaking Italian correctly and fluently, both when describing everyday actions and when dealing with other verb tenses in the future.
Describing daily actions
Now let's put all this information together to talk about our day. Imagine a typical day and try to describe it step by step!
The first step in our day is to wake up (svegliarsi), but watch out! In Italian we say 'io mi sveglio' and not just 'io sveglio' because the action is on us.
After waking up, we get up (ci alziamo) and so on.
For example:
La mattina
- Mi sveglio alle 7:00. (I wake up at 7:00.)
- Mi alzo dal letto. (I get up from bed.)
- Mi lavo il viso e i denti. (I wash my face and teeth.)
- Mi vesto velocemente. (I get dressed quickly.)
During the day we continue with many activities:
Il pomeriggio
- Pranzo alle 13:00 e poi mi riposo un po'. (I have lunch at 1:00 p.m. and then I rest a bit.)
- Mi metto le scarpe e vado a fare una passeggiata. (I put on my shoes and go for a walk.)
- Mi siedo e leggo un libro. (I sit down and read a book.)
- Mi preparo per andare in palestra. (I get ready to go to the gym.)
La sera
- Mi rilasso e guardo la TV. (I relax and watch TV.)
- Mi lavo prima di andare a dormire. (I wash myself before going to sleep.)
- Mi metto il pigiama e vado a letto. (I put on my pyjamas and go to bed.)
- Mi addormento intorno alle 22:00. (I fall asleep around 10:00 p.m.)
In this way, each action is expressed clearly and evenly, using reflexive verbs to emphasise that the actions are performed on ourselves. Following the three-family rule makes it easier to conjugate verbs in the present tense and in other tenses in the future.
Now it's your turn! Write a short text about your day in Italian. Use at least 5 reflexive verbs, like svegliarsi, vestirsi, rilassarsi. You can use my example to help you!
For example:
I wake up at 7.30, then I wash my face and get dressed. I go to school and study for three hours. After lunch I relax and watch television. In the evening I take a shower and go to bed early.
Write your daily routine in the comments using at least 5 reflexive verbs. I'll read them and help you out!😊
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