How to use the reflexive in Italian?

Question

Ok, like, mi lavarsi...

but, do the endings, -arsi, -ersi, -irsi ever change?

And for passato prossimo, do I use avere with the lavarsi to say I have washed myself? Help!!!!!!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Regular verbs end in: -are, -ire, -ere

Reflexive verbs end in: -arsi, -irsi, -ersi

The endings are just there to tell you what kind of verb you have.

That extra "si" on the end of reflexive verbs will turn into the pronoun you want to use. So when you're conjugating those, do this:

lavarsi → lavare si → si lavare (because pronouns go first, usually) → mi lavo / si lava / vi lavate / ci laviamo

Just unpackage it, and go a step at a time.

Regular verbs are just verbs. "I go," "you make," "he eats," etc. Reflexive is called "reflexive" for a reason: the verb REFLECTS back onto the person of that sentence. So reflexive verbs aren't just "I washed," but "I washed MYSELF," or "I made MYSELF" or "I ate MYSELF" (if you want). Technically all verbs can be made reflexive, if you want that person to do that verb to themselves.

For passato prossimo, ALWAYS USE ESSERE. Reflexive verbs always use essere. Always. Did I mention always? Always.

"Mi sono lavata stamattina."

"Si è alzato presto."

Essere.

Reflexive verbs are really weird to understand if you're just looking at the unconjugated verb and trying to figure out what to do with it. Just remember that reflexive verbs are all about doing something to oneself. Just take a verb, and put a pronoun in front of it. That's all reflexive verbs are.

Answer 2

I give you some examples:

Verb LAVARSI - presente

Io mi lavo

tu ti lavi

egli (lui) / ella (lei) si lava

noi ci laviamo

voi vi lavate

essi si lavano

Verb LAVARSI - passato prossimo

Io mi sono lavato

tu ti sei lavato

egli (lui) si è lavato / ella (lei) si è lavata

noi ci siamo lavati

voi vi siete lavati

essi si sono lavati