Italian All-in-One For Dummies (150 page)

Si trovano in Italia.
(
They are in Italy.
)

Altering the position of reflexive pronouns

Sometimes you can attach the reflexive pronoun (
mi, ti, si, ci, vi,
and
si
) to the verb but only to infinitives and present participles.
Non voglio alzarmi presto
(
I don't want to get [myself] up early
), for example, attaches the reflexive pronoun
mi
to the infinitive
alzare,
after dropping the final
e
from the infinitive. You can also say
Sto alzandomi presto
(
I'm getting [myself] up early
) by using the present participle
getting
and attaching the reflexive pronoun
mi
to that participle (see
Chapter 1
in Book V for more on participle mood). Using the semi-auxiliaries, or a kind of helping verb,
dovere
(
to have to; must
),
potere
(
to be able to; can
), and
volere
(
to want
), you can construct sentences that are truly idiomatic.

Attaching to infinitives

In the present tense, you don't want two conjugated verb forms next to one another, though a conjugated form followed by an infinitive works. For example, you say

Io devo svegliarmi alle sette.
(
I have to wake up at 7:00.
)

Non puoi svegliarti alle otto perché la classe comincia alle 8.05.
(
You can't wake up at 8:00 because class starts at 8:05.
)

Vuole svegliarsi alle nove per andare al parco.
(
He wants to wake up at 9:00 to go to the park.
)

Io devo studiare ma preferisco divertirmi.
(
I have to study, but I prefer to have a good time.
)

Notice two things about this construction:

First, infinitives follow
devo, puoi, vuole,
and
preferisco.
English does the same.

Second, the pronoun attached to
divertirmi
is the pronoun that reflects the implied subject
io.

Joining up with present participles

You can also attach pronouns to the present participles, as shown in the following examples.

Io sto divertendomi.
(
I'm having a good time.
)

Tu stai divertendoti.
(
You
[singular, informal]
are having a good time.
)

Lui/lei/Lei sta divertendosi.
(
He/She/It/You
[singular, formal]
is/are having a good time.
)

Noi stiamo divertendoci.
(
We are having a good time.
)

Voi state divertendovi.
(
You
[plural, informal]
are having a good time.
)

Loro stanno divertendosi.
(
They are having a good time.
) (
You
[plural, formal]
are having a good time.
)

Notice that the subjects (
io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi,
and
loro
) are reflected in the attached reflexive pronouns (
mi, ti, si, ci, vi,
and
si
) and that both are in agreement with the verb conjugations (
sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state,
and
stanno
).

Giving and taking with the reciprocal form

Almost any verb can be reflexive. Reciprocal reflexives take the process one step further. They use everyday verbs and show how people interact. In other words, they throw the action back on more than one subject and state things people do to each other. In the following examples,
each other
is the key phrase:

Paolo e Francesca si parlano.
(
Paolo and Francesca talk to each other.
)

Ci vediamo.
(
We'll see each other.
)

Cristina e Piero già si conoscono.
(
Cristina and Piero already know each other.
)

Parlare
(
to speak
),
vedere
(
to see
), and
conoscere
(
to know
) aren't normally reflexive verbs, but when they become reciprocal reflexives, they show people interacting with each other.

Reciprocal verbs mostly work in plural forms (in other words, with the pronouns
ci, vi,
and
si
). If the form is singular (with the pronouns
mi, ti, si
) it is often followed by a preposition that expresses reciprocity. For example:

Vi conoscete, vero?
(
You know each other, right?
)

Non vi ricordate?
(
You don't remember each other?
)

Non ti ricordi [di . . .]?
(
You don't remember. . . ?
)

Si innamorano.
(
They are falling in love with each other.
)

Mi innamoro [di . . .]
(
I am falling in love with . . .
)

Si sposano.
(
They are marrying each other.
)
(
They are getting married.
)

Si sposa [con . . .
] (
She/He is marrying . . .
)

Ci sentiamo.
(Literally:
We'll hear from each other.
) This phrase is often used on the phone to mean that
we'll talk to each other again, perhaps tomorrow.

Using the impersonal si

The impersonal construction with the reflexive pronoun
si
comes across in English as passive. And although situations occur in which the passive voice actually works better than an active form, in general, you don't want to use passive. In English, you use active voice to say, “She bought the car.” But if you say, “The car was bought by her,” you're using passive construction. Which do you think sounds better?

A more useful remark in the passive would be something like
Qui si parla inglese
(
English is spoken here
). Notice that the subject follows the verb. Here's another example:
si servono biscotti
(
cookies are served
). You have to keep track of the subject and make sure the verb agrees in number with it. Consider the following examples:

Si vendono francobolli.
(
Stamps are sold.
)

Si vende caffè.
(
Coffee is sold.
)

Si parlano italiano, francese, giapponese, e inglese.
(
Italian, French, Japanese, and English are spoken.
)

Giving a Commanding Performance with the Imperative

Nowhere is the divide between familiar and formal forms of address more evident than when you use the imperative. The very distinction between familiar and formal tells you something important about manners. If you wouldn't use a command (often a demand) in English, then you certainly wouldn't use it in Italian.

The imperative isn't a tense; it's a mood. Italian has four moods:

Indicative (used to indicate something; see
Chapters 1
and
2
in Book IV)