Basic Italian: A Grammar and Workbook

UNIT TWENTY

Reflexive pronouns

1Reflexive pronouns correspond to ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, etc. in phrases like
‘you flatter yourself’, ‘the cat’s licking itself’, ‘the recorder’s switched itself
off’. In such cases, the subject and the object of the verb are the same person
or thing:

These examples show how the reflexive pronouns are the direct objects of
the verbs lavare, guardare and vestire and denote the same person as the
subject.
There are very many verbs which can be used in the reflexive form in Italian
and which do not correspond to English reflexive verbs. Here is a list of some
of the most common ones:

Ti guardi sempre allo specchio.

Mi lavo.

Anna si veste per la festa.

You always look at yourself in the

mirror.

I get washed. [lit. I wash myself]

Anna’s getting dressed for the party.

[lit. Anna’s dressing herself]

addormentarsi

alzarsi

annoiarsi

dimenticarsi

lavarsi

offendersi

ricordarsi

riposarsi

sbagliarsi

scusarsi

sedersi

sentirsi

svegliarsi

vestirsi

to fall asleep [lit. to send oneself to sleep]

to get up [lit. to raise oneself]

to get/be bored [lit. to bore oneself]

to forget [lit. to forget oneself]

to get washed [lit. to wash oneself]

to take offence [lit. to offend oneself]

to remember [lit. to recall oneself]

to rest [lit. to rest oneself]

to be wrong/mistaken [lit. to mistake oneself]

to apologise [lit. to excuse oneself]

to sit down [lit. to seat oneself]

to feel (well, ill, etc.) [lit. to feel oneself]

to wake up [lit. to waken oneself]

to get dressed [lit. to dress oneself]