Recognizing and using reflexive verbs can be tricky in Italian. There are other lessons on Yabla that cover some aspects of reflexive verbs, but in this lesson, we'll try to make some sense of using reflexive verbs in compound tenses. This is a head-scratcher for many learners.
Let's back up just a bit.
If you are using the present indicative tense, you can conjugate the reflexive verb itself. As soon as you do this, the reflexive ending is separated from the root verb.
Let's take the reflexive verb domandarsi. The ordinary verb is domandare (to ask), and the reflexive domandarsi is "to ask oneself/to wonder." As you can see in the example below, the reflexive object comes first and then the conjugated part of the verb.
E allora mi domando: "ma come è possibile?".
And so I ask myself: "But how is it possible?"
Captions 11-12, Sposami EP 5 - Part 20
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This can work with the imperfetto, too.
In mezzo a tutta quella neve mi domandavo se ce l'avrei fatta a diventare un artista.
In the midst of all that snow I wondered if I could have made it to becoming an artist.
Captions 34-35, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 30
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But if I am telling you what I was thinking about yesterday, I will likely use the passato prossimo. If I am using the normal version of the verb domandare, I use the auxiliary avere (to have) as an auxiliary. Here, in the third-person singular.
E poi mi ha domandato: "Ma che la politica a te piace?"
And then she asked me: "But do you like politics?"
Caption 47, Illuminate Margherita Hack - Part 2
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But if the verb is used reflexively, the object is the same as the subject and we switch to the auxiliary essere (to be). This might be a tricky rule to remember, but if you listen carefully to speech in Yabla videos (and do Scribe), it will gradually become natural for you to use the auxiliary essere. So much of learning is repeating or imitating what you hear.
Mi sono domandato se ce l'avrei fatta.
If I am a woman speaking, then I say,
Mi sono domandata se ce l'avrei fatta.
Let's go a step further. If I want to use a modal verb, such as dovere (to have to), potere (to be able to), or volere (to want to), then the modal verb is the conjugated verb in the phrase. Here, we are in the present tense, no compound tense.
E forse ti devi chiedere che cosa vuoi davvero.
Yeah, maybe you should ask yourself what you really want.
Caption 71, Il Commissario Manara S2EP2 - L'addio di Lara - Part 10
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L'importante è che gli ingredienti siano buoni e poi non si può sbagliare.
The important thing is for the ingredients to be good and then one can't go wrong.
Captions 15-16, In cucina con Arianna la panzanella - Part 2
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The ordinary verb sbagliare can be used with the auxiliary avere in a compound tense.
Ho sbagliato, ma non intendo ripetere l'errore.
I made a mistake, but I don't intend to repeat the error.
Caption 60, Sposami EP 5 - Part 2
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But I can say pretty much the same thing using the reflexive verb, and here, in a compound tense such as the passato prossimo, I need the auxiliary essere (to be).
Niente, non manca niente, mi sono sbagliata.
Nothing, nothing is missing, I made a mistake (I was mistaken).
Caption 41, Sposami EP 6 - Part 10
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However, if I add a modal verb, then the reflexive particle attaches itself to the auxiliary verb essere. The modal verb is the conjugated one. This is a little tricky!
Devo essermi sbagliato, avevo letto "agenzia immobiliare".
I must be mistaken. I had read "real estate agency."
Caption 22, Sei mai stata sulla Luna? film - Part 9
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Keep listening and you'll begin hearing these reflexive constructions as very natural. Playing the Scribe game, or even Speak will take you to the next level in terms of understanding how reflexive work, especially if you repeat them whenever possible. And remember, we are here to answer your questions if you don't get it, if you get confused. We are humans!
Thanks for reading.
Questo/questa (this), and quello/quella (that) are both adjectives when they come before a noun or pronoun, and pronouns when replacing a noun. This happens in both English and Italian.
In the following examples, we have adjectives.
In questo caso, perché uso il congiuntivo?
In this case, why do I use the subjunctive?
Caption 10, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo
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Questa storia vuole dire che bisogna imparare dalle esperienze degli altri.
This story means that you need to learn from the experiences of others.
Caption 24, Adriano - Fiaba
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Quella donna ha sempre avuto un aria un po' triste, poveretta.
That woman has always had a sad air about her, poor thing.
Caption 21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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In the following example, quello is shortened to quel but it works the same way.
In quel caso non ho bisogno della preposizione.
In that case I do not need the preposition.
Caption 54, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito + preposizione DI
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If there were an “S” plus “P” in a masculine noun, as in the following example, we might say:
Luigi ha quello spirito di avventura che io non ho.
Luigi has that spirit of adventure that I do not have.
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As a pronoun, questo, questa, quello or quella may replace both objects and people. In some cases, it’s true in English, too, as in:
Questo è per te.
This is for you.
Here, in the same sentence, we have the pronoun and person the pronoun refers to.
Questa è mia zia.
This is my aunt.
But attenzione. In Italian, we can use the pronoun form to replace people or things even when in English we need the adjective form plus a pronoun. In the example below, questo is a pronoun, representing “this person” but in English, we need to use the adjective “this” plus the pronoun “one” that stands for a person we aren’t identifying by name. We could also say “this guy” or “that guy.”
Questo è pazzo completo, or more correctly, [questo è completamente pazzo]
This one/this guy is completely crazy.
Caption 23, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP2 - L'addio di Lara
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So watch out for examples such as the above, where the Italian pronoun corresponds to an adjective plus pronoun in English.
La sua scrivania è quella là, dottoressa.
Your desk is that one over there, ma'am.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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In English, we could say, “That’s your desk,” but it would be wrong to say, “Your desk is that over there.”
Uno di loro, per l'esattezza quello che voleva tagliarti la gola...
One of them, to be precise, the one who wanted to cut your throat...
Caption 23, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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Sometimes, questo, questa, or quello, quella represents something unspecified and we might translate it as “what,” or “whatever.”
"Se fossi in te io non lo chiamerei,
“If I were you, I would not call him,
poi tu fai quello che ti senti di fare".
but you do whatever you feel up to doing.”
Captions 64-65, Marika spiega Gli avverbi - Avverbi di tempo
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When using these adjective/pronouns, we just need to remember that they work similarly in English and Italian, but only up to a point. What's been discussed here is a detail, but it can easily trip us up when we're trying to speak our best Italian or understand what someone is talking about.
Further learning:
As you watch Yabla videos, see if you can determine when questo, questa, quello and quellabehave as adjectives and when they are pronouns. Don’t forget that you can also click on the transcript of a video and see the whole text printed out in one or both languages. It may be easier to pick them out.
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