How to use reflexive pronouns in Italian?

Reflexive pronouns are words like mi (meaning myself), ti (meaning yourself), si (meaning herself, himself, itself, themselves) which are used when the subject of a sentence and the object that receives the action of the verb are the same:

I am sure you have already spotted some weird looking infinitives that, instead of ending in the usual -re, end in -si. Yes, those are the infinitives of reflexive verbs imbued with the power of the reflexive pronoun si (meaning oneself), which can transform a normal verb like lavare (meaning to wash) into a reflexive one lavarsi (meaning to wash oneself).

In this post, we’ll introduce you to the reflexive pronouns and how to use them with reflexive verbs in Italian. These and other tricks you will discover se ti divertirai (meaning if you will enjoy yourself/have fun) while learning more about reflexive pronouns!

The reflexive pronouns in Italian are given in the table below. We’ve listed them in comparison to subject pronouns and direct object pronouns, so you can see the similarities and differences:

As you can see, reflexive pronouns mostly have the same forms as direct object pronouns, with the only difference being in the third person forms:

• Singular: lo or la (meaning direct object) vs. si (meaning himself / herself / itself)

• Plural: li or le (meaning them) vs. si (meaning themselves).

Reflexive verbs express an action that the subject does to itself. Typically, in sentences with a reflexive verb, the subject and object are the same.

Reflexive pronouns come with reflexive verbs and, the other way around, reflexive verbs need reflexive pronouns to conjugate.

Some verbs that you may find in the reflexive form, also have a non-reflexive one. Let’s have a look at an example:

Now let’s have a look at how you can conjugate some reflexive verbs in Italian using reflexive pronouns!

Here are two observations about Italian reflexive verbs:

1. Some reflexive verbs can take an object. For example:

   subjectreflexive pronounobject

   (Io) Mi lavo le mani prima di mangiare.

   Translation: I wash my hands before eating.

   In this case, the subject does the action on themselves, but actually acts on a specific part of their body.

   Here is a slightly different case:

   reflexive pronounobject

   Mi metto un capello.

   Translation: I wear a hat.

   Literally: lit. I put a hat on myself.

   In this case, the action of the verb directly affects the hat (the object) but they are using the hat to dress themselves (the subject), so we use the reflexive verb mettersi (meaning to put on).

2. Some verbs change meaning when used with a reflexive pronoun. For example:

   Pensavamo che la festa fosse stasera, ma ci siamo sbagliati.

   Translation: We thought the party was tonight, but we were wrong.

   By adding the reflexive pronoun -si, the infinitive of the verb sbagliare (meaning to make a mistake) becomes sbagliarsi (meaning to be wrong). It does not describe an action that the subject does to itself, but it acquires a different meaning, even if the verb conjugates like a reflexive one.

Here are two more cases to keep in mind:

1. Reflexive with negation

   In a negative sentence, non (meaning not) comes before the reflexive pronoun + verb.

   Andrea non si è ancora alzato oggi.

   Translation: Andrea has not yet got up today.

2. Reflexives with compound tenses

   The example above gives us the chance to talk about reflexive pronouns when the verb is a compound tense like passato prossimo.

   Note that with compound tenses, the auxiliary verb for reflexive verbs is always essere (meaning to be) and the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

   feminine singularreflexive pronoun

   Per Halloween, Carla si è vestita da Conte Dracula.

   Translation: For Halloween, Carla dressed up as Count Dracula.

In Italian, reflexive pronouns usually go before the verb.

However, with some specific moods of the verb, such as the infinitive, the imperative, and the gerund, the placement can vary. Let’s check them out next!

• Reflexive pronouns with infinitive verbs

  In the dictionary form of a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun will come at the end of the infinitive verb.

  However, when you use an infinitive verb in a sentence, you often have another option. When you use an infinitive for example, after another verb, you can put the reflexive pronouns either before the first verb or after the infinitive, attached to it, as in the dictionary form. For example:

  Before	After + Attached
  Mi voglio vestire bene per la festa di stasera. Translation: I want to dress up for tonight's party.	Voglio vestirmi bene per la festa di stasera. Translation: I want to dress up for tonight's party.

  This is common when you use:

  • a modal verb such as dovere (meaning have to), potere (meaning can), volere (meaning want)

  • another verb that is typically followed by an infinitive, such as sapere (meaning to know; to be able to), sperare (meaning to hope), cercare (meaning to try), andare (meaning to go), etc.

• Reflexive pronouns with imperative verbs

  In affirmative sentences, reflexive pronouns are placed after the imperative verb and attached to it, but in negative sentences, they can go either before or after the verb.

  Affirmative Imperative	Fa freddo, mettiti il cappotto. Translation: It's cold, put your coat on.
  Affirmative Imperative	Fa caldo, non ti mettere il cappotto. Translation: It's hot, don't wear your coat.
  	Fa caldo, non metterti il cappotto. Translation: It's hot, don't wear your coat.

• Reflexive pronouns with gerunds

  With a gerund, reflexive pronouns are attached to the ending of the verb. For example:

  Svegliandoci tardi abbiamo perso il treno.

  Translation: Waking up late, we missed the train.

• Reflexive pronouns in impersonal constructions

  You will encounter reflexive pronouns also in impersonal sentences where the verbs are reflexive.

  In Italian, to form impersonal sentences (sentences that don’t have a clear subject, but rather a generic one), we can use the impersonal pronoun si (meaning one, generic "you," generic "they") + third person singular of the verb. Look at those sentences below!

  impersonal pronoun

  Si deve sempre essere educati.

  Translation: One must always be polite.

  impersonal pronoun

  Si dice che questo inverno sarà freddo.

  Translation: They say this winter will be cold.

  Now, when the verb of an impersonal sentence is a reflexive verb, we need to pay special attention because there is going to be a little twist and some steps to follow.

  Let’s start from translating this sentence from English to Italian:

  “One washes their hands before eating.”

  “One” represents a generic person

  Since the general rule for impersonal sentences is that you use the impersonal pronoun si (meaning one) with the third person singular of the verb, you might expect that the sentence would look something like this in Italian:

  impersonal pronounreflexive pronoun

  ❌ Si si lava le mani prima di mangiare.

  This sentence should be the correct one in theory, but in practice, we replace the first si (the impersonal one), with ci. This allows us to not repeat si twice in a row. Hence, the Italian translation of our sentence would be:

  impersonal pronounreflexive pronoun

  ✅ Ci si lava le mani prima di mangiare.

Reflexive pronouns are also used to express reciprocity. In this case, they help with conjugating reciprocal verbs, which express an action that two or more people perform to each other.

When expressing reciprocity, we only need the plural forms of reflexive pronouns, which are ci, vi, si:

• ci (meaning each other)→ use this when “we verb each other”

• vi (meaning each other)→ use this when “you verb each other”

• si (meaning each other)→ use this when “they verb each other”

Let’s look at some examples:

• Io e Francesco non ci conosciamo da tanto tempo.

  Translation: Francesco and I have known each other for a long time.
• Tu e i tuoi amici vi incontrate spesso?

  Translation: Do you and your friends meet each other often?
• Quando si vedono, si salutano sempre con un abbraccio.

  Translation: When they see each other, they always greet each other with a hug.

• Reflexive pronouns are used in sentences in which the subject and object are the same.

• Reflexive pronouns form like direct object pronouns, except for the third person singular and plural, which in reflexive pronouns are si (meaning himself / herself) and si (meaning themselves).

• Reflexive pronouns are part of the conjugation of reflexive verbs.

• Reflexive pronouns usually go before the verb, but when used in the infinitive, imperative, and with gerunds, they may behave differently.

• In impersonal sentences with reflexive verbs, we have ci si + verb in the third person singular, rather than using si twice.

• The plural reflexive pronouns ci, vi, si (meaning our/your/themselves) can also express reciprocity.

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