Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 31
Mi alzo alle setteI get up at seven
The course's oldest mystery dissolves: mi chiamo — from chapter 3 — was always «I call myself». These are the reflexive verbs: the action comes back onto its doer, with the particle in front — mi alzo, ti svegli, si lava, si veste. The Italian day is told this way: mi sveglio, mi alzo, mi lavo, mi vesto, faccio colazione. And the mi of the piace/fa-male family meets the reflexive mi: same face, two trades.
Dialogue
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La mattina di Mike— Mike's morning
- SofiaMike, per l'esame: racconta la tua giornata. Che cosa fai la mattina?Mike, for the exam: tell me about your day. What do you do in the morning?
- MikeAllora: mi sveglio alle sette, mi alzo, mi lavo, mi vesto e faccio colazione al bar.So: I wake up at seven, I get up, I wash, I get dressed and I have breakfast at the bar.
- SofiaBene! E la sera?Good! And in the evening?
- MikeLa sera studio l'italiano!In the evening I study Italian!
Dialogue
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La giornata di Giulia— Giulia's day
- MarcoGiulia, tu ti svegli presto?Giulia, do you wake up early?
- GiuliaSì: mi sveglio alle sei e mezzo e mi alzo subito. Mi lavo, mi vesto — e alle sette e mezzo sono all'università.Yes: I wake at half past six and get up right away. I wash, I dress — and at half past seven I'm at the university.
- MarcoE la sera? Io chiudo il bar tardi e mi addormento a mezzanotte.And in the evening? I close the bar late and fall asleep at midnight.
- GiuliaIo la sera mi riposo: musica, un libro… La domenica invece non mi alzo presto!In the evening I rest: music, a book… On Sundays though I don't get up early!
Vocabulary
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- svegliarsi
verbto wake up (mi sveglio — the gli of P3 inside; svegliare without si = waking someone ELSE)
- alzarsi
verbto get up (mi alzo alle sette; alzare alone = to lift something)
- lavarsi
verbto wash (oneself) — mi lavo; with a part it keeps the article: mi lavo i denti «I brush my teeth»
- vestirsi
verbto get dressed (mi vesto — -ire family; il vestito from chapter 23 hides inside)
- riposarsi
verbto rest (mi riposo la sera — the reward reflexive)
- addormentarsi
verbto fall asleep (mi addormento — dormire's reflexive cousin closes the day)
- presto
adverbearly; soon (mi alzo presto; a presto! «see you soon» — one word, two jobs)
- tardi
adverblate (presto's opposite; a più tardi! «see you later»)
- la mezzanotte
n.f.midnight (mezzo + notte — the halves of chapter 16 name the day's edges; noon is mezzogiorno)
- chiudere
verbto close (chiudo il bar; aprire «to open» is its morning twin — apre alle sette)
- l'università
n.f.the university (accented final -à, stress written where it falls — P5; all'università)
- raccontare
verbto tell (a story)
Grammar
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Reflexives — the action that comes back
Explanation
A reflexive verb describes an action its doer receives back: alzarsi, lavarsi, vestirsi, svegliarsi. The dictionary shows them with -si stuck on the tail (alzarsi); in the sentence the particle jumps to the FRONT and changes with the person: mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza, ci alziamo, vi alzate, si alzano. The verb conjugates normally — the particle is a fixed passenger. Three practical rules: 1) the negative wraps the whole block: NON mi alzo presto; 2) with a modal the particle may stay attached to the infinitive: devo alzarmi presto; 3) without the particle many reflexives become normal verbs with an object — alzo la valigia, sveglio Ulisse, lavo la tazza. If in your language «get up» and «lift» are the same word, the reflex is saying «alzo alle 7» — but Italian asks: you lift WHOM? The test: if the answer is «myself», you need mi. And today's prize: mi chiamo Mike — the very first sentence of the course — was a reflexive undercover: «I call myself Mike».
Examples
- Mi sveglio alle sei, ma mi alzo alle sette.I wake at six, but I get up at seven.
- Ulisse si sveglia presto e sveglia tutta la famiglia!Ulisse wakes up early and wakes the whole family!
- La domenica non ci alziamo presto.On Sundays we don't get up early.
- Domani devo alzarmi alle sei: che tristezza!Tomorrow I have to get up at six: how sad!
- Mi alzo alle sette.I get up at seven.
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