Reflexive pronouns are words like mi(myself), ti(yourself), si(herself, himself, itself, themselves) which are used when the of a sentence and the that receives the action of the verb are the same:
Io mi vesto.
I dress myself.
I am sure you have already spotted some weird looking 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(oneself), which can transform a normal verb like lavare(to wash) into a reflexive one lavarsi(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(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:
Subject Pronouns | Direct Object Pronouns | Reflexive Pronouns |
|---|---|---|
io(I) | mi(me) | mi(myself) |
tu(you) | ti(you) | ti(yourself) |
Lei(formal you) | La(formal you) | Si(formal yourself) |
lui(he, it) | lo(him, it) | si(himself / herself / itself) |
noi(we) | ci(us) | ci(ourselves) |
voi(you pl.) | vi(you pl.) | vi(yourselves) |
loro(they) | li, le(them) | si(themselves) |
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(direct object) vs. si(himself / herself / itself)
Plural: li or le(them) vs. si(themselves).
At times, you may see that the reflexives mi, ti, si, and vi drop the "i" in front of a vowel or an "h" and take the apostrophe.
M’asciugavo i capelli.
I was drying my hair.
Quando v’alzate da tavola, ringraziate lo chef.
When you (plural) get up from the table, thank the chef.
However, if you are not sure whether you should drop the “i” in front of a vowel or not, do not worry! It’s optional. If you don’t drop it, it is perfectly fine not to!
Reflexive verbs express an action that the does to itself. Typically, in sentences with a reflexive verb, the subject and are the same.
Reflexive pronouns come with reflexive verbs and, the other way around, reflexive verbs need reflexive pronouns to conjugate.
Mi chiamo Luigi, piacere!
My name is Luigi, nice to meet you!
lit. I call myself Luigi.
Some verbs that you may find in the reflexive form, also have a non-reflexive one. Let’s have a look at an example:
lavare(to wash)→ non-reflexive
Lavo il pavimento.
I wash the floor.
lavarsi(to wash oneself)→ reflexive
Mi lavo
I wash (myself).
Now let’s have a look at how you can some reflexive verbs in Italian using reflexive pronouns!
Subject Pronoun | lavare (to wash) | mettere (to put) | vestire (to wear, to dress) |
|---|---|---|---|
lavarsi (to wash oneself) | mettersi (to put something on oneself; to wear something) | vestirsi (to dress oneself) | |
io I | mi lavo I wash myself | mi metto I wear | mi vesto I dress myself |
tu you | ti lavi you wash yourself | ti metti you wear | ti vesti you dress yourself |
Lei formal you | Si lava you wash yourself | Si mette you wear | Si veste you dress yourself |
lei / lui she / he / it | si lava s/he washes her/himself | mi mette s/he wears | mi veste s/he dresses her/himself |
noi we | ci laviamo we wash ourselves | ci mettiamo we wear | ci vestiamo we dress ourselves |
voi plural you | vi lavate you wash yourselves | vi mettete you wear | vi vestite you dress yourselves |
loro they | si lavano they wash themselves | si mettono they wear | si vestono they dress themselves |
Here are two observations about Italian reflexive verbs:
Some reflexive verbs can take an object. For example:
(Io) Mi lavo le mani prima di mangiare.
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:
Mi metto un capello.
I wear a hat.
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(to put on).
Note that in Italian when a reflexive verb has an object (e.g. a body part, piece of clothing, or personal belonging), we will assume that the subject is the “possessor” so they are marked by always use a definite article ("the") and not a possessive like "my".
Rossella si è messa la sciarpa nuova.
Rossella put on her new scarf.
lit. Rossella put on the new scarf.
Some verbs change meaning when used with a reflexive pronoun. For example:
Pensavamo che la festa fosse stasera, ma ci siamo sbagliati.
We thought the party was tonight, but we were wrong.
By adding the reflexive pronoun -si, the infinitive of the verb sbagliare(to make a mistake) becomes sbagliarsi(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.
In colloquial Italian, transitive verbs are often used in a reflexive form to create emphasis. For instance, the verb dimenticare(to forget) can be used non-reflexively in following sentence:
Marco ha dimenticato il telefono.
Marco forgot his phone.
But, it can also be used in a reflexive form, so the example above would become:
Marco si è dimenticato il telefono.
Marco forgot his phone.
The infinitive of the verb here would be dimenticarsi which in English does not make sense. Why do Italians do that? Mostly to emphasize that the subject did something worth telling others.
Here are two more cases to keep in mind:
Reflexive with negation
In a , non(not) comes before the reflexive pronoun + verb.
Andrea non si è ancora alzato oggi.
Andrea has not yet got up today.
Reflexives with compound tenses
The example above gives us the chance to talk about reflexive pronouns when the verb is a like passato prossimo.
Note that with compound tenses, the for reflexive verbs is always essere(to be) and the agrees in gender and number with the subject.
Per Halloween, Carla si è vestita da Conte Dracula.
For Halloween, Carla dressed up as Count Dracula.
In Italian, reflexive pronouns usually go before the verb.
Si è vestito velocemente.
He dressed himself quickly.
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!
In the dictionary form of a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun will come at the end of the .
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. I want to dress up for tonight's party. | Voglio vestirmi bene per la festa di stasera. I want to dress up for tonight's party. |
This is common when you use:
a such as dovere(have to), potere(can), volere(want)
another verb that is typically followed by an infinitive, such as sapere(to know; to be able to), sperare(to hope), cercare(to try), andare(to go), etc.
In , reflexive pronouns are placed after the verb and attached to it, but in , they can go either before or after the verb.
Affirmative Imperative | Fa freddo, mettiti il cappotto. It's cold, put your coat on. |
|---|---|
Affirmative Imperative | Fa caldo, non ti mettere il cappotto. It's hot, don't wear your coat. |
Fa caldo, non metterti il cappotto. It's hot, don't wear your coat. |
When addressing someone formally with the Lei(formal you) or Loro(formal pl. you), the reflexive pronoun Si(formal yourself / formal yourselves) always comes before the verb in the imperative mood, in both affirmative and negative sentences:
Non Si preoccupi!
Do not worry!
Signori, Si accomodino!
Gentlemen, take a seat!
With a , reflexive pronouns are attached to the ending of the verb. For example:
Svegliandoci tardi abbiamo perso il treno.
Waking up late, we missed the train.
In continuous tenses like the present and past progressive, which are formed using the gerund, reflexive pronouns can go before stare(to be) or may be attached to the gerund. It’s interchangeable.
✅ Mi stavo facendo la doccia quando mi hai telefonato.
✅ Stavo facendomi la doccia quando mi hai telefonato.
I was showering when you called me.
You will encounter reflexive pronouns also in 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(one, generic "you," generic "they") + third person singular of the verb. Look at those sentences below!
Si deve sempre essere educati.
One must always be polite.
Si dice che questo inverno sarà freddo.
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.”
Since the general rule for impersonal sentences is that you use the impersonal pronoun si(one) with the third person singular of the verb, you might expect that the sentence would look something like this in Italian:
❌ 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:
✅ 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(each other)→ use this when “we verb each other”
vi(each other)→ use this when “you verb each other”
si(each other)→ use this when “they verb each other”
Let’s look at some examples:
Io e Francesco non ci conosciamo da tanto tempo.
Francesco and I have known each other for a long time.
Tu e i tuoi amici vi incontrate spesso?
Do you and your friends meet each other often?
Quando si vedono, si salutano sempre con un abbraccio.
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(himself / herself) and si(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(our/your/themselves) can also express reciprocity.
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