Italian All-in-One For Dummies (172 page)

Consider this use of reflexive verbs in your (imaginary and admittedly extravagantly full) day, for example:

Mi sono svegliato/svegliata alle 5.00.
(
I woke up at 5:00.
)

Mi sono alzato/alzata immediatamente.
(
I got up immediately.
)

Mi sono lavato/lavata i denti.
(
I brushed my teeth.
)

Mi sono fatto/fatta la doccia.
(
I took a shower.
)

Mi sono pettinato/pettinata.
(
I did my hair.
)

In ufficio, mi sono arrabbiato/arrabbiata perché i clienti si sono lamentati.
(
In the office, I got angry because the clients complained.
)

Mi sono ricordato/ricordata di un appuntamento all'università.
(
I remembered an appointment at the university.
)

Mi sono laureato/laureato.
(
I graduated.
)

Mi sono divertito/divertita con degli amici.
(
I had fun with some friends.
)

Mi sono innamorato/innamorata.
(
I fell in love.
)

Mi sono sposato/sposata.
(
I got married.
)

Mi sono domandato/domandata:
è possibile tutto questo?
(
I asked myself: Is all this possible?
)

A casa, finalmente, ci siamo addormentati.
(
At home, finally, we fell asleep.
)

Using Reciprocal Verbs in the Present Perfect

Reciprocal verbs in the present perfect show how people interacted, as in these examples:

Si sono parlati.
(
They talked to each other.
)

Si sono visti.
(
They saw each other.
)

Si sono incontrati.
(
They met each other for dinner or coffee.
)

Obviously, it takes more than one person to do these things, so you use only plural verb forms.

To use the reciprocal reflexive in the present perfect, you need the following three components:

A reflexive pronoun to indicate interaction:
You have only three to choose from:
ci
(
we interact
),
vi
(
you
[plural]
interact
), and
si
(
they interact
).

The conjugated helping verb (essere):
For example,
ci siamo, vi siete,
or
si sono.

A past participle:
For example,
incontrati/incontrate
or
abbracciati/abbracciate,
in either the masculine plural or the feminine plural form.

Here are some example sentences:

Quando vi siete incontrate per la prima volta?
(
When did you meet [each other] for the first time?
)

Vi siete abbracciate?
(
Did you hug [each other]?
)

Dove si sono conosciuti i genitori?
(
Where did your parents meet [each other]?
)

You can make many verbs reciprocal. All you need to keep in mind is that the action of the verb goes between two or more people.
Parlare
(
to speak
), for example, isn't normally a reflexive verb. If you want to say
We spoke to each other on the phone,
however, you can turn it into a reciprocal reflexive that uses the present perfect:
Ci siamo parlati al telefono.

Just as you can make many verbs reciprocal by adding pronouns that change their meaning to include a reference to “each other,” you can also make many reflexive verbs nonreflexive. Consider the changes in the following sentences. In the present perfect tense, you say
Mi sono divertita
(
I had a good time
) (
I amused myself
)
.
But to make this verb nonreflexive, you say
La sua barzelletta mi ha divertito/a
(
Her/his joke amused me
)
.
To carry this example a step further, the verb can become reciprocal in meaning (as well as a regular present perfect) if you change it to
Ci siamo divertiti
a vicenda/l'un l'altro/gli uni con gli altri
(
We had a good time
) (
We amused each other
).

You can see this same progression of meanings in this set of examples:

Mi sono svegliata.
(
I woke [myself] up.
)

Ho svegliato i bambini.
(
I woke the kids.
)

Ci siamo svegliati
a vicenda/l'un l'altro/gli uni con gli altri
.
(
We woke each other up.
)

Forming the Imperfect of Reflexive Verbs

The imperfect is the simplest of all verb tenses in Italian. Most conjugations are regular, and the endings are the same for
-are, -ere,
and
-ire
(including
isc
) verbs.

The imperfect tense answers these questions:
What was going on? What did you used to do?
(in English, this question is sometimes rendered as
What would you do in those days?
) and
What was something or someone like?
You use the imperfect to

Describe physical, mental, and emotional states of being:
I was happy
(or
sad, tall, short, poor, rich,
or whatever the case may be).

Talk about time and weather:
It was midnight
or
It was freezing,
for example.

Reminisce:
Remember when we used to . .
.