Reflexive verbs

Mi lavo le mani con il sapone. (I wash my hands with soap)
Said e Carlotta si svegliano sempre alle otto di mattina. (Said and Carlotta always wake up at 8 in the morning)

Mi lavo (<lavarsi) and si svegliano (<svegliarsi) are called reflexive verbs, because the action “reflects back” on the subject (the subject and object are the same). Compare:

Graciela e Millie guardano la TV. → not reflexive (Graciela and Millie watch TV)
Graciela e Millie si guardano allo specchio. → reflexive (Graciela e Millie look at themselves in the mirror)

Reflexive verbs are conjugated using reflexive pronouns:

The position of reflexive pronouns in the sentence is:

• Immediately before verbs in the present indicative.

Hannah si fa la doccia. (Hannah takes a shower)

• Attached after verbs in the infinitive form. Note that in this case the verbs drop the final -e: addormentare + si > addormentar- + si > addormentarsi.

A Maria Sol piace addormentarsi presto la sera. (Maria Sol likes to go to sleep early in the evening)

• In sentences with potere, dovere and volere + infinitive, reflexive pronouns can go either before the main verb or attached after the infinitive

Carla e io dobbiamo lavarci i denti. (Carla and I have to wash our teeth)

Carla e io ci dobbiamo lavare i denti. (Carla and I have to wash our teeth)

In some cases, reflexive pronouns serve as the object of a sentence:

Io mi lavo. (I wash [myself])

In other cases, we can find both a reflexive pronoun and an object. In these cases, remember that in Italian we do not use the possessive pronoun.

Io mi lavo le mani. (I wash my hands)

NOT: Io mi lavo le mie mani

Reciprocal verbs

Giulia e Mirko si abbracciano. (Giulia and Mirko hug [each other])

Io e i miei amici ci incontriamo alle dieci di sera. (My friends and I meet [each other] at 10pm)

When two (or more) people do something reciprocally to each other, in Italian we use reciprocal verbs and pronouns.

Reciprocal pronouns are the same as the reflexive pronouns, but only exist in the plural form:

Adverbs

Julio si trucca spesso. (Julio often puts on make-up)
Julio si trucca attentamente. (Julio puts on make-up carefully)

Spesso and attentamente are adverbs. Adverbs are words that modify adjectives or, as in this case, verbs. They can tell us, for example, how often an action happens or how it is performed.

Adverbs of Frequency

To answer the question quanto spesso? (how often?) use these adverbs of frequency: 

Mai is always used in combination with non in negative sentences, and it is normally placed immediately after the verb:

Non vado mai al mare. (I never go to the beach)

Anna e Li non si pettinano mai. (Anna and Li never comb their hair)

The other adverbs of frequency can be placed either immediately before or immediately after the verb:

Studio sempre la sera. (I always study in the evening)

Andate spesso in montagna? (Do you often go to the mountains?)

Adverbs in -mente

The suffix -mente can be used to derive adverbs from adjectives, like the English -ly:

generoso (generous) > generosamente (generously)

Marco è una persona generosa. (Marco is a generous person)

Marco dà generosamente il suo panino a Mario. (Marco generously gives Mario his sandwich)

To form the adverbs in -mente,

– With adjectives of the first type (e.g. allegro/allegra), add -mente to the singular feminine form:

allegro/allegra (happy) > allegra + mente > allegramente (happily)

– With adjectives of the second type (e.g. felice), add -mente to the singular form:

felice (happy) > felice + mente > felicemente (happily)

– Adjectives in -le drop the final -e before adding -mente:

gentile (kind) > gentil- + mente > gentilmente (kindly)

facile (easy) > facil- + mente > facilmente (easily)

difficile (difficult) > difficil- + mente > difficilmente (with difficulty)

Unlike adjectives, adverbs never change:

Bea e Samuele sono veloci. (Bea and Samuele are fast) → adjective (plural form)

Bea e Samuele camminano velocemente. (Bea and Samuele walk quickly) → adverb (invariable)

Le mie amiche e io siamo coraggiose. (My friends and I are brave) → adjective (plural feminine form)

Le mie amiche e io lottiamo coraggiosamente contro le ingiustizie. (My friends and I courageously fight against injustice) → adverb (invariable)

Many adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding –mente. However, this is not always possible, and some adverbs are formed in other ways. In this unit, you will learn a number of adverbs in -mente as well as irregular adverbs.

Comparisons

Bryn Mawr è più tranquilla di New York. (Bryn Mawr is calmer than New York)

Bryn Mawr e Haverford sono meno affollate di Filadelfia. (Bryn Mawr and Hawerford are less crowded than Philadelphia)

Bryn Mawr è bella come Haverford. (Bryn Mawr is as nice as Haverford)

In Italian, like in English, there are three kinds of comparative adjectives and adverbs:

• Comparativi di maggioranza (“more than”, + )
• Comparativi di minoranza (“less than”, – )
• Comparativi di uguaglianza (“as much as”, = )

To compare two things that are uneven (comparativi di maggioranza e minoranza), use:

più OR meno + adjective OR adverb + di OR che

For example:

Barak è più forte di Leo. (Barak is stronger than Leo)

Sylvia cammina meno velocemente di Jill. (Sylvia walks less quickly than Jill)

Carla è meno attenta della sua amica Tamara. (Carla is less attentive than her friend Tamara)

Nella mia stanza ci sono più poster che fotografie. (In my room there are more posters than pictures)

Stare sul divano è meno salutare che fare sport. (Being on the couch is less healthy than doing sports)

Use di when comparing two nouns or personal pronouns. Use che when comparing adjectives, adverbs, verbs, quantities or numbers:

Lidia è più intelligente di Martina. (Lidia is more intelligent than Martina)

Il treno è meno veloce dell’aereo. (The train is less fast than the plane)

Tu sei più simpatica di lui. (You are nicer than him)

Lidia è più intelligente che simpatica. (Lidia is more intelligent than nice)

Lavorare è meno interessante che viaggiare. (Working is less interesting than travelling)

Nella minestra ci sono più verdure che pasta. (There are more vegetables than pasta in the soup)

Do not forget to use di +article when necessary. 

To indicate that two things are similar (comparativi di uguaglianza), use come or quanto (*without any prepositions):

Maria è divertente come Sindi. (Maria is as funny as Sindi)

Miguel studia diligentemente quanto Sari. (Miguel studies as diligently as Sari)

Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparatives:

Migliore and peggiore are type 2 adjectives.

Migliore and peggiore can be used instead of più buono and più cattivo. In contrast, meglio and peggio are the only correct forms of the comparative for the adverbs bene and male.